Sea wasp is a poisonous jellyfish. Interesting facts about jellyfish Where does the eared jellyfish live?

Which tourist vacationing in Anapa has not encountered cute jelly-like creatures that roam the expanses of the Black Sea. Weightless jellyfish are permanent inhabitants of the local waters. Sometimes our underwater neighbors can be seen nearby or touched by their slippery body while swimming. Today we will talk about the most famous jellyfish of Anapa, which has a beautiful and romantic name called aurelia. Our beauty is often called an eared jellyfish; from our review, the attentive reader will understand why.

Appearance

Externally, Aurelia looks like a floating transparent umbrella. The base of the body consists of a dome, the dimensions of which can reach up to 40 centimeters. If you look at the jellyfish from above, four horseshoes decorating the body are clearly visible. This is where the gonads appear; depending on the sex of the aurelia, these horseshoes acquire different colors and sizes. Inside the fleshy umbrella there is a stomach, and on the lower part there is a rectangular mouth opening, next to which you can see oral lobes that look like small ears. Along the edges of its rounded body, nature has awarded the Aurelia jellyfish with small but very important tentacles. The tentacle threads are equipped with stinging cells that can immobilize the smallest living creatures that the jellyfish feeds on. It turns out that Aurelia has eyes and balance organs, which are located inside the dome.

Habits

Aurelia chooses a pelagic lifestyle, i.e. likes to drift closer to upper layers water element. Here, especially when the sea warms up, there is enough plankton and small larvae, which make up the main diet of the eared jellyfish. Ears or oral cavities are necessary to more conveniently rake immobilized microscopic food. Stinging cells help make plankton more docile. Also in the warm season, when there are already a lot of tourists on the beaches of Anapa, the aurleia begins to mating season. The female carries eggs inside the dome; after fertilization, small larvae drift in the water. After some time, if the larvae do not end up in the stomachs of other jellyfish, they sink to the bottom and turn into a polyp. And this polyp, by budding, produces young jelly-like animals.

Researchers of marine flora and fauna claim that Aurelia uses ultrasonic waves for more successful hunting. By spreading the wave, it is easy to spot a cluster of plankton and head there for a big feast. Sometimes you can find whole clusters of such jellyfish. Human sensations when meeting jellyfish, different people are tolerated differently. Usually aurelia leaves a small burn that gradually goes away. Painful sensations from a collision with an eared jellyfish are not as dangerous as the injury that can be left by a cornetrote jellyfish.

I was stung by a jellyfish, what should I do?

If your body has suffered from a jellyfish burn in Anapa, and you are afraid of the consequences, you need to do the following. First, be sure to rinse the burn area with sea or salt water; avoid fresh water, as it can activate the stinging cells that remain on the wound. Next, lubricate the injury site with antihistamine ointments.
When you first find yourself on the site, keep an eye on your children; it is very important that the jellyfish’s tentacles do not come into contact with the human mucous membrane. If your child complains of itching and burning of the eyes or mouth, it is advisable to go to a health center.

Medusa cannonball

The cannonball jellyfish lives along the east coast of the United States to Brazil. It got its name because unusual shape perfectly smooth and round, like a cannonball. In Asian countries, these jellyfish are widely used in folk medicine. It is believed that they can cure lung disease, arthritis, and lower blood pressure.

Olindias formosa

This rare view jellyfish are found off the coast of Brazil, Argentina, and Japan. Characteristic of these jellyfish is hovering at shallow depths. When the jellyfish is in this state, its tentacles are concentrated under the cap. Due to the small number this type does not pose a danger to people, but we should not forget that they can leave very severe burns.

Portuguese man of war

This amazing creature differs from all jellyfish in that it consists of many medusoid individuals. It has a gas bubble that floats on the surface of the water, which allows it to absorb air. The tentacles of the Portuguese man-of-war can reach 50 meters when extended.

