Showing posts with label Jellyfish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jellyfish. Show all posts

Wednesday, July 17, 2019

Portuguese Man o' War


We just learned about the Blue Button hydrozoan that looks like a jellyfish.

Another animal that looks like a jellyfish but isn't, is the Portuguese Man o' War, also called the pyhsalia physalis or blue bottle.

Just like the blue button, this is a hydrozoan.
The Man o' War has a very powerful venomous sting, and can kill fish or even humans!

They live on top of the water, floating along the surface with the stingers underneath.
The blowing wind and moving water moves these animals along, as they don't have any way to swim.

Sometimes the tentacles of these animals will fall off and go floating off in the water, but they can still sting someone.
Even if these animals float up onto a beach they can still sting.

Usually a sting from the man o' war is like a mark from a whip, and can sometimes cause people to have trouble breathing.

Because they are so dangerous, usually if they are found on a beach it will be closed until they go away.



(from: wikipedia - portuguese man o' war)


Portuguese Man-of-War | World's Weirdest - Nat Geo WILD

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cephalopods - Flapjack Octopus

Wednesday, July 10, 2019

Blue Button


We just learned about the Bahtrocyroe Fosteri jellyfish.

Another type of sea animal is a Blue Button, also called a Porpita porpita.

Even though this animal looks like a jellyfish, it is in a different family, called hydrozoans.

They live in the ocean in the warm waters by the equator.

The middle part of the blue button is called the float, and it is about one inch wide.
Around the edge are floating arms that look like tentacles, but each one of them is actually it's own animal called a hydroid.
You can almost think of it like a floating colony of ants, all hanging on to a raft.

These blue buttons just float along the ocean and eats on things even smaller than itself that are just floating around.
They do have a sting like a jellyfish, but it is only a little painful.



(from: wikipedia - porpita porpita)


Jellyfish - Blue Button Jellyfish in Bangladesh [Jellyfish] - নীল বোতাম প্রাণীটি বাংলাদেশের সাগরে - MOK'S TUBE

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Armhook Squid

Wednesday, July 3, 2019

Bathrocyroe Fosteri


We just learned about the Warty Comb Jelly.

Another kind of jellyfish is the Bathrocyroe Fosteri.

This is another type of comb jelly that lives in the deep parts of the ocean, and lights up with bioluminescence when it gets scared!

They only grow to about 2 inches long.

(from: wikipedia - bathocyroe fosteri)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Broadclub Cuttlefish

Wednesday, June 26, 2019

Warty Comb Jelly


We just learned about the long clear Venus Girdle Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Warty Comb Jelly, also called the Sea Walnut, or the Mnemiopsis Leidyi.

These jellies mostly live in the west part of the Atlantic ocean, and are about 5 inches wide.

They are oval shaped, and they light up with blue-green colors with they get upset.




(from: wikipedia - mnemiopsis)


American comb jelly (Mnemiopsis leidyi) Гребневик мнемиопсис - Александр Куракин

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Plectonocerida

Wednesday, June 19, 2019

Venus Girdle Jellyfish


We just learned about the very dangerous Sea Wasp jellyfish.

Another type of jelly is the Venus Girdle Jellyfish, also called the cestum veneris.

This is a very different kind of jellyfish because it looks like a big long clear ribbon with glowing white blue edges.

They can grow to be 1 meter (about 3 feet), and they usually live in the very warm waters of the ocean.


(from: wikipedia - venus girdle)


Venus Girdle Jellyfish - Rave Toy - DaveScuba

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: White Spotted Octopus

Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Sea Wasp


We just learned about the Diplulmaris Antarctica.

Another type of jellyfish is the Sea Wasp also called the chironex fleckeri.

Some people call this jellyfish the most lethal jellyfish in the world, because it has caused deaths because of its painful sting.

They mostly live around the north side of Australia, and can have tentacles up to 10 feet long.

Their sting hurts very badly, and after getting stung a person needs to get to a hospital right away!

