Beauty with a sting
- POSTED ON: 3 Nov, 2023
- TOTAL VIEWS: 196 Views
- POSTED BY: Archana Subramanian | Text: Nimi Kurian
- ARTICLE POINTS: 100 Points
On World Jellyfish Day, here are 10 facts about these lovely creatures that you have to be wary about. As you read about them, solve the jigsaw puzzles as well.
1. They are not fish. They are invertebrates from the phylum Cnidaria and are so varied as a taxonomic group that many scientists have taken to simply referring to them as “gelatinous zooplankton”. They do not have scales, gills, or fins like fish.
2. The body of the jellyfish is 98% water. Their nervous system comprises a loose network of nerves located in the epidermis called a “nerve net”. They have no brain or heart.
3. Jellyfish fossils are hard to come by because these creatures have no bones. Some of the oldest known jellyfish fossils have been found in Utah, dating back to when the entire U.S. West was under the Pacific Ocean.
4. Despite marine heat waves, ocean acidification, overfishing and other environmental hazards, jellyfish are thriving. They could soon outnumber plankton, which need more oxygen and make up the bulk of their diet.
5. Some jellyfish have vision. The box jellyfish, for example, has 24 “eyes”, two of which can see in colour. It’s also believed this animal’s complicated array of visuals allows it a 360° view of its environment.
6. They use the same orifice for eating and pooping. It is a simple or primitive animal because of this, as the dual hole system developed way down the line of evolution. In 2019, scientists discovered that one jellyfish species sprouts a new anus every time it poops.
7. A group of jellyfish is referred to as a bloom, a swarm and even a smack. But sighting a group of jellyfish is rare because these animals are lone drifters. They clump together only when following the same food source or travelling the same ocean current.
8. All jellyfish have nematocysts or stinging structures, but the power of their stings can vary depending on the species. A sting of the box jellyfish can kill an adult human in minutes. One box jellyfish carries enough venom to kill 60 humans.
9. Some jellyfish are so tiny they are practically invisible floating in the ocean’s currents. The smallest are those in the genera Staurocladia and Eleutheria and the largest is the titanic Nomura’s jellyfish, Nemopilema nomurai, which can dwarf a human diver.
10. Jellyfish are edible and are eaten as a delicacy in some places, like Japan and Korea. The Japanese have transformed jellyfish into a sweet and salty caramel. They are also served in salads, fried into crunchy noodles, or eaten with soy sauce like sushi.