Purple striped jellyfish

This type of jellyfish can be found in Monterrey Bay. They are not yet well studied. This jellyfish has quite big sizes and can cause serious burns to humans. Stripes and rich colors appear in jellyfish as they age. Along with warm currents, the jellyfish can also migrate to the shores of Southern California. This was especially noticeable in 2012, when 130 people received burns from jellyfish (black sea nettle and purple striped one).

Mediterranean or jellyfish fried egg

This amazing creature really resembles a fried egg, or poached egg. Jellyfish live in the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean Seas. Its important feature is that it can move independently without relying on waves.

Darth Vader or Narcomedusa

This type of jellyfish was discovered in the Arctic. This happened quite recently. In addition to such an interesting and at the same time terrifying appearance, the jellyfish has 4 tentacles and 12 stomach pouches. While swimming, the tentacles are pulled forward to better reach their prey.

Blue jellyfish

The blue jellyfish has very stinging tentacles. It has been discovered off the coast of Scotland, in the North Sea and in the Irish Sea. The average transverse diameter of this jellyfish is 15 centimeters. Color varies from dark blue to bright blue.

Porpit porpit

It's not really a jellyfish. This creature is more commonly known as the blue button. The porpet lives on the surface of the ocean and consists of two parts: a hard golden-brown float and hydroid colonies, which in appearance are very similar to the tentacles of a jellyfish. Porpita can easily be confused with a jellyfish.

Diplulmaris Antarctica

This magnificent creature lives in the deep waters of Antarctica and has four bright orange tentacles as well as white tentacles. The small white dots on the jellyfish are side-spreads. They live inside the jellyfish and sometimes even feed on it.

Black sea nettle

Black sea nettle - giant jellyfish with a bell 3 feet in diameter. An adult can reach 5 meters and have 24 tentacles. This type of jellyfish was discovered in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. they are carnivores. They prefer larvae, plankton, and other jellyfish as food.

The eared jellyfish often causes panic among people who swim, but this animal is completely harmless. Aurelia uses poison only when hunting plankton, which it feeds on.

   Chapter - Radiant
   Type - Coelenterates
   Class - Scyphoid
   Genus/Species - Aurelia aurita

   Basic data:
DIMENSIONS
Diameter: jellyfish - up to 40 cm, ether - about 0.5 cm.
Color: pinkish or slightly purple, four purple horseshoe-shaped genitals are visible.

REPRODUCTION
Fertilization: external.
Number of eggs: many thousands.

LIFESTYLE
Habits: the polyp is attached to rock or algae; adult jellyfish swim in groups in coastal waters.
Food: mostly plankton.

RELATED SPECIES
Aurelia is one of 200 species of jellyfish. The class Scyphoidae is divided into five series. Off the coast of the Baltic and North Seas There are seven species of jellyfish. Its close relative is the edible rhopilema.

   Aurelia lives in almost all temperate and tropical seas of both hemispheres. There is a lot of it in the Baltic and North Seas. The genital organs of Aurelia resemble horseshoes in their shape. Aurelia may be pinkish or slightly purple in color with dark semicircles in the middle part of the umbrella.

FOOD

   Young aurelia actively hunts even when it is still a small jellyfish with a diameter of about two centimeters. Adult aurelia does not have the need to actively hunt to find food.
   Jellyfish is constantly in motion, and its body is a trap for small sea ​​creatures, which adhere to the layer of mucus on the body of the jellyfish, especially to the downward, curled mouth lobes, which are shaped like donkey ears. Prey, paralyzed by the poison secreted by stinging cells, rises to the edge of the bell with the help of small eyelashes. Here it is carried away by the four oral lobes and goes into the mouth, and then through the pharynx enters the stomach, where digestion occurs. The digestion process in Aurelia occurs very slowly.
   The body of the eared jellyfish is transparent, so you can see how food moves through purple channels.

SELF-DEFENSE

   At first glance, Aurelia seems to be a completely harmless creature, but a jellyfish that hunts can paralyze its prey with the poison of stinging cells. The adult aurelia has several types of stinging cells. The largest of them protrude above the surface of the body. In case of irritation, the cage opens and the harpoon digs into the body of the victim, injecting poison that paralyzes the prey. Fibers of smaller stinging cells wrap around the prey and impede movement. Fibers of tiny cells turn into sticky secretions, which gives the polyps the opportunity to attach to the rock.

