Many friends who live by the sea may have had this experience, happily splashing in the shallows, only to suddenly feel something soft on their legs rubbing against them, followed by a fiery tingling sensation.
This was most likely stung by jellyfish, which has been playing such an obnoxious role in the ocean.
However, when they are brought to the table, their name is jellyfish, which is a delicious cold dish, and the jellyfish skin we eat is the umbrella structure of jellyfish, and the jellyfish head is their tentacles, which give people a stinging feeling.
There is a jellyfish that lives off the coast of Australia – known as the tank jellyfish – and they are sometimes considered the most poisonous creatures in the world, and if accidentally touched by their tentacles, an adult can die within 30 seconds.
However, turtles can eat jellyfish unscrupulously, and if you have seen videos of them eating jellyfish, it is really like eating noodles, because jellyfish are slow to move, so they are generally allowed to eat by turtles.
So the question is, why are turtles not afraid of toxins on jellyfish tentacles, and don't their mouths tingle?
First, let's take a look at how jellyfish can sting you.
How do jellyfish attack people?
Jellyfish have tentacles on a special type of cell called spiny cells, which contain a harpoon-like structure filled with venom called a spiny sac.
When touched, the sac is triggered and ejected, which penetrates the human skin at an extremely fast speed. After the skin is punctured, the venom enters the person's cells, causing pain, redness and blistering.
Jellyfish attack our toxins, like other toxic organisms, are a protein called pore proteins.
Photo note: Stung by jellyfish
This protein is found in the venom of all jellyfish and their close relatives, including corals and anemones, all of which together make up a biological phylum called echinostomy.
In addition, the complex mixture of these protein changes is responsible for the different toxicity of the spiny cells, some of which only make you feel slimy, and some of which are fatal.
The box jellyfish we mentioned earlier are extremely toxic because the pore proteins in their bodies react quickly and are mixed, perforating all types of cells, including blood, skin, and nerve cells.
Obviously, the special structure of the spiny animals exists to pierce the cells, and how do turtles, which are also composed of cells, resist their stinging cells?
The superiority of turtles
Many people may be surprised that turtles eat jellyfish, and many times we think of turtles as herbivores.
In fact, most turtles are omnivores, and young turtles are more omnivorous than adult sea turtles, and anything their mouths can touch will be eaten.
Therefore, it is also reasonable for turtles to eat jellyfish. Interestingly, however, when a turtle encounters a jellyfish, it often goes to the tentacles of the jellyfish rather than the body, so I said earlier that it is like eating noodles.
The stinging cells are on the tentacles of the jellyfish, and the turtles are not shy about it, which is enough to prove that they can easily eat jellyfish.
Turtles have much thicker skin than humans because they are reptiles and their scales provide the necessary protection when eating jellyfish.
The most vulnerable place in the entire external body of a turtle to be attacked by stinging cells is its eyes, but the simple solution is to close the eyes, so the turtles eat jellyfish with their eyes closed.
So, how do the more fragile mouths and esophagus resist jellyfish's prickly cells?
The answer is simple, their mouths and esophagus are not fragile at all!
Note: Turtle mouth
The image above shows the turtle's long mouth, which is filled with these prickly, raised structures called "papillae," an adaptive trait specifically designed for specific foods that help the turtle eat jellyfish.
This structure is also found in the mouths of camels, where the "mastoids" help them easily nibble off prickly cacti.
Note: The mouth of a camel
In fact, the "mastoid" is also a protein - called keratin, it is the same composition as our nails and hair, these proteins do not have a neural structure, so there is no pain, just like you cut your hair or nails will not hurt.
The turtle's "mastoid" stretches from the mouth to the stomach, which helps the turtle transfer food to the stomach, which is why they can easily eat the jellyfish, and once the jellyfish reaches the stomach, it loses any possibility of attack.
In fact, it is not only turtles that eat jellyfish in the ocean, but also many animals, such as sharks and tuna, which have a common feature, their mouths and insides are very hard.
At last
If a turtle encounters a jellyfish, it can really eat a full meal, because turtles are particularly capable of eating, and when food is plentiful in the summer, they eat about 73% of their body weight every day, and a small jellyfish may not be enough to eat.
But in the winter, when food is scarce, sea turtles have the nature of reptiles - they can not eat for a long time, and an adult turtle can survive for 6 months without food, which shows the tenacity of their vitality.
But even with their tenacious vitality and steely mouths, they can't resist the ocean's plastic bags, which are too much like jellyfish and are often eaten by turtles, which then cause them to die.
Turtles can control the population of jellyfish very well, so if you want to spend your holidays by the sea, please don't throw garbage into the sea!