Five fascinating facts about jellyfish - Oceana Canada
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December 19, 2019

Five fascinating facts about jellyfish

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Aberdeenshire 04 *** Local Caption *** Lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), juveniles of whiting (Merlangius merlangus) and Oceana diver. Aberdeenshire, Scotland, United Kingdom. North Sea Expedition. July 2017. Medusa melena de león ártica (Cyanea capillata), juveniles de merlán (Merlangius merlangus) y buceador de Oceana. Aberdeenshire, Reino Unido. Expedición al Mar del Norte 2017. Julio 2017.

 

1. They have no bones, no blood and no brains. Even without these body parts, some jellyfish possess bioluminescent abilities, meaning they’re able to produce their own light and glow in the dark.

2. They have been swimming around in our oceans for more than 400 million years. This means they’ve been on Earth since before the dinosaurs.

3. They can clone themselves. Jellyfish have an interesting life cycle that includes a combination of sexual and asexual reproduction. During the stage of life when they are known as a polyp, they can asexually create several clones of themselves, which then grow into sexually mature adult jellies. 

4. Some jellies are considered plankton! While they do have the ability to swim by pulsing their bell-shaped bodies, they don’t have the power to avoid ocean currents.

5. They can be immortal! The species of jellyfish called Turritopsis nutricula is reportedly able to reverse its life cycle from the adult medusa stage back into the juvenile polyp stage.