HABITAT

   Aurelia lives in the seas of the whole world, she sticks to the coast. Adults form large groups. Aurelia is a poor swimmer. Thanks to the contractions of the umbrella, it can only slowly rise to the surface, and, having become motionless, sink to the depths. The edge of the umbrella has 8 ropalae, on which there are ocelli and statocysts. Thanks to these sense organs, the jellyfish stays at a certain distance from the surface.

DEVELOPMENT CYCLE

   Adult eared jellyfish are heterosexual creatures. They have gonads in the form of 4 open rings located in the pockets of the stomach. When the eggs and sperm mature, the wall of the gonad ruptures and the reproductive products are expelled through the mouth.
   Aurelia is characterized by a peculiar care for the offspring. In the oral lobes it has a deep longitudinal groove, on both sides of which there are many holes leading into special pockets. The oral lobes of a swimming jellyfish are lowered in such a way that the eggs come out of the mouth opening and fall into the gutter and are retained in the pockets. This is where their fertilization and development take place. A fully formed planula emerges from the fertilized egg.
   Planulae flow out through the mouth opening. Then they settle to the bottom and attach to solid objects. After 2-3 days, the planula turns into a polyp with 4 tentacles. Soon the number of tentacles increases, after which the polyp divides and turns into esters.

WATCHING AURELIA

   Aurelia lives in almost all temperate and tropical seas of both hemispheres and even enters the Arctic regions. It is found quite abundantly in the coastal waters of the Baltic and North Seas, especially in areas where the water temperature varies from 9 to 19 C. Floating aurelia can be seen from the pier, which extends far into the sea, or in lakes of salt water, where they remain after the outflow . Then you can see a lot of eared jellyfish, partially covered with sand - they were thrown out by the waves. Aurelia is safe for humans because the “harpoons” of stinging cells are not able to penetrate its skin. Other jellyfish, including the common cyanea, can burn human skin.
  

DID YOU KNOW THAT...

• The body of a jellyfish contains 96% water. The skeletal-forming substance is mainly water. Special rhopalia channels help the jellyfish maintain its dome shape.
• The eared jellyfish easily adapts to different temperatures water, it can survive in very hot or very cold water. The most low temperature, at which its presence was recorded is minus 0.4 C, and the highest is plus 31 C.
• In Japan and China, there is great demand for the “crystal meat” of eared jellyfish, or Aurelia.
• Aurelia is a jellyfish that is found in both salty water and estuaries big rivers. Jellyfish that live in these conditions never reach the same size as their counterparts living in the sea.

  

DEVELOPMENT CYCLE OF THE EARED JELLYFISH

   1. Planula (free-swimming larva): the first stage of development after the fertilized egg phase. There are small eyelashes on the surface of the body that enable it to swim away from the mouth of the jellyfish.
   2. Scyphistoma: develops from the planula. It has movable tentacles that grab prey. Scyphistoma leads settled life, attached to rocks or algae.
   3. Ether: a disc that separated from the polyp (scyphistoma) and formed during the process of strobilation; looks like a small jellyfish with the jagged edges of an umbrella. Turning side down, the ethers float away. They feed, grow and turn into jellyfish.
- Range of the eared jellyfish
PLACES OF ACCOMMODATION
The eared jellyfish, or aurelia, is found along the coasts of almost all seas of the world, except for the polar regions. There are especially many jellyfish along rocky coasts.
SECURITY
Eared jellyfish are common in large groups. In some habitats, the existence of these animals is threatened by sea pollution.

Jellyfish is an invertebrate marine animal with a transparent gelatinous body, along the edges, equipped with tentacles. She is a lower multicellular creature, belongs to the type of coelenterates. Among them there are free-swimming (jellyfish), sessile (polyps), and attached forms (hydra).

