Why do jellyfish sting?

Jellyfish

Jellyfish sting in order to get food.  A jellyfish is a simple, primitive sea animal with a jelly-like body.  It eats other small creatures of the sea.  The main part of the jellyfish’s body looks like an umbrella. 

Hanging down from the umbrella are string-like tentacles.  The tentacles are armed with stinging cells that contain a paralyzing poison.  

When a fish or other small sea animal brushes against the jellyfish, the jellyfish paralyzes the animal with its sting.  Then the tentacles pull the victim up to the jellyfish’s mouth, which is at the bottom of the umbrella.–Dick Rogers

Is the sea anemone a plant or an animal?

When it is time to feed, the sea anemone will open up like a flower.  The sea anemone (pronounced “un NEM oh nee”) is a strange sea animal whose many graceful tentacles (tiny arms) often look like the petals of a flower.

A cluster of sea anemones looks very much like an undersea garden of brightly colored, red, purple, green, and blue blossoms.  Although sea anemones may look like harmless flowers, their touch means death to small fishes and other small sea creatures.

When a small fish happens to swim too close to the sea anemone and touch the tentacles, tiny, needle-like poisoned threads shoot out of the tentacles and sting the fish.  Then the tentacles drag the helpless prey into the sea anemone’s mouth.

The foot of the sea anemone allows it to slide about slowly on rocks.  But usually, they anchor themselves by gripping rocks, shells, or burrow into the sandy floor of the ocean.  Then a sea anemone is disturbed, it pulls its tentacles inside the body.  It then looks like a round lump on the rock.-Dick Rogers

What are jellyfish?

Jellyfish are unusual sea animals that have jellylike bodies and stinging tentacles, with which they capture their food. The jellyfish is among the strangest of sea creatures.

It is not even a fish, but a very simple kind of sea animal that has no skeleton.  The main pair of the jellyfish’s body looks like an umbrella, and it is made up of two thin layers of tissue with jellylike materials between them.

Around the rim of the umbrella are usually a number of simple eyes, and in the center of the body underneath is the mouth.

Hanging down from the edge are string like tentacles, armed with batteries of stinging cells filled with paralyzing poison.

If a small bumps into the jellyfish’s tentacles, it gets stung and captured for food. If you touch these tentacles, you may get stung, too!

A jellyfish swims by folding and unfolding its body—much like closing an umbrella.  Mostly, it floats along with the current.  Some jellyfish are no larger than a pea.  Other may be two feet or more in diameter.-Dick Rogers

What Are Jellyfish?

Jellyfish

Jellyfish are unusual sea animals that have jellylike bodies and stinging tentacles, with which they capture their food.  The jellyfish is among the strangest of sea creatures.

It is not even a fish, but a very simple kind of sea animal that has no skeleton.  The main pair of the jellyfish’s body looks like an umbrella, and it is made up of two thin layers of tissue with jellylike materials between them.

Around the rim of the umbrella are usually a number of simple eyes, and in the center of the body underneath is the mouth.

Hanging down from the edge are string like tentacles, armed with batteries of stinging cells filled with paralyzing poison.  If a small bumps into the jellyfish’s tentacles, it gets stung and captured for food.  If you touch these tentacles, you may get stung, too!

A jellyfish swims by folding and unfolding its body—much like closing an umbrella.  Mostly, it floats along with the current.  Some jellyfish are no larger than a pea.  Other may be two feet or more in diameter.–Dick Rogers