20 Jellyfish Fascinating Facts!

Who cannot resist being mesmerized by these fascinating creatures? They look so elegant with their soft and colorful glow as they gracefully dance along the ocean waters. Not many of us may know, but you can find jellyfishes in both ocean and freshwaters.

These jellies were known to have lived 500 million years or more. The proof was found back in 2007 when researchers discovered a well-preserved Jellyfish fossil in an area in Utah that was used to be underwater. The said fossil is thought about 505 million years old. According to worldatlas.com, there are 2000 jellyfish species, but scientists believed that there are 3,000 more that are yet to be discovered. Since we do not know much about these gelatinous critters, we have researched interesting facts about them.

1. Jellyfish don't have a heart, brain, and lungs. They do have two nervous systems but no master control center. The large net of nerves is for swimming and the small net of nerves is for spasm and feeding. It is also responsible for how they react to what's happening around them.
2. Did you know that the most venomous marine animal is a jellyfish? Chironex fleckeri or the box jellyfish can be found in the Indo-Pacific region and northern Australia. Their tentacles are covered with nematocysts which are tiny darts loaded with poison. It can cause cardiac arrest, paralysis, and even death. 
3. Jellyfish are 95% water. If they are washed ashore, they will die through a process known as deliquescing (become liquid, typically during decomposition.) These creatures take oxygen from the seawater to survive, and without it, they will just become an unnoticeable imprint on the sand. 
4. You can call a group of Jellyfish a swarm, smack, or bloom.
5. Did you know that jellyfishes are not fishes? Jellyfishes have no backbone therefore, they are considered invertebrates. They survived by taking oxygen through their membranes.
6. Jellyfish are eaten in East and Southeast Asian countries. There are over 25 edible types of jellyfish. Experts say it is high in protein and collagen. It contains omega-3 and omega-6 unsaturated fatty acids. It also has low calories and fat.
7. One type of jellyfish, the Turritopsis dohrnii, or so-called immortal jellyfish or the Benjamin Button jelly, has the ability to revert. It can settle on the seafloor, then go back to polyps (a phase when they are attached to coastal reefs) whenever there is impending harm or threat. Afterwhich, it eventually spawns into the same genetically identical jellyfish.
8. Wonder what jellyfish eats? They eat fish, shrimp, and plants. They use their tentacles to stung and eat them. 
9. 50%of jellyfish are bioluminescent. It's an ability to produce their own light.
10. Some jellyfish are clear, some have lively colors which are yellow, pink, blue, and purple.
11. To test microgravity's effects on a jellyfish, there were 2,478 jellyfish polyps launched to space by space shuttle Columbia in 1991. At the end of the mission, the jellyfish reproduced to 60,000 jellyfishes. As a result, the space jellies had an impaired sense of gravity and unable to adapt.
12. The world's largest jellyfish is called the lion's mane. Its tentacles can grow 27 meters long, longer than a blue whale. Their tentacles are slippery and cannot get tangled or sting themselves.
13. The smallest jellyfish is the Irukandji jellyfish and also one of the most venomous jellyfish in the world. A small adult measures at about one cubic centimeter. It can be found in the waters of Bundaberg in Queensland, around the northern coastline of Australia, and in Western Australia. It can also be found in Thailand, Bali, and more Southeast Asian countries. It can also be found in South Africa, the Caribbean, Hawaii, and United Kingdom.
14. Jellyfish has one orifice for eating and releasing wastes. It sounds unpleasant but that orifice has dual functions!
15. There is a jellyfish called Deepstaria that has thin-sheet bodies and has no tentacles.
16. Wonder who are the jelly predators? Sharks, tunas, sea turtles, and some salmons prey on jellyfish. 
17. They are a source of collagen that has been used in reconstructive surgeries and dressing wounds. 
18. A type of jellyfish, Aequorea Victoria releases a green fluorescent protein (GFP) that is used for medical research. It is used as a marker to study genes and their development in real-time.
19. The bell-shaped head of a jellyfish is called a Medusa. It was named after Medusa of Greek Mythology. 
20. A team of Japanese Scientists had discovered that jellyfish can regenerate body parts. That is one cool superpower!

There are a lot of species and facts that are not yet discovered about jellyfishes but they are surely wonderful and interesting creatures. In relation to this, MEMEENO has launched "Aurelia" which is our new jellyfish print for our Top Knot Hat and Belly Band. You can read more about our newest design in our blog, "The DL on Jellyfish: Our Newest Print."