The body of coelenterates is formed by two layers of cells - ectoderm and endoderm, between them there is mesoglea (non-cellular layer), the body also has radial symmetry. Animals of this type have the appearance of an open sac at one end. The hole serves as a mouth, which is surrounded by a corolla of tentacles. The mouth leads into the blindly closed digestive cavity (gastric cavity). Digestion of food occurs both inside this cavity and by individual cells of the endoderm - intracellularly. Undigested food remains are excreted through the mouth.

Jellyfish belong to the scyphoid class. The class of scyphoid jellyfish is found in all seas. There are species of jellyfish that have adapted to live in large rivers flowing into the sea. The body of scyphojellyfish has the shape of a rounded umbrella or bell, on the lower concave side of which an oral stalk is placed. The mouth leads into the pharynx, which opens into the stomach. Radial canals diverge from the stomach to the ends of the body, forming the gastric system.

Due to the free lifestyle of jellyfish, their structure becomes more complex. nervous systems s and sensory organs: clusters of nerve cells appear in the form of nodules - ganglia, balance organs - statocysts, light-sensitive eyes. Scyphojellyfish have stinging cells located on the tentacles around the mouth. Their burns are very sensitive even for humans.

Reproduction of jellyfish

Jellyfish are dioecious; male and female reproductive cells are formed in the endoderm. The fusion of germ cells in some forms occurs in the stomach, in others in water. Jellyfish combine their own and hydroid characteristics in their developmental features.

Among the jellyfish there are giants - Physaria or Portuguese man of war(from three or more meters in diameter, tentacle up to 30 m), such creatures can even eat a person. IN Lately they were seen around Sea of ​​Japan, and the Japanese and Chinese, who even try to cook from them, added them to various salads, thereby poisoning quite a few people.

The jellyfish looks flabby, but it feels dense to the touch. Although it has neither an internal nor an external skeleton, it retains a certain shape. This is ensured in part by the fact that the gelatinous mass is permeated with strong connective tissue fibers. In addition, the jellyfish pumps water into itself - in the same way, an inflatable raft acquires rigidity when it is inflated with air. This method of maintaining body shape, called a hydrostatic skeleton, is also characteristic of sea anemones and worms.

Jellyfish feeding

A predatory jellyfish captures food with its tentacles and digests it in the body cavity with the help of enzymes in the digestive cells.

Movement of jellyfish:

The movement of jellyfish is carried out by “stepping” and “tumbling”.

Irritability

Irritability is produced by nerve cells scattered throughout the body.

Meaning: Eaten

Some jellyfish are deadly and poisonous to humans. For example, when bitten by a cornet, significant burns can occur. When bitten by a cross, the activity of all systems of the human body is disrupted. The first encounter with a cross is not dangerous, the second is fraught with consequences due to the development of anophiloxia. A tropical jellyfish sting leads to fatal outcome, and the bite of an ordinary jellyfish goes away in 3 days and does not carry any consequences.

Interesting Facts about jellyfish

Jellyfish help fight stress! In Japan, jellyfish are bred in aquariums. The smooth, leisurely movements of jellyfish calm people, although keeping jellyfish is very troublesome and expensive.

The first robotic jellyfish appeared in Japan. Unlike real jellyfish, they not only swim smoothly and beautifully, but if the owner wishes, they can “dance” to music.

A certain type of jellyfish is caught off the coast of China and eaten! Their tentacles are removed, and the “carcasses” are kept in a special marinade, which turns the jellyfish into a translucent cake of delicate thin cartilage. In the form of such cakes, jellyfish are brought to Japan, where they are carefully selected for size, color and quality. For one of the salads, the jellyfish cake is cut into thin strips about 3-4 mm wide, mixed with stewed vegetables and herbs and poured with sauce.

Jellyfish go through quite a long development path. Fertilized eggs develop into larvae that float freely in the water. These larvae then attach to the seabed and grow into polyps. As a result of division, small jellyfish can bud from the polyp. They grow to adult size and reproduce. This process is called "alternation of generations." Almost all jellyfish live in seawater. However, there are also several freshwater species. In Europe, this is a freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta with a diameter of only 2 cm, living in ponds and shallow lakes. Now it has become a rarity.

