World Jellyfish Day
Sunday was World Jellyfish Day. Jellyfish have existed for more than five hundred million years, making them more ancient than dinosaurs. There are many varieties, ranging in size from a few millimetres to more than two metres in diameter. Jellyfish are found in all the oceans of the world, and are more useful than commonly supposed.
For example, young fish can shelter under their tentacles and can feed on small organisms that can be found on the jellyfish. Jellyfish are preyed on by larger jellyfish, crabs, fish, seabirds, and turtles.
They also filter out plankton and other organisms, and carry phosphorous and nitrogen through the water.
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This animal has a strong sting, dangerous to humans
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
These marine animals have no heart, brain or skeleton but have a nervous system that enables awareness of their environment. They cannot see but sense changes in light, and some can glow in the dark. Their bodies are composed of a gelatinous bell, from which hang tentacles, which vary in length and number, according to species. Though jellyfish are usually thought of as being transparent and colourless, some display bright colours.
Some, like the little box jellyfish (Cubozoa) carry deadly venom in their tentacles, enough, it is said, to kill sixty humans. Just one sting can cause excruciating pain, and annual fatalities are estimated to be between twenty and forty in the Philippines alone. The Australian box jellyfish is judged to be the most toxic of the species.
Nicknamed the Sea Wasp, this extremely venomous jellyfish is described as 'the most lethal jellyfish in the world', responsible for at least 64 deaths in Australia since 1884.
Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Box jellyfish are so called because of their unique cuboid shape and there are at least fifty species in this classification. They can move much faster than other jellyfish because of their structure. They are active hunters, unlike other jellyfish, which may just drift.
Climate change has led to warmer waters, causing jellyfish to form great swarms, known as blooms or smacks, which can damage fishing gear, or clog cooling systems.
Most jelly fish live for twelve to eighteen months, but the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) can revert to an earlier stage of its life, so that it has a stronger chance of survival.
Jellyfish are a delicacy in some Asian countries and are perceived to be a ‘perfect food,’ as they are rich in protein.
Nice to spend some time in Jabblogopedia. If I had a moon jellyfish as a pet, could I take it for walks in the park?
ReplyDeleteWhy not? A transparent polythene bag should do nicely. Everyone deserves a change of scenery, even a pet jellyfish.
DeleteFascinating creatures, so delicate and ethereal yet potentially lethal. I'll pass on eating one.
ReplyDeleteI don't fancy eating them, either, though I'm not sure why not.
DeleteI remember standing on the port river bridge here one summer and watching dozens of jellyfish crossing from one side to the other.
ReplyDeleteYou weren't tempted to join them, then?
DeleteAmazing animals. And amazing Nature to have created such an animal.
ReplyDeleteNothing in Nature is wasted, though we might not always appreciate everything.
DeleteI don’t remember anything else about the movie, but there was one in which someone deliberately ended their life at the end by taking a bath with jellyfish.
ReplyDeleteThat sounds terrifying . . . and painful.
DeleteSorry jabblog
ReplyDeleteI adore animals that have 2 or 4 legs, not jelly-fishy creatures with floating testicles oops tentacles.
Love the typo! 😉
DeleteJelly fishes are such a unique sort of organism. I do eat them as delicacy
ReplyDeleteDo they taste of much?
DeleteThere are some months at beaches in tropical Australia where you just can't swim because of the box jellyfish. Some beaches have a supply of white vinegar at hand, a quick treatment if you are stung, as my youngest brother was many years ago. Cold tea can also be used but I doubt many have that ready at hand. Just yesterday a friend told me she saw jellyfish in a river, but we decided it was still tidal seawater in the river.
ReplyDeleteJust the thought of jellyfish in the water would deter me. We do have them, of course, but not usually in great numbers, and their stings are quite mild . . . so I'm told!
DeleteGail likes jellyfish in principle but she's not fond of the moon jellyfish that swarm in Loch Torridon in warm weather, just at the time of year when she likes to swim in the shallow bay near her cottage. She knows this species of jellyfish are not dangerous but who wants be forcing their way through water thick with a gelatinous mass of these creatures!
ReplyDeleteOh, yuck! I can understand Gail's feelings on this. It would be like swimming through living semolina.
DeleteAnother interesting blog post. Such a variety of jellyfish and it is amazing to realise they have been around for so long, and still going strong.
ReplyDeleteMaybe they will be the final conquerors of the world, along with cockroaches. 😟
DeleteHi Janice - I wrote about them 13 years ago ... remembering the time I was stung back in the 1950s on Bexhill beach ... they do fascinate ... so thanks for giving us the extra information. I didn't manage to find any to eat out on Vancouver Island, though I did look. Great photos and info - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteWas it a painful sting?
DeleteWell I shouted and screamed for Africa - at that point I hadn't got that far south ... I was a kid ... and boy was it painful ... my grandmother scared the living daylights out of me ... so no-one was best pleased. I think I probably had doses of calamine lotion poured over me ... I'm still here!! Cheers H
DeleteYet people would have us believe that UK jellyfish stings aren't so very serious. I suppose they're not, in the sense that they don't kill, but even so, your experience does not sound a happy one.I'm glad you're still here, Hilary. 😁
DeleteThanks ... it was a warm sea ... and they'd travelled north - now perhaps there'll be more swarms in our waters - cheers H
DeleteHow fascinating! It can revert to an earlier stage of life. You find the most interesting things to write about. I learn a lot from reading your blog!
ReplyDeleteMe too!
DeleteWouldn't it be nice if we had the ability to revert to an earlier stage of life? Which one to choose, though . . . ?
DeleteI don't like them, they look disgusting maybe Trump was one in his former life as they have no no heart, brain but a skeleton.
ReplyDeleteI think I'd prefer a jellyfish to the orange one.
DeleteOoh such weird creatures.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
They are extraordinary, aren't they?
DeleteThis is Alana at ramblinwitham. I would be terrified if I saw a jellyfish. I did know some could be deadly but didn’t know how useful they were.
ReplyDeleteInteresting facts!
They are such strange beasts.
DeleteWow so fascinating. It so soothing and mesmerizing watching them in aquariums. That one that the go back to a previous stage of life.. so weird and cool.
ReplyDeleteRetrograding is a different way of dealing with injury.
DeleteA jellyfish for a pet?! Different. When we were in Malaysia I ordered a mixed seafood plate. Big mistake! Definitely jellyfish on there as well as other stuff I couldn't identify. I tried but I couldn't eat it.
ReplyDeleteI never eat anything I can't identify . . .
DeleteWonderful article, they are such fascinating creatures!
ReplyDeleteSo small and yet so much more important than we realise.
DeleteWhat an interesting post.
ReplyDeleteI'd never heard of World Jelly Fish Day or knew they had existed for more than five hundred million years.
Talking of interesting I watched Asia with David Attenborough yesterday ... amazing and the photography just takes my breath away.
All the best Jan
David Attenborough's work is phenomenal.The patience and dedication of the photographers is amazing.
DeleteOh my, I would have never guessed that they are edible. Don't think I could gather up the courage to try them, however. Fascinating creatures and I learned a lot here today.
ReplyDeleteI don't fancy eating them either. I can't think they taste of much!
DeleteI never knew there was such a thing as World Jellyfish Day! I think they're endlessly fascinating, but shudder at the thought of eating them! xxx
ReplyDeleteThey're not something I'll ever be serving to my family.
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