Luckily because these jellyfish only live in one spot in the world, people know to watch out for them, and try to put warning signs up where they are at in the water.



(from: wikipedia - chironex fleckeri)


(from: youtube - BOX Jellyfish - The Most Dangerous Sea Creature - Free Documentary)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Glass Squid

Wednesday, June 5, 2019

Diplulmaris Antarctica


We just learned about the White Spotted Jellyfish.

Another type of jelly is the Diplulmaris Antarctica.

Jellyfish live in oceans all over the world, and like you might guess from this one's name it lives near Antarctica at the south pole!

These jellies only grow up to about 7 inches.
They have white tentacles and a mostly white bell.
The inside of the jelly where the stomach is at is a reddish orange color, so it really stands out against the rest of their white body.
It's frilly arms that help bring their food to their mouth are also the same orange red color, so they are pretty neat looking.



(from: wikipedia - )


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Parapuzosia

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

White Spotted Jellyfish


We just learned about the Lobed Comb Jellyfish that lights up like a rainbow.

Another type of jellyfish is the White Spotted Jellyfish, also called the floating bell, Australian spotted jellyfish, or phyllorhiza punctata.

This type of jelly started out living in warm water in the Pacific ocean by Australia and Japan, but has now been found all the way over by California, and even in the Gulf of Mexico.
It grows to about 20 inches wide, and does have a sting but it doesn't really hurt humans.

They swim in large groups with other white spotted jellies, and because of this they can be harmful to other life in the ocean.
In their groups they swim along and eat all of the tiny little things like zooplankton, or eggs of crabs, shrimp or fish.
They also clog up the boat motors and cause problems with ships on the sea.



(from: wikipedia - phyllorhiza punctata)


(from: youtube - Underwater Beauty: Spotted Jellies - Shedd Aquarium)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Giant Cuttlefish

Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Lobed Comb Jellyfish


We just learned about the small Barrel Jellyfish.

Another jellyfish is the Lobed Comb Jellyfish, also called the common northern comb jelly, or the bolinopsis infundibulum.

It grows to about 6 inches long, and lives mostly in the northern Atlantic Ocean.

This type of jelly is see through or sometimes milky white.
It has two small tentacles, and it's mouth is at one end of its body.

They have little tiny hairs along their body that they use to swim around.
On their body they have parts that light up using bioluminescence.
This means some chemicals in their body mix together to change colors and glow in the dark.


(from: wikipedia - bolinopsis infundibulum)


(from: youtube - The Lovely Lobed Comb Jelly - Monterey Bay Aquarium)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Mimic Octopus

Wednesday, May 15, 2019

Barrel Jellyfish


We just learned about the Darth Vader Jellyfish that lives in the deep sea and looks like Darth Vader's helmet.

Another type of jellyfish is the Barrel Jellyfish, also called the dustbin-lid jellyfish, frilly-mouthed jellyfish, or rhizostoma pulmo.

This type of jelly lives in the Atlantic ocean, and the Mediterannean sea.
It is very small, only usually growing around 16 inches.




(from: wikipedia - rhizostoma pulmo)


(from: youtube - Swimming with a giant Barrel Jellyfish - Matt Slater)

Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Vampire Squid

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Darth Vader Jellyfish


We just learned about the Atolla Jellyfish that lives in the deep sea and flashes blue lights.

Another type of jelly is the Darth Vader Jellyfish, also called the bathykorus bouilloni.
It gets the long name from bathy which means "deep" and korus which means "helment", and the scientist Dr. Jean Bouillon who found it.

Because it looks kind of like Darth Vader's helmet, sometimes people call it the Darth Vader jellyfish instead!

This jelly lives very deep in the sea, at around 1,000 meters!
It is very small, only about 2 centimeters wide.
The bell is see through and pale blue, and it has eight tentacles for stinging.
They live mostly around Greenland and Canada.

Because these jellies live so deep, people can not swim down and see them, they can only be seen by robotic submarines that people send deep into the ocean with cameras on them to look around.