Jellyfish can be round like a ball, flat like a plate, elongated like a transparent airship, very small, like a sea wasp, and huge, like the giant of the Arctic waters, the fiery red lion's mane, whose domed body grows up to two and a half meters in height. diameter, and bundles of wriggling thread-like tentacles, reaching 30 m in length, can cover a five-story building.

Much more modest in size, the pelagia jellyfish, or nocturnal jellyfish, amazes experienced sailors with its bright light in the middle of the night in the waters of the Mediterranean Sea.

Not everyone knows that the beauty of most types of jellyfish can be very deceptive. After all, to a greater or lesser extent, all jellyfish are poisonous. The only difference is that some species are practically not dangerous to humans, others sting like nettles, and a painful burning sensation can be felt for several days, and others cause paralysis that can lead to death.

There are also jellyfish that are completely harmless to humans. This is the well-known glassy-white “eared” jellyfish - Aurelia. It lives in all tropical and temperate warm seas, including here - in Cherny. These are animals summer time. Autumn storms bring death to them, so they have adapted, so to speak, to “put off” their offspring for the winter. On the eve of cold weather, small, slightly more than a centimeter, lumps of living tissue, carriers of the Aurelia genetic code, settle to the bottom of the sea. They are not afraid of storms or cold snaps, and with the arrival of spring, tiny discs separate from them, which grow into adults in one summer.

By the way, if you rub the body of Aurelia into human skin, it becomes immune to “stinging” jellyfish, such as, for example, the same Black Sea rosistoma, otherwise known as corneros.

The most dangerous of all existing jellyfish - sea ​​wasps. They are found in the warm waters of the Indian and Pacific oceans. It's hard to believe that this little blob of living mucus is actually a real killer. And meeting him is almost more dangerous than meeting a shark. The venom of the sea wasp is so strong that if it enters the bloodstream, it can stop a person’s heart in a few minutes. In search of food, such as bottom-dwelling shrimp, these deadly creatures sometimes come very close to the shore. And as a result, in the coastal waters of Australia, the poison of these little killers last years More than fifty people died.

The largest existing jellyfish is the giant arctic jellyfish, whose umbrella reaches 2.2 m in diameter; its tentacles are 35 m long. As we see, jellyfish can be gigantic! This giantess, as well as many other jellyfish, paralyze their prey with stinging cells. This poison can be very painful and even dangerous for humans. So some caution will not hurt if you come across a jellyfish with long threads in the sea. On the other hand, you don’t need to think that touching every jellyfish can cause a burn.

Speaking about jellyfish, one cannot help but recall their closest relatives - siphonophores, or, as they are also called, Portuguese man-of-war. The elongated bodies of these animals, similar to air bubbles, sway above the water and in appearance really resemble caravels under sail. Thanks to the obliquely placed comb on its float, the siphonophore goes “in full sail”, always remaining under acute angle to the wind. And behind it, like a trail, stretch very long (up to 15 meters) and very poisonous tentacles.

The main difference between the Portuguese man-of-war and a jellyfish is that it is not one creature, but a whole community of completely different individuals, each of which has its own task - some control the movement, others catch prey, others paralyze it, and others digest and divide nutrients with all members of the colony.

During the voyage, the Portuguese warship is accompanied by its own “retinue”. These are small nomei fish that hide from predators under the reliable protection of long tentacles. The poison of the stinging cells of the boats does not affect the nimble escorts.

Jellyfish can be dangerous not only for people, but also for ships. Ship engines are cooled by sea water, which enters through a special hole in the bottom. And if jellyfish get into this hole, they tightly shut off the water supply. The engine overheats and fails until divers clear the live plug.

