π¦ Animal world π¬ Sea animals
The jellyfish
π In short
The jellyfish isn't a fish at all! It's a soft, see-through sea animal with a body shaped like an umbrella or a bell, with long tentacles hanging from it. Some are as small as a pea, and some are huge, more than two meters across.
π€© Did you know?
- The lion's mane jellyfish can be more than two meters across, with tentacles longer than a bus.
- Water makes up about 95% of a jellyfish's body.
- Sea turtles eat jellyfish.
- Jellyfish lived on Earth long before the dinosaurs.
π Find out more
π No bones, no brain
A jellyfish has no bones, no heart and no brain! Its body is mostly water. Yet it has lived in the seas for millions of years.
π How does it swim?
A jellyfish swims by opening and closing its umbrella, pushing water back so it moves forward. But mostly it lets the current carry it wherever it goes.
π‘ Stinging tentacles
A jellyfish's tentacles have tiny cells that sting and inject venom, which it uses to catch small fish. Some kinds have stings that hurt people, so never touch one, even if you find it on the beach.
π― Glowing jellyfish
Some jellyfish glow in the dark with beautiful blue and green lights, especially deep down in the dark sea.
πΈ More pictures
𧩠Test yourself
1 Is a jellyfish a fish?
2 Why shouldn't we touch a jellyfish?
3 Water makes up about ?? % of a jellyfish's body.
4 Which picture shows βThe jellyfishβ?
π¦ Discover more
π· Picture sources: Wikimedia Commons
- Dan90266 Β· CC BY-SA 2.0
- Brocken Inaglory Β· CC BY-SA 3.0
