The cnidarian phylum groups more than 10,000 species of aquatic animals, which, depending on the type, live in bodies of s alt or fresh water, although primarily in the former. Within these we find the peculiar jellyfish, who are of various kinds. One of them is Scyphozoa, which are commonly known as true jellyfish and are exclusively marine. Among these is the luminescent jellyfish (Pelagia noctiluca), which is very common in certain maritime areas and about which we present information in this file on our site. Cheer up and keep reading to know its most relevant data.
Characteristics of the luminescent jellyfish
Let's learn about the main characteristics of the luminescent jellyfish below:
- The luminescent jellyfish has radial symmetry, as is common in the group.
- Your body is made up of specialized tissues: although it has no organs.
- The nervous, digestive, and respiratory systems are primitive: but capable of performing basic functions to support the jellyfish.
- Tissues are divided into three: outer epidermis, inner dermis, and a layer known as the gelatinous mesoglea, which is similar to a kind of cartilage, but less compact.
- It has only one opening in the body: which corresponds to the oral space, for feeding and also for excretion.
- It has four lobes: they are known as oral arms and are associated with the body opening that we have mentioned.
- The umbrella is divided into eight lobes: the shape can be bell or hemispherical.
- Color varies: from purple, light brown, reddish brown to light yellow.
- The bell is bordered by a wavy shape: eight tentacles are located in it, quite elastic and thin in texture; these have a sharp function, through which it inoculates its toxins.
- The diameter of the bell varies: it can be between 3 and 12 cm.
- The sensitive tissues are located in the lobes: which are light and odor receptors, so the latter are a type of chemoreceptors.
- They have differentiated gonads: that is, male and female.
- The peculiar feature of this jellyfish and from which its name originates, is its luminescence capacity: which is activated when the animal is disturbed or found in waters with some movement. It can even secrete a jelly-like substance that is also luminescent. This occurs due to the presence of a protein in the animal that is capable of reacting in this way.
Luminescent jellyfish habitat
The luminescent jellyfish has a wide global distribution, being present in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. It is distributed mainly in open waters, but also in coastal ones, having a great capacity to adapt to almost any area of the marine environment, including temperate, warm or tropical waters. It is very common to find the luminescent jellyfish north of the Equator, the North Sea, Atlantic Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean and Australia.
You may be interested in taking a look at the following article on Where do jellyfish live? to learn more about them.
Customs of the Luminescent Jellyfish
One of the habits of the luminescent jellyfish is the formation of large groups of individuals, which can add up to thousands of jellyfish. To mobilize, they make rhythmic contractions of the lower part of the bell, which helps them propel themselves. The gelatinous mesoglea tissue also supports the buoyancy of these animals.
As is common in the cnidarian group, these jellyfish have a specialized organelle known as a nematocyst, which is capable of secreting a toxic substance, which they inoculate in their prey, but they also do it if they are disturbed. In the case of human beings, although it is not a deadly species of jellyfish, it does cause skin conditions, which can be somewhat painful. Normally this occurs in certain coastal areas at times when tourists frequent the beaches, because it is common for these animals to eventually be stranded in some areas.
How do jellyfish move? Don't miss this post on our site where we explain it to you.
Glowing Jellyfish Feeding
This jellyfish, like the rest, actively hunts its prey To do so, it uses its tentacles, on which are cells called cnidocytes. Each of these cells is equipped with nematocysts, which function as a kind of sharp harpoons, which enter the prey and once inside they inoculate the toxic substance, which ends up affecting the victim and is easily manageable.
These feeding and defense structures are so powerful that they can break through the shell of a crab, which they can then eat.
The digestion of this type of jellyfish is carried out intracellularly and extracellularly, in specialized tissues for feeding, which are found in an intestinal cavity. In this way, it can consume various types of animals, among which we can mention:
- Zooplankton
- Fishes
- Crustaceans
- Eggs
- Other jellyfish
To learn more about What do jellyfish eat? We leave you the following article that may interest you.
Reproduction of the luminescent jellyfish
The luminescent jellyfish has separate sexes For reproduction, both the male and the female release their gametes into the water, where the fertilization, which is why it is of external type The eggs and sperm are released through the animal's mouth from the gonads that are located towards the central area of the body.
Once fertilization occurs, a differentiated embryo known as a planula is formed, which has cilia that allow it to swim freely, moving through open water. Unlike other jellyfish, the luminescent does not have a polyp sessile phase, but instead originates from the planula, the form known as ephyrae, which corresponds to a young jellyfish, which after a process of development and growth, becomes an adult individual. In this way the reproductive cycle is completed, in which children do not have any type of parental care
Conservation status of the luminescent jellyfish
There are no evaluation reports on the conservation status of the luminescent jellyfish. However, it is very likely that, as with other species of jellyfish, it is not in danger. On the contrary, due to the massive decrease in natural predators and the changes in the marine system due to climate change, the population levels of the species are rather increasing. In the event that this were happening, it would not be appropriate either, since there must always be a population balance of each animal group.