The hairy cyanea jellyfish, caught in the northwestern part of the Atlantic in 1865, is listed in the Guinness Book of Records. Its cap was 2.28 meters in diameter, and its tentacles extended 36.5 meters. That is, if you stretch the tentacles in different directions, the length of such a jellyfish will be 75 meters. This is the longest animal on Earth!



One of the most mysterious inhabitants of the deep sea, arousing interest and a certain fear, jellyfish can rightly be called. Who are they, where did they come from, what varieties are there in the world, what is their life cycle, are they as dangerous as popular rumor says - I want to know about all this for sure.

Jellyfish appeared more than 650 million years ago, making them one of the oldest organisms on Earth.

About 95% of the jellyfish's body is water, which is also their habitat. Most jellyfish live in salt water, although there are species that prefer fresh water. Jellyfish - phase life cycle representatives of the genus Medusozoa, "sea jelly" alternates with a nonmotile asexual phase of nonmotile polyps, from which they are formed by budding after maturation.

The name was introduced in the 18th century by Carl Linnaeus, who saw in these strange organisms a certain resemblance to the mythical Gorgon Medusa, due to the presence of tentacles that flutter like hair. With their help, the jellyfish catches small organisms that serve as food for it. The tentacles may look like long or short, pointed threads, but they are all equipped with stinging cells that stun prey and make hunting easier.

Life cycle of scyphoids: 1-11 - asexual generation (polyp); 11-14 - sexual generation (jellyfish).

Glowing jellyfish

The one who saw it glow dark night sea ​​water, he is unlikely to be able to forget this spectacle: myriads of lights illuminate deep sea, shimmer like diamonds. The reason for this amazing phenomenon The smallest planktonic organisms, including jellyfish, serve. The phosphoric jellyfish is considered one of the most beautiful. It is not found very often, living in the benthic zone near the coasts of Japan, Brazil, and Argentina.

The diameter of the luminous jellyfish umbrella can reach 15 centimeters. Living in the dark depths, jellyfish are forced to adapt to conditions, provide themselves with food, so as not to disappear altogether as a species. An interesting fact is that the bodies of jellyfish do not have muscle fibers and cannot resist water flows.

Since the slow jellyfish, swimming at the will of the current, cannot keep up with mobile crustaceans, small fish or other planktonic inhabitants, they have to use a trick and force them to swim up to the predatory mouth opening. And the best bait in the darkness of the bottom space is light.

The body of a luminous jellyfish contains a pigment - luciferin, which is oxidized under the influence of a special enzyme - luciferase. The bright light attracts victims like moths to a candle flame.

Some types glowing jellyfish, such as Rathkea, Equorea, Pelagia, live at the surface of the water, and, gathering in large quantities, they literally make the sea burn. The amazing ability to emit light has interested scientists. Phosphors have been successfully isolated from the genome of jellyfish and introduced into the genomes of other animals. The results turned out to be quite unusual: for example, mice whose genotype was changed in this way began to grow green hairs.

Poisonous jellyfish - Sea Wasp

Today, more than three thousand jellyfish are known, and many of them are far from harmless to humans. All types of jellyfish have stinging cells “charged” with poison. They help to paralyze the victim and deal with him without any problems. Without exaggeration, for divers, swimmers, and fishermen, a jellyfish called the Sea Wasp is represented. The main habitat of such jellyfish is warm tropical waters, there are especially many of them off the coast of Australia and Oceania.

Transparent bodies of pale blue color are invisible in warm water quiet sandy bays. Small size, namely, up to forty centimeters in diameter, also does not attract special attention. Meanwhile, the poison of one individual is enough to send about fifty people to heaven. Unlike their phosphorescent counterparts, sea wasps can change direction of movement, easily finding careless swimmers. The poison that enters the victim’s body causes paralysis of smooth muscles, including the respiratory tract. Being in shallow water, a person has a small chance of being saved, but even if health care was provided in a timely manner and the person did not die from suffocation; deep ulcers form at the sites of the “bites”, causing severe pain and not healing for many days.

