Monday, June 06, 2011

Today's Jellyfish News

. . . Or, not really news per se, but an interesting jellyfish article that was teased atop the NY Times website for a while today. My pet fascination with jellyfish is largely about their complex life cycle, but the story of their surprisingly developed nervous system makes for good light science reading, too. The best bit is at the very end, describing the mangrove-swamp-dwelling box jellyfish that's developed a complex eye that always looks up at the water's surface. Apparently they use visual cues to stay close to the mangrove roots that are their preferred habitat.

2 Comments:

Blogger Mike said...

This is a pretty cool video about jellyfish:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3HzFiQFFQYw

6/11/2011 12:40 AM  
Blogger Jack said...

Fun, thanks! I like the salps. Possibly they're extra-relatable as fellow chordates. And I believe my feelings about the siphonophores are a matter of public record.

"There's no such thing as a jellyfish" sounds like the kind of claim you'd want to get evaluated by a semiotician rather than a cnidariologist.

6/11/2011 9:33 AM  

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