New Jellyfish Species Gets Its Michelin Star Moment

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In 1900, French tire maker Michelin took a seemingly circuitous route to selling more tires: It began looking at restaurants. According to the theory, alerting the French to faraway gourmet dining opportunities would increase demand for cars, which in turn would increase demand for tires. Fast forward to today and a Michelin star is one of the most sought-after honors for any chef looking to make their mark in the culinary world. It is also the inspiration for the name of a recently discovered Japanese jellyfish.

Found floating in the shallow waters off Nagasaki and Yamaguchi prefectures, researchers from Fukuyama University collected samples of the jellyfish and brought them back to the aquarium. There, they fed them brine shrimp, allowed them to reproduce, and observed their offspring in order to study the jellyfish life cycle in its entirety.

The species had four linear gonads and four “lips” at the end of its manubrium, the tube-like shaft that serves as the creature’s mouth. Together, these characteristics place it in the family Malagazziidae. But what set him apart from other members of the family were the mysterious little brown spots that dot his stomach and reproductive organs.

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Because they looked like stars, these spots led researchers to give it the name Malagazzia Michelin. As it grew, they noticed, it accumulated more places, just as restaurants can earn more Michelin stars for better quality food.

The discovery also drew attention to a thorny issue related to jellyfish names in Japan. Because they are usually given common names based on their appearance, they can be mislabeled for years. Malagazzia Michelinfor example, already had the incorrect common name “tsubuiri-sujiko-yawara-kurage”, which translates to “Laodicean jellyfish with salmon eggs”.

The name was problematic because it was not part of the distant family Laodiceidae at all, but rather part of the family Malagazziidae. In keeping with the celestial theme, researchers gave this new species the common name “ama-no-gawa-kurage”, or “Milky Way Jellyfish”.

Don’t look for it on Michelin-starred menus anytime soon. Measuring only half an inch, this would not make for a very large meal.

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Main image: Based on Izumi, T., et al. ZooKeys (2026)

• Jake Currie

  Published on March 2, 2026

  Jake Currie is a writer based in Brooklyn, New York.