Box Jellyfish

The Box Jellyfish (Chirodropus sp.) is a marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoan in the Chirodropidae family of venomous box jellyfish. It belongs to the Cubozoa class. It is a cnidarian. It is also known as the Sea Wasp.

The medusa form of the Box Jellyfish has a cube-shaped, or box-shaped, bell. From each of the four lower corners hangs short stalks called pedalium which have about 15 slender, hollow tentacles. The rim of the bell is folded inwards to form a shelf known as a velarium. The velarium creates jet propulsion, which makes it move through the water. 

In the centre of the box is a manubrium, which looks like an elephant’s trunk. This is where its mouth is located. Other jellyfish have ocelli, which are light sensing organs, instead of eyes. However, the Box Jellyfish has about 20 ocelli in addition to true eyes, set in a cluster, with retinas, corneas, and lenses. The eyes are located in pockets halfway up the outer, flat surface of the bell.

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Upside-Down Jellyfish

The Upside-Down Jellyfish (Cassiopea ornata) is a marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoan in the Cassiopeidae family of upside-down jellyfish. It is a cnidarian. It is also known as the Sunbathing Jellyfish. 

It is a photosynthetic jellyfish. It is the only jellyfish that rests with its bell or umbrella on the ocean floor and its tentacles pointing upwards. It does this to receive light so that the symbiotic algae living on it can produce carbohydrates for the jellyfish to use as food for energy. 

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White-Spotted Jellyfish

The White-Spotted Jellyfish (Phyllorhiza punctata) is a marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoan in the Mastigiidae family of jellyfish. It is a cnidarian. It is also known as the Floating Bell, the Australian Spotted Jellyfish, or the Brown Jellyfish.

The White-Spotted Jellyfish has a deep-brown colour due to the algae living on the tissue. It has a bell-shaped dome with little spots. It does not have stinging tentacles. It does not have eyes. Instead, it has light-sensing organs called ocelli. It is composed of 95% of water, which enables it to float.

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Spotted Jellyfish

The Spotted Jellyfish (Mastigias papua) is a small marine (saltwater) planktonic scyphozoanin the Mastigidae family and the phylum Cnidaria of jellyfish. It is also known as the Lagoon Jellyfish, the Golden Medusa, or the Papuan Jellyfish.

The Spotted Jellyfish has a bell-shaped dome with little spots. It does not have stinging tentacles. It does not have eyes. Instead, it has light sensing organs called ocelli. It is composed of 95% of water, which enables it to float.

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Moon Jellyfish

The Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) is also called the Saucer Jelly. It is a marine (saltwater) simple invertebrate (animal with no bones – is is soft-bodied). It has nerve receptors in its body.

The Moon Jellyfish is translucent (see-through) with an umbrella-shaped bell and long tentacles. It has four horseshoe-shaped gonads (reproductive organs) in the top of its bell.

The bell pulsates, which enables it to move through the water. It also conserves energy by drifting with the ocean currents and tides.

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