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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RESEARCH: Scientists think penguins in Antarctic prefer ice-free conditions

Scientists have been studying penguins in the Antarctic Region.

Polar biologists have seen populations of penguins increase during years when there is not a lot of ice in the region. They have also seen breeding reductions during the years when there is a lot of sea ice. However, they did not know why ice-free conditions made populations increase. But after this recent study, the polar biologists think they know why.

Polar biologists at the Japanese National Institute of Polar Research put electronic global positioning system (GPS) tags on 175 Adelie Penguins (Pygoscelis adeliae) in the Antarctic Region. They also put video cameras in different locations to monitor what happens during the four seasons of the year when there are different sea ice conditions.

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Plankton Star Jellyfish

The Plankton Star Jellyfish (Oceania sp.) is a soft-bodied invertebrate marine (saltwater) plankton animal. An invertebrate is an animal with no bones. It is related to the Turritiopsis. 

The Plankton Star Jellyfish is translucent (see-through) with an umbrella-shaped circular dome and long tentacles (arms). It has no brain, no heart, no blood, no bones, no excretory system, and no gills or lungs. It has nerve receptors in its body that enables it to detect smell, light, pressure, and touch. 

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Blue-Green Chromis 

The Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis) is a small, tropical, marine (saltwater) ray-finned fish. It is a damselfish. It is also called the Blue Chromis or the Green Chromis.

The Blue-Green Chromis has pale-green to light-blue scales. Its dorsal fin (back fin) has an orange tint. It has a bright blue line from its eyes to the top of its mouth. It has bright blue lips. It has a forked tail.

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Two-Banded Clownfish

The Two-Banded Clownfish (Amphiprion bicinctus) is a marine (saltwater) tropical fish, related to the Damselfish. It is also called the Two-Banded Anemonefish, or the Red Sea Clownfish.

The Two-Banded Clownfish is yellow-orange or blackish-brown, with two white or coloured bands. The band near the head is wider than the band in the middle of its body. It has yellow fins and dark eyes.

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Green Mouth Moon Polyp

The Green Mouth Moon Polyp (Palythoa sp.) is also known as the Zoanthid Green Mouth Button Polyp. It is not a plant. It is a marine animal – a zoanthid – a Palythoa Coral.

The Green Mouth Moon Polyp can be cream, white, brown, or yellow, with a green centre, which is its mouth. It lives in a colony of many polyps (but it looks like just one single organism). Its polyps are flat circles with rimmed tentacles. The tentacles are short and shaped like a knob. They are connected to a mat, called the coenenchyma.

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Big Bellied Seahorse

The Big Bellied Seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis) is also called the Pot-Bellied Seahorse. It is found in the oceans of New Zealand and southeast Australia. It is one of the largest seahorses in the world. It is a teleostfish.

The Big Bellied Seahorse is beige-brown, mottled with yellow-brown and darker blotches. Its tail often has yellow bands. It has a protruding stomach. It has a forward tilt, a long nose, and a long, coiled tail. Males have a smooth, soft pouch-like area at the base of their abdomen, with a small fin. Females have a pointed stomach and a larger fin at the base of the abdomen.

Each eye moves separately, enabling them to see their predators from all directions.

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