My favorite invertebrate?
Well...I like a lot of invertebrates, but I do think jellyfish are particularly cool. Today is Jellyfish Day, but alas, I've just got a plain jelly bow for my hair (Etsy shop is perfectprincess).
I did have jellyfish earrings, dangly vinyl ones that fluoresced under blacklight, but one of my cats destroyed them and I haven't replaced them.
Admittedly I got tired of discussing the phylum Cnidaria during invertebrate zoology, but in truth jellyfish are some of my favorite animals. I won't say they're my absolute favorite invertebrate since I love so many insects and am very fond of echinoderms and cephalopods, but I do think jellyfish are pretty dern cool. Like tornadoes and split rainbows, there's a lot of mystery surrounding them. Scientists aren't really sure how long these boneless, brainless creatures have been around. They have no brainstems or ganglions, just a ring of nerves that helps them to function, and yet they catch fish and breed and live like there's no tomorrow. Indeed, some scientists now think there's more to them than meets the eye. There's GOTTA be! If "survival of the fittest" is so true then these blobs of snot have gotta be doing something right! Anyway, jellyfish come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes, and...well, I just think they're cool. I don't want to tangle with one, especially one in the Cubozoa genus, but I respect and admire them greatly. Plain ol' moon jellies are my favorites, and crystal jellies look like fireworks under the right light (or no light; they glow).
I guess I should probably note that jellyfish stings are no joke, thus my desire not to tangle with Cubozoa. The most notable member of that genus is the Australian box jelly or sea wasp, and...well, they've killed people, plain and simple. Moon jellies are no picnic either, as my sister learned while swimming at Myrtle Beach one time. She never saw what got her, but she said she had all the symptoms of a jellyfish sting, and moon jellies are kinda like the sparrows of the jellyfish world so we both assume that's what stung her. But then again...I've not asked her if she had any marks on her body. Jellyfish stings can leave some gnarly marks, particularly if they're our friends in the Cubozoa genus, but I'm not sure if moon jellies always leave marks.
Now I need to go see if my net is ready. I'm going jellyfishing (LOL).
Happy Jellyfish Day,
RagingMoon1987
Admittedly I got tired of discussing the phylum Cnidaria during invertebrate zoology, but in truth jellyfish are some of my favorite animals. I won't say they're my absolute favorite invertebrate since I love so many insects and am very fond of echinoderms and cephalopods, but I do think jellyfish are pretty dern cool. Like tornadoes and split rainbows, there's a lot of mystery surrounding them. Scientists aren't really sure how long these boneless, brainless creatures have been around. They have no brainstems or ganglions, just a ring of nerves that helps them to function, and yet they catch fish and breed and live like there's no tomorrow. Indeed, some scientists now think there's more to them than meets the eye. There's GOTTA be! If "survival of the fittest" is so true then these blobs of snot have gotta be doing something right! Anyway, jellyfish come in all different colors, shapes, and sizes, and...well, I just think they're cool. I don't want to tangle with one, especially one in the Cubozoa genus, but I respect and admire them greatly. Plain ol' moon jellies are my favorites, and crystal jellies look like fireworks under the right light (or no light; they glow).
I guess I should probably note that jellyfish stings are no joke, thus my desire not to tangle with Cubozoa. The most notable member of that genus is the Australian box jelly or sea wasp, and...well, they've killed people, plain and simple. Moon jellies are no picnic either, as my sister learned while swimming at Myrtle Beach one time. She never saw what got her, but she said she had all the symptoms of a jellyfish sting, and moon jellies are kinda like the sparrows of the jellyfish world so we both assume that's what stung her. But then again...I've not asked her if she had any marks on her body. Jellyfish stings can leave some gnarly marks, particularly if they're our friends in the Cubozoa genus, but I'm not sure if moon jellies always leave marks.
Now I need to go see if my net is ready. I'm going jellyfishing (LOL).
Happy Jellyfish Day,
RagingMoon1987
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