Dangerous little ones - Irukandji jellyfish

Tiny Irukandji jellyfish, described by Australian Jack Barnes in 1964, have a similar effect on the human body, with the only difference being that the degree of damage is not so deep. He, as a true scientist who stands up for science, experienced the effect of poison not only on himself, but also on his own son. Symptoms of poisoning - severe headache and muscle pain, convulsions, nausea, drowsiness, loss of consciousness - are not fatal in themselves, but the main risk is a sharp increase in blood pressure from a man who personally met Irukandji. If the victim has problems with the cardiovascular system, then the likelihood fatal outcome quite big. The size of this baby is about 4 centimeters in diameter, but its thin spindle-shaped tentacles reach 30-35 centimeters in length.

Bright beauty - Physalia jellyfish

Another very dangerous inhabitant of tropical waters for humans is Physalia - the Sea Boat. Her umbrella is painted in bright colors: blue, violet, purple and floats on the surface of the water, so it is visible from afar. Entire colonies of attractive sea “flowers” ​​attract gullible tourists, beckoning them to pick them up as quickly as possible. This is where it lurks main danger: hidden under the water are long, up to several meters, tentacles equipped with a huge number of stinging cells. The poison acts very quickly, causing severe burns, paralysis and disruption of the cardiovascular, respiratory and central nervous systems. If the meeting took place at great depth or simply far from the shore, then its outcome could be the saddest.

Giant Jellyfish Nomura - Lion's Mane

The real giant is Nomura Bell, who is also called Lion's Mane for some resemblance to the king of beasts. The diameter of the dome can reach two meters, and the weight of such a “baby” reaches two hundred kilos. Lives on Far East, in the coastal waters of Japan, off the coast of Korea and China.

A huge hairy ball, falling into fishing nets, damages them, causing damage to fishermen and striking them themselves when they try to free themselves. Even if their venom is not fatal to humans, meetings with the “Lion’s Mane” rarely take place in a friendly atmosphere.

Hairy Cyanea - the largest jellyfish in the ocean

Cyanea is considered one of the largest jellyfish. Living in cold waters, it reaches largest sizes. The most gigantic specimen was discovered and described by scientists at the end of the 19th century in North America: its dome was 230 centimeters in diameter, and the length of the tentacles turned out to be 36.5 meters. There are a lot of tentacles, they are collected in eight groups, each of which has from 60 to 150 pieces. It is characteristic that the dome of the jellyfish is divided into eight segments, representing a kind of octagonal star. Fortunately, they do not live in the Azov and Black Seas, so you don’t have to worry about them when going to the sea to relax.

Depending on the size, the color also changes: large specimens are painted bright purple or purple, smaller ones - in orange, pink or beige. Cyaneas live in surface waters, rarely descending into the depths. The poison is not dangerous to humans, causing only an unpleasant burning sensation and blisters on the skin.

Using jellyfish in cooking

The number of jellyfish living in the seas and oceans Globe truly enormous, and not a single species is in danger of extinction. Their use is limited by mining capabilities, but people have long been using beneficial features jellyfish for medicinal purposes and enjoy their taste in cooking. In Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, Malaysia and other countries, jellyfish have long been eaten, calling them “crystal meat”. Its benefits are due to the high content of protein, albumin, vitamins and amino acids, and microelements. And when properly prepared, it has a very refined taste.

Jellyfish “meat” is added to salads and desserts, sushi and rolls, soups and main courses. In a world where population growth is steadily threatening the onset of famine, especially in underdeveloped countries, protein from jellyfish can be a good help in solving this issue.

Jellyfish in medicine

The use of jellyfish for the manufacture of medicines is typical, to a greater extent, in those countries where their use as food has long ceased to be a subject of surprise. For the most part, these are countries located in coastal areas where jellyfish are directly harvested.

In medicine, preparations containing processed jellyfish bodies are used to treat infertility, obesity, baldness and gray hair. The poison extracted from stinging cells helps to cope with diseases of the ENT organs and normalize blood pressure.

Modern scientists are struggling to find medicine, capable of defeating cancerous tumors, without excluding the possibility that jellyfish will also help in this difficult fight.