Jellyfish Facts: Don't Be Jelly

Jellyfish: the oceans gnat. They sit their doormat for hours, unknowingly until you notice them on your

body. They are the oceans greatest non-fatal nuisance that attack thousands of people per month. In

this short document, you'll learn more about these pesky creatures that leave your skin itching and

burning for weeks.

Like humans, jellyfish are made almost entirely up of water. The body and skeletal structure of a

jellyfish is like a worm, it lacks vertebrae. See the image below, jellyfish do not have spines:

Figure A: Jellyfish do not have a spinal structure

This is something that may freak you out: the digestive system has only one opening that is right; there

is no "butt" or other "private parts" in a jellyfish. How can this be, you ask? Well unfortunately for the

jellyfish, they sting people, but are perpetually punished by having to excrete through their own mouths.

More Jellyfish facts: The jellyfish moves through the water like a blob floating through the ocean. It has

3 layers, the epidermis (like a human) the inner, and the mesoglea. Each layer is a different part of the

body. The jellyfish also has tentacles, like an octopus, however the jellyfish has literally thousands of

them.

Every living creature belongs to a kingdom, phylum, and species; the jellyfish belongs to the phylum

"Cnidaria." This phylum is a group of animals which are all radically symmetrica which includes corals,

hydras and jellyfish as well.

The jellyfish does not have a brain. It cannot think, nor can it feel - it can only exist. It can detect

various stimuli such as when other animals touch them or when a surf board comes by.

Fact: the largest jellyfish ever spotted was the lion's mane jellyfish - which has tentacles almost 120feet

long and had a nearly fatal bite that has rumored to have killed people. There is also the more rare

jellyfish which is the deep sea jellyfish, which is almost 4 feet wide and has arms roughly 20 feet in

length. You want to stay clear of this oceanic beast.

Jellyfish Facts: Don't Be Jelly

Jellyfish live their life in a very simple manner, they feed off of the bottom floor of the ocean, like many

other creatures, and eat plankton as their main source of nutrient. The jellyfish simply exists, it does not

have any prey, nor is it a predator - it provides little nutrients, and has its sting to defend itself.

The jellyfish has a sad short life, it can live from a few moments, up to a few months at the maximum,

and then it perishes into the ocean, into matter that is consumed by predators alongside plankton and

other small organisms.

Thanks for coming by to read about our small hobby, and if you need more information about this cool

little species, be sure to check out jellfishfacts.com.