When you think of jellyfish, what kind of creatures come to mind?
I think it may be hidden under the surface of the water, full of water nearly translucent gel-shaped, mushroom umbrella-like body, swaying slender tentacles - widely distributed and easy to raise sea moon jellyfish, probably most people's typical impression of "jellyfish".
Aurelia aurita. Image: Luc Viatour
In fact, jellyfish, which appeared on Earth before dinosaurs, contained more species than you could imagine.
They may have beautiful colors and spots:
Luminous swim jellyfish Pelagia noctiluca. Image: Alberto Romeo
Or oversized and not afraid of being bullied:
Echizen jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai. Image:
Some of them are as lazy as you are, just wanting to be in the sun as seaweed:
Cassiopea andromeda, the fairy jellyfish, are often "upside down" with tentacles facing up and umbrella tops facing down. Image: Raimond Spekking
Some you can't even see that it's jellyfish:
Cestum veneris with ctenophores. Image: Joseph E. Trumpey
Of course, they sometimes give the impression of riding the wind and waves, such as the monk's hat jellyfish.
Portuguese man-of-war. Image: Needpix
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" > monk hat or battleship, what is its real body</h1>
Chinese Zoology writes that this jellyfish bulging blue floating sac is cell-shaped, with a sharp tip and a rounded posterior end, resembling a monk's hat, hence the name "monk hat jellyfish".
Could it be that it is like a hat like JiGong? Photo: TV series "Jigong"
In Japan next door, the monk's hat jellyfish was observed visiting in the spring and summer with the bonito, and it resembled the black top hat of the Heian kimono, so it was called "the black hat of the bonito" (カツオノエボシ). In Europe, the swarms of floating sacs with sails floating on the surface of the sea are hard not to think of the Portuguese ships that sailed the oceans during the Age of Discovery, so it is reasonable to call them "Portuguese man o' war".
Stranded "Portuguese warships". Image: 4Neus/flickr
Strictly speaking, a monk-hat jellyfish is not just "one" jellyfish, but a community of small individuals of different kinds.
On the surface of the water, the purple-blue floating sac filled with carbon monoxide, nitrogen and other gases, as well as the membrane-like structure of the top sail, are the most striking parts of the monk's hat jellyfish, and it is also different from most of the "submarine-style" jellyfish under the water. This structure is called the floating capsule (Pneumatophore), and it is this part of the monk's hat jellyfish that keeps itself floating on the surface of the water and navigating safely.
Below the surface of the water, the monk's cap jellyfish also has three types of hydra bodies – gastrozooid, gonodendron and tentacular palpon – which perform different tasks.
Schematic diagram of the parts of the monk's hat jellyfish. Image: Catriona Munro, et al. Scientific Reports (2019); Sinicization: A Species Calendar
This feature of the monk's hat jellyfish is like the "Hercules" in the transformers, and the floating capsule, nutrient body, reproductive body and tentacles are like different "digging tigers", with different forms and professional specializations, which jointly support the reproduction of the monk hat jellyfish. However, the difference is that the various "digging tigers" after separation still have a certain combat effectiveness, but the various parts of the monk's hat jellyfish cannot survive independently.
Ju is a ship, and if it is scattered, it will not survive. Image: Rruss/wikimedia
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" > the battleship super toxic</h1>
The slender tentacles of the monk's hat jellyfish swaying in the sea can grow up to 30 meters long. Each tentacle is covered with thousands of spiny cells, and when the small fish touches these deadly tentacles, the thorns that were originally coiled like springs in the thorn cells will instantly pop out, plunge into the small fish, and inject toxins into it to paralyze it. The small fish, which cannot move, are gradually pulled up and secreted by the gastrozooid responsible for feeding, which digests and absorbs it.
Such a sharp weapon makes the monk hat jellyfish an excellent hunting master. Studies have found that more than 90% of the food source of monk's cap jellyfish is small fish off the coast of the ocean; in contrast, some less toxic jellyfish feed on weak zooplankton.
Small spines on the tentacles and the spines that are fired. Image: Robert and Linda Mitchell
The long beaded chain-shaped tentacles have spines that can be wound and contracted to carry prey. Image: BLUE PLANET 2/BBC
Although they generally live in the outer oceans of tropical waters, there are still some monk-hat jellyfish that are affected by the monsoon and ride the Japanese warm current, appear in the South China Sea to the East China Sea, and even be pushed to the coast by the waves. If you are unlucky enough to touch its tentacles, you will instantly experience the pleasure and pain of Chi being electrocuted by Pikachu.
The toxin contained in the thorn cell of the monk hat jellyfish is a complex composition of polymer protein toxoids, which can cause severe pain such as high-pressure electric shock when it touches human skin, and can cause shock or even death in severe cases. In Japan, the monk hat jellyfish also has the nickname of "electric jellyfish".
If you are stung by a monk's hat jellyfish, even if you treat it in time and the injury is relatively minor, the redness and swelling of the skin will leave a brand-like scar after it disappears, which is difficult to eliminate. The monk's hat jellyfish that is washed up on the shore will still maintain the activity of the thorn cells on the tentacles for a long time, so do not directly touch the jellyfish on the beach with your hands because of your curiosity.
The part of the skin that the monk's cap jellyfish bead-like tentacles touch will leave a clear scar. Image: Thomas Quine/flickr; boxjellyfish.org
<h1 class="pgc-h-center-line" style="text-align: center" > heavenly way good reincarnation, one thing drops one thing</h1>
Although there is a highly poisonous body, the monk's hat jellyfish is still not invincible in the sea. Interestingly, in addition to its thick-skinned turtles, its natural enemies are the seemingly weak Atlantic sea god Glaucus atlanticus.
Atlantic poseidon sea slugs, as beautiful in appearance as the name. Image: Sylke Rohrlach/flickr
This small sea slug also lives in tropical to temperate waters, often floating on the surface of the sea and drifting with the waves. When it encounters a monk's jellyfish, a silver jellyfish (Porpita porpita) or a sail jellyfish (Velella velella), it will struggle to wave its wings to feast on it, and will migrate with this rare "sea canteen" for a long time.
Atlantic sea god sea slugs that suck on the tentacles of the monk's hat jellyfish. Image: enosui.com
Unlike other predators who simply digest jellyfish as a good meal, the Atlantic sea god sea slugs will swallow the thorn cells on the jellyfish tentacles completely during the feeding process and send them to the tip of their body protrusions for their own self-defense. This magical skill is known as the "cleptocnida". The mechanism of why the Atlantic Sea God Sea Slugs can eat a full meal while keeping themselves safe while also using deadly weapons for their own purposes still needs to be further studied to answer.
Here comes a little knowledge point: there are also some sea slugs (such as cysts), which can absorb the algal cell fluid while retaining the chloroplasts of algae intact in their own bodies for photosynthesis. This skill is called thief plastoid/kleptoplasty.
Entering the hot July, before going to the beach to cool off, you may wish to learn more about the creatures in the surrounding sea, especially in the period when jellyfish are prone to appear, go to the sea to avoid exposing large skin, or choose a safe beach with sharkproof waterproof mother nets to play. When you encounter jellyfish that rush to the beach, remember to keep your distance and never touch it directly with your hands. If you control your curiosity, you will basically not be hurt.
Although the monk's hat jellyfish is highly poisonous, in the end it is just a means of survival for predation and defense. As long as it is kept at a distance, it is still a charismatic creature that rides the wind and waves.
A "battleship" that rides the wind and waves. Image: dkaposi /inaturalist
This article is from the species calendar, welcome to forward
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