The best creature I saw this past year was the purple-striped. I saw this beauty on a dive at Santa Cruz Island in the Fall. I only had seen these once before many years ago in the Big Sur area, I spent a lot of time shooting this one.
Here is some information from Wiki
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chrysaora_colorata
The purple-striped jelly (Chrysaora colorata, formerly Pelagia colorata) is a species of jellyfish exists primarily off the coast of California in Monterey bay. The bell (body) of the jellyfish is up to 70 cm in diameter, typically with a radial pattern of stripes. The tentacles vary with the age of the individual, consisting typically of eight marginal long dark arms, and four central frilly oral arms. It is closely studied by scientists due to not much being known about their eating habits.[1]
Often cancer crabs make home in the jellyfish and eat the parasitic amphipods that feed on and damage the jelly.[2]