(from: wikipedia - bathykorus)


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Red Cuttlefish

Wednesday, May 1, 2019

Atolla Jellyfish


We just learned about the Irukandji Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Atolla Jellyfish, also called the Atolla wyvillei or Coronate medusa.

The atolla jellyfish live very deep in the ocean, from 1,000 to 4,000 meters deep.

These are very tiny jellyfish, only growing about 170 milimeters wide.
They have about 20 tentacles floating off of their bell, and then one really long one that hangs out trying to trap prey to eat.

Because these jellies are so small, they get eaten a lot by other animals.
When they think they are in danger, they are able to flash their body like a blinking blue light.

When this happens, sometimes a bigger animal will come along and eat the smaller animal that is trying to eat the jelly.
This gets the jelly the nickname of "Alarm Jelly" because it's alarm goes off when it gets scared.

Scientists have copied this flashing blue light and used it to try and get other big deep sea animals to come check it out.


(from: wikipedia - atolla jellyfish)



Creatures of the Deep | Atolla Jelly - oceannetworks canada


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Lituites Nautilus

Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Irukandji Jellyfish


We just learned about the Immortal Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Irukandji Jellyfish.

This is the smallest type of jelly, and also one of the most venomous ones in the world!

They can be as small as 0.2 inches, and as big as a little less than 1 inch.
Their tentacles can be as short as less than one inch, or as long as 3 feet.

If this type of jelly stings a person, after about 30 minutes they can have headaches, muscle pains, throwing up, or even a heart attack.
It can take a few hours to get better, or sometimes a day or even a few weeks!

Such a small jelly that pack such a dangerous sting can be scary to watch out for in the water.
These jellies mostly only live around Australia on the north side.



(from: wikipedia - irukandji jellyfish)



Irukandji Jellyfish - World's deadliest fishing - The Nature of Science


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Argonaut Octopus

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

Immortal Jellyfish


We just learned about the Lion's Mane Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Immortal Jellyfish, also called the turritopsis dohrnii.

This type of jellyfish does not get very big, less than one inch when it is fully grown.

This jellyfish starts out as a tiny baby jellyfish on the ocean floor.
When it grows up, it turns into a little bigger jellyfish and swims around the ocean looking for food.

If it gets hurt or is starving too badly, it can actually turn back into a baby jellyfish and start all over on the ocean floor!
That's like a grown up human turning back into a baby and starting life all over!

Because these jellyfish could do this over and over forever, they are called the immortal jellyfish, because immortal means you live forever.


(from: wikipedia - turritopsis dohrnii)


The Strange But Incredible Immortal Jellyfish - V101 Science


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Bigfin Reef Squid

Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Lion's Mane Jellyfish


We just learned about the Cannonball Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Lion's Mane Jellyfish, also called the Giant Jellyfish or the Hair Jelly.

This is the largest type of jellyfish in the world, with the biggest one ever found being over 7 feet wide, and over 120 feet long.
That's taller than a house, and even longer than the blue whale!

Most of these jellies only grow to be about 2 feet wide, and they live in the very cold parts of the pacific ocean.
They swim about 65 feet under the water, and eat very tiny animals.
Other big animals like leatherback sea turtles love to eat these jellyfish for a snack!

They have over a thousand stinging tentacles, but they don't hurt too bad for humans, just the tiny animals they want to eat.




(from: wikipedia - lion's mane jellyfish)


Lion's Mane Jellyfish - Matteo Endrizzi


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Flamboyant Cuttlefish

Wednesday, April 3, 2019

Cannonball Jellyfish


We just learned about the Black Sea Nettle.

Another type of jellyfish is the Cannonball Jellyfish, also called the cabbagehead jellyfish, or Stomolophus meleagris.

It gets its name because it is about the size of a cannonball, and it is round and sometimes brown colored.
They grow to about 10 inches wide, and underneath they have arms taht they use to catch prey or to swim.

These jellies are usually found in the Atlantic ocean, all the way from North America to South America.
Sometimes they are found in the Pacific ocean too, but not as much.

