Fun facts about jellyfish - did you know they aren’t even fish at all?
- Jellyfish evolution predates true fish by at least 100 million years.
- There are at least 1,500 different species of jellyfish.
- Their numbers are expanding even as ocean waters warm and become more polluted.
- Not all jellyfish can sting humans, but a few, like the box jelly, are lethally poisonous.
- A group of jellyfish is called a swarm or a bloom. Large blooms may contain millions of jellyfish and cover 10 square miles!
Now, some of our favorite types of jellies!
Lions Mane:
This is the largest known species, with tentacles as long as 100 feet.
Man-Of-War:
Though it looks like one, it is not a jellyfish but a siphonophore, an organism made up of many highly specialized, minute individuals called zooids.
Moon Jellyfish:
They tend to stay close to the surface of the water, making them easy prey for large fish, turtles, and the occasional marine bird.
Atlantic Sea Nettle:
Unlike other species of jellyfish that only eat plankton, sea nettles prey on minnows, worms, and mosquito larvae by stinging them with their powerful venom.
Immortal Jellyfish:
One Mediterranean species of jelly, the immortal turritopsis dohrnii, can return to its immature stage again and again after reproducing, meaning it may be able to live forever!
