Today I am starting a new theme called survival animals which will feature some of the most remarkable animals and how they survive. This article will cover jellyfish. It all starts on the beach. . .One day when I went to the beach I saw jellyfish washing up on shore that were dead!
No Way!
It all started when we were driving to the beach where we would meet up with our friends at the beach and have fun there. The first thing I saw were the jellyfish that were on the shore. They were dead. How is this possible! The reason I think this isn’t possible is because of some amazing jellyfish that I know. Those are the box jellyfish, immortal jellyfish, and the lion’s mane jellyfish. Read more to find out more about them!
Jelly-who?
Jellyfish usually have a head that contracts and expands. They also have tentacles. How many they have varies with their species meaning one species of jellyfish can have 5 tentacles while another can have 50 tentacles.They can have different colors depending on their species. They can live in any depths of the ocean because they have no bones. They are made by a jelly called mesoglea. Some can be 2 m. in bell height and diameter and some can be 2 millimeters in height and diameter. Some species have poisonous sting while others don’t. The most amazing thing though about jellyfish is what they do and how they contribute to the ocean economy.
The first jellyfish I will tell you about is the immortal jellyfish. It has a bell shaped head with a sort of cradle-like thing inside its head. Inside its head is its stomach which is a bright red color. They can have 8-90 tentacles depending on their age. They eat plankton. They can sting, but it is not poisonous. The most amazing thing they do is turn into a younger stage of their life cycle. Whenever they are in danger or injured, they just turn back into a baby jellyfish and regrow that stage or stages of their life cycles. Although they have “Immortal” in their name they aren’t killable. They can be eaten by larger animals or sucked into a vent of a nuclear power plant. In their head there is one opening in which food comes in and waste comes out. So jellyfish eat through their anus, and yes that is very weird. That is the immortal jellyfish.
Another jellyfish is the boxed jellyfish. According to National Geographic they have a cube-like head which is where they get their name from. They are pale blue and transparent. They have up to 15 tentacles in each corner which are ten feet long. They eat tiny fish crustaceans, shrimp and prawns, other jellyfish, and worms. These animals are top notch predators. The reason I say top notch is because they have a potent venom which is bad for humans and can even kill humans. The poisons are called Malo kingi, Chironex fleckeri, and Carukia barnesi. The good thing is that only some species of box jellyfish have these poisons, but it never hurts to be careful. Scientists are working to see if we can cure their venomous sting. These are some powerful creatures!
The last awesome jellyfish I will tell you about is the lions mane jellyfish. They are one of the biggest jellyfish in the world. They are named after their tentacles which are dark red or yellow, but they can also have purple, pink, and even orange tones. Their tentacles are also hairy like a lion’s mane. They use their tentacles to eat fish, plankton, other smaller jellyfish, and other sea creatures. The most amazing thing is that fish live inside the jellyfish for protection from predators that might eat them. They protect themselves and fish with their powerful sting that can be very painful.
Bye-Bye Jellyfish!
With all these facts I think that the jellyfish that washed on the shore were simply carried away by a current and were deprived of water. These jellyfish are amazing, but these are not the only types of jellyfish that are cool! There are many more types of jellies that are amazing. After all this we can see that jellyfish are fascinating species of animals. There are still even more ocean animals that are amazing. So, watch out for my next article, The Dragon of the Depths! Antio Sas! Bye!
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