They mostly eat small animals like plankton, by letting out some mucus that has a toxin poison in it.
This poison keeps away predators and stings the small fish or plankton so they can eat them.

Humans normally would only get an itchy sting from these jellies, but they can cause humans to have heart problems or eye problems if they are stung.

The leatherback sea turtle is the top predator for these jellies and will eat them right up.



(from: wikipedia - canonball jellyfish)


Cannonball! - Monterey Bay Aquarium


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Orthoceras Nautilus

Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Black Sea Nettle


We just learned about the Fried Egg Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Black Sea Nettle, also called the black jellyfish, sarlacc jellyfish, or chrysaora achlyos.

This type of jelly lives in the Pacific Ocean, from California to British Columbia.

They can grow to be very big, over 3 feet wide and about 20 feet long.
The color of their bell top can be dark purple or black, and their tentacles are usually a lighter purple color.

For food these jellies eat plankton or other jellyfish by stinging them and then using their tentacles to bring them to to their mouths.
Their tentacles have thousands of stingers that stun or kill their prey.
People would get a painful sting from them, but they are not deadly.




(from: wikipedia - chrysaora achlyos)


Diving with Black Sea Nettle Jellyfish ( Chrysaora achlyos ) - CDub


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Firefly Squid

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Fried Egg Jellyfish


We just learned about the Blue Blubber Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Fried Egg Jellyfish or egg yolk jellyfish.

There are two types of jellyfish that have this nickname.
Their big long science names are phacellophora camtschatica, and cotylorhiza tuberculata.

The phacellophora camtschatica grows up to 2 feet wide and has tentacles up to 20 feet long.
It lives in the cold water of the ocean.
To eat, it snacks on other tiny jellyfish or types of plankton that get stuck in its long tentacles.
This jelly's sting is so weak that sometimes small crabs will ride on top of its bell and will even steal food that it has trapped in its tentacles!


(from: wikipedia - phacellophora camtschatica)


Egg Yolk Jellyfish - Phacellophora camtschatica - Jellyfish Are Awesome

The cotylorhiza tuberculata grows to about 16 inches wide, but its tentacles are much shorter.
It lives in warmer water, mostly in the Mediterranean Sea, and is sometimes even called the Mediterranean Jellyfish.
There are so many jellies in that water that they get in the way of boating and fishing, and sometimes they will remove thousands of jellyfish in a year!




(from: wikipedia - cotylorhiza tuberculata)


Samos - Fried egg jellyfish - Torben Olsen


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Cirroteuthis Octopus

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Blue Blubber Jellyfish


We just learned about the Nomura's Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is the Blue Blubber Jellyfish, also called the jelly blubber or catostylus mosaicus.

This type of jelly lives over by Australia, and swims around with lots of other blue blubbers in big swarms.

Sometimes it is blue, or white or even brown, and it grows to be about 18 inches.
They mostly eat small things like plankton or fish, and they have stingers that hurt people but won't kill a human.




(from: wikipedia - jelly blubber)


Blue Blubber Jellyfish Tank --The Aquarium King-- - The Aquarium King


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Grimpoteuthis - Dumbo Octopus

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

Nomura's Jellyfish


We just learned about the Moon Jellyfish.

Another type of jellyfish is Nomura's Jellyfish.

This is the biggest jellyfish in the world, and can grow to be over 6 feet wide and weigh over 400 pounds!
In only six months they can grow from the size of a grain of rice to 6 feet wide.

They live over near China in the Yellow sea and East China sea.
For food these jellies start eating small things like plankton, but then as they get bigger they will eat some kinds fish.
Other animals that eat these jellies are swordfish, tuna, sunfish and leatherback turtles.
Even some people eat these, and in Japan someone makes a type of vanilla and jellyfish flavored ice cream.

They do have a sting that is painful, but as long as the person gets to a doctor they will be ok.





(from: wikipedia - nomura's jellyfish)


Nomura's Jellyfish, Japan - SuiTube5


Kid Facts - Blast from the past: Blue Ringed Octopus