Saturday 11 December 2010
the saucer -like aurelia aurita or moon jellyfish is carnivorous and feeds on small plankton organisms, such as mollusks, crustaceans and ctenophores. it can be anywhere from 2 to nearly 16 inches (five to 40 centimeters) in diameter and is found in mostly warm and tropical waters.
"They sting, even kill, swimmers. They block the cooling systems of power plants. They clog fishing nets and kill penned salmon... Scientists are finding we could be jellyfish's potential benefactors. Overfishing relieves them of competition and predators. Nutrient-rich pollution can cause phytoplankton blooms, providing feasts for some jellies and reducing the water's oxygen content, which could favor their high tolerance for low oxygen. The warmth of climate change could foster expansion among some species"
"The transportation of invasive species to new environments, where they thrive. And coastal development provides new shelter for the jellies' stationary life stage, called a polyp"
giant red-hued jellyfish called tiburonia granrojo was described by american and japanese researchers in 2003. it grows up to 3.3 feet (1 meter) in diameter and lives at depths of 2,000 to 4,800 feet (650 to 1500 meters) in the ocean. first seen during submarine dives in 1993, the jellyfish is distinct in that it uses four to seven fleshy arms to capture food, rather than fine tentacles like other jellyfish
this image captures the courtship behavior of the box jellyfish Copula sivickisi. the male (top) and female (bottom) engage in a complex mating ritual unique among cnidarians (jellyfishes, hydroids, anemones, corals and their kin)
hahahaaaaaaaaaa
fossil evidence of jellyfish dates back to the cambrian period, 500 million years ago. cambrian fossil jellyfish shows similarity to the modern jellyfish (right), periphylla. it was one of four different types of jellyfish dated back to the cambrian by researchers in 2007. these ancient jellyfish showed the same complexity as modern jellyfish, meaning they either developed rapidly 500 million years ago, or today’s varieties are much older
tropical-dwelling box jellyfish have a cube-shaped body, and four different types of special-purpose eyes: the most primitive set detects only light levels, but another is more sophisticated and can detect the color and size of objects. the australian box jellyfish is also deadly; each of its up to 60 tentacles carries enough toxin to kill 60 people
the stealthy predator mnemiopsis leidyi, also known as the sea walnut, uses tiny hairs, called cilia, to create a current which prey don't notice until they are sucked into its mouth region, surrounded by two large oral lobes. the sea walnut swims using fused cilia, which diffract light in many colors in this photo
nemopilema nomurai, known as nomura's jellyfish, can grow up to 6.6 feet (2 meters) in diameter. It is edible, though it hasn't caught on widely. when nomura's jellyfish bloomed in 2005, some japanese coped by selling souvenir cookies flavored with jellyfish powder, according to the new york times
blooms of nomura's jellyfish have created serious problems in japanese waters, including clogging fishing nets and stinging fishermen. blooms have been recorded as far back as 1920, though they were rare events...but beginning in 2002, blooms have occurred nearly every year
from left to right: plankton, mr krabs, sandy, spongebob, squidward, patrick, gary & a jellyfish...
Lets Fish! feel it.... hahahaaaaaaaa
credits: livescience/ freakingnews/flickr/ numerous data
