FUN FACTS

Amazing facts about jellyfish

Did you know ...

1. Some jellyfish are bigger than human?
2. Some people in this world eat jellyfish?
3. Jellyfish have been in this Earth even before the dinasours?
4. Jellyfish does not have brain!
5. Jellyfish mainly made up of water and protein.
6. A group of jellyfish is called smack!

How long do jellyfish live?

Most jellyfish live less than one year, and some some of the smallest may live only a few days. Each species has a natural life cycle in which the jellyfish form is only part of the life cycle. The most familiar stage is the medusa stage, where the jelly usually swims around and has tentacles hanging down. Male and female medusa reproduce and form thousands of very small larvae called planulae. The larvae then settle on the bottom of the ocean on rocks and oyster shells and form a small polyp that looks just like a tiny sea anemone. Each polyp will bud off many baby jellyfish called ephyrae that grow very quickly into adult medusa. Some scientists believe that jellyfish have increased because coastal development helps provide more underwater habitat for jellyfish polyps to grow.

Why do some jellyfish sting?

Some jellyfish have millions of very small stinging cells in their tentacles called nematocysts. These cells are used to capture food by injecting toxin into the prey. When we are stung it hurts because the toxin goes through our skin.

                  

phytoplankton

What do they eat?

Jellyfish eat many different types of things, such as small plants (phytoplankton), copepods (crustacean zooplankton), fish eggs and other small fish called larvae; they also eat the planktonic eggs and young stages (also called larvae) of many different kinds of marine animals. Some jellyfish even eat other jellyfish! When jellyfish form blooms they eat almost everything in the water and this can cause problems for fisheries because there is no food left for the fish to eat!

jellyfish eat small fish