Sp.617 Marine Life Postage Stamps – Jellyfish

Jellyfish are cnidarians, a group of gelatinous invertebrates and have neither hearts nor skeletons. They are transparent and contain 95% water. To the lovers who are fond of marine life, the lightsome jellyfish are undoubtedly one of the most beautiful creatures in the water. With their umbrellalike shapes, transparent body colors and elegant tentacles, jellyfish slowly move in the sea through their bells expanding and contracting. By rhythmic movements, jellyfish sway like beautiful dancers. While emitting bioluminescent light, they are even more graceful and much more eye-catching comparing with other marine life. To show the beauty of marine life, Chunghwa Post has specially planned a set of four stamps featuring jellyfish. The designs follow:

1. Pelagia noctiluca (NT$5): With bell diameter up to 10 cm, it feeds primarily on zooplankton and larval fish. Its reproductive gland contain bioluminescent enzyme that can produce beautiful glow. This jellyfish is widely distributed in warm temperate surface waters, and occurs in the waters off northern Taiwan, including Jinshan, Yeliu and Keelung Harbor.
2. Physophora hydrostatica (NT$7): It can grow up to 8-12 cm in length and feeds on zooplankton. A colony contains a number of specialized individuals with different functions. It behaves and moves like a single organism. They are widely found in temperate and tropical surface waters of the world ocean. They often occur in spring and summer, and are common in the Taiwan Strait and in the waters south and east to Taiwan.
3. Mastigias papua (NT$10): It is about 10 cm in diameter of the bell and feeds on zooplankton. Its umbrella has numerous white spots and can vary in color depending on the environmental conditions and the types of symbiotic algae. It is mainly distributed in tropical and subtropical coastal waters, as well as bays and lagoons. It can be found in the coastal waters of southern and northern Taiwan, including Yeliu.
4. Cyanea capillata (NT$12): This is a large jellyfish with a bell that can reach up to 2 meters in diameter. It feeds on zooplankton, small fish and other jellyfishes. From its bell dangle as many as 150 tentacles, which may attain a length of 35 meters when fully stretched. It is mainly distributed in temperate and polar surface waters, but occasionally found in tropical waters with a smaller size. It can be seen in the northern and central Taiwan Strait and in the waters off northern Taiwan.

In order to increase collecting interest and highlight jellyfish’s bioluminescence, the jellyfish illustrations of these stamps are printed with fluorescent inks, which will glow with beautiful colors when viewed under purple light making it more lifelike. The stamps are printed in four colors with three-color fluorescent inks, accumulated to seven colors in total. The sheetlet is worth collecting.

(1) First Day Cover: NT$2 apiece
(2) Folder (with or without mount): NT$5 apiece
(3) Loose-leaf album page: NT$8 apiece
(4) Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with one NT$5-denominated stamp: NT$7 apiece
(5) Pre-cancelled FDC affixed with a complete set of stamps: NT$36 apiece

To purchase the relative philatelic products, please go directly to the post office branches, or order on line at http://stamp.post.gov.tw.