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Welcome to the World of Jellies
Jellyfish are animals that drift in the sea. They belong
to a group called coelenterates, which means
“hollow gut”. They are closely related to the sea
firs, comb jellies, anemones and corals. Jellies all
have bag-like bodies and one opening to eat and get
rid of wastes. Most jellies range in size from 2
centimeters to about 40 centimeters across the body.
Impressions of jellies have been found in rocks and
age back to 650 million years old. Some scientists
have made up a name for these jellies. They now
belong to a group called Medusa named after the
Greek Goddess. The official name for the jellyfish
is moon jelly (sea nettle). They come in pink,
yellow and blue. Their outside bodies are as stiff as a
bag of gelatin.
Related Phyla: Cnidaria (Greek knide, nettle, and aria)
Related to: Ctenophora (Greek ktenos, comb, and phora)
Related Classes: Scyphozoa, Cubozoa Hydrozoa and Anthrozoa
Scientific Name: Polyrchus pencillatus
Quantity: over 3,000 different types of jellies in the whole sea
The closest relative to the jelly is the comb jelly. The only difference between them is the rows of
minute hair-like projections called cilia. This propels the jellies through the water. Their sticky
tentacle trap food. These particular jellies catch light and appear as all the colors of the rainbow.
Each sting that they produce comes from a tiny little cell within. They don’t chase their prey they
wait for it to come to them and once they have caught it, they sink and eat the prey.
Jellyfish are like the medusas floating bell
form. This would be the adult jellyfish. The
polyp is the immature form of the jellyfish
which anchors itself to rocks. This is the
beginning of the reproduction cycle.
3 Different Major types of Jellies
Cassiopeia = floats upside down most of its time at the bottom of the sea. One of the ones
mostly found at the depth of 3,300 ft. It also has tentacles that help it catch prey.
Portuguese Man-of-War = found in the Atlantic ocean all the way up to Cape Cod. They are
sky blue, pink and purple. They have long tentacles and at the ends they have stinging
cells call nematocysts. They get their name from the helmet the Portuguese soldiers wore.
This jelly is not just one animal it has a colony of animals. They each do a different task:
1. the float, 2. one polyp stings and the other polyp catches food, 3.one polyp digests prey,
4. the others help with the reproduction. Only one fish that lives within it the Man of
War.
Sea Wasp = the most dangerous jelly of all. It lives in the warm waters of the Pacific
Ocean. It has killed several people of the coast of Australia.
This shows the life cycle of a jellyfish
from a larva to a mature jelly.
They can be found around the coasts at certain times of the year. They are
usually washed up into the harbors and bay areas. Other bigger jellies can be
found in deeper waters at a depth of 3,300 ft. Some jellies are round or oval
and the ones closer to the ocean floor are flat. Jellies can also be eaten by other
animals. Jellyfish are a turtles favorite food.
Made by: Pamela Hernandez