Jellyfish existed before dinosaurs. How have they lasted for this long?
Dinosaurs did not exist when jellyfish did. What allowed them to endure for so long?
Some jellyfish can easily surpass the length of a blue whale. Some of them are not much bigger than a grain of sand. One species produces one of the most lethal venoms on the planet, while another is hiding a secret that has led to some of biology's most significant advancements. At least half a billion years have passed since they first lived there, and they are still thriving now. David Gruber researched this topic, which brings me discuss to this piece about the mysterious abilities of jellyfish.
Some are longer than a blue whale. Others are barely larger than a grain of sand. One species unleashes one of the most deadly venoms on Earth. Another holds a secret that's behind some of the greatest breakthroughs in biology. They've inhabited the ocean for at least half a billion years, and they're still flourishing as the sea changes around them.
Jellyfish are soft-bodied sea creatures that aren't really fish. They're part of a diverse team of gelatinous zooplankton, which are animals that drift in the ocean. There are more than 1,000 species of jellyfish, and many others are often mistaken for them. A noted feature of jellyfish is a translucent bell made of a soft, delicate material called mesoglea. Sandwiched between two layers of skin, the mesoglea is more than 95% water held together by protein fibers.
The jellyfish can contract and relax their bells to propel themselves. They don't have a brain or a spinal cord, but a neural net around the bell's inner margin forms a rudimentary nervous system that can sense the ocean's currents and the touch of other animals. Jellyfish don't have typical digestive systems, either. These gelatinous carnivores consume plankton and other small sea creatures through a hole in the underside of their bells. An inner layer of cells takes up the nutrients, and they excrete waste back through their mouths.
Yet the jellyfish's relatively simple anatomy doesn't prevent it from having some remarkable abilities. One kind of box jellyfish has 24 eyes. Scientists think it can see color and form images within its simple nervous system. Four of its eyes are curved upward on stalks. This allows the jellyfish to peer through the surface of the water, looking for the canopy of the mangrove trees where it feeds. In fact, this may be one of the only creatures with a 360-degree view of its environment.
The jellyfish's sting, which helps it capture prey and defend itself, is its most infamous calling card. In the jelly's epidermis, cells called nematocysts lie coiled like poisonous harpoons. They shoot with an explosive force when contact triggers them. It exerts over 550 times the pressure of Mike Tyson's strongest punch to inject venom into the victim. Some jellyfish stings barely tingle, but others cause severe skin damage. The venom of one box jellyfish can kill a human in under five minutes, making it one of the most potent poisons of any animal in the world.
Other jellyfish superpowers are less lethal. One species of jellyfish glows green when it's agitated, mostly thanks to a biofluorescent compound called green fluorescent protein, or GFP. Scientists isolated the gene for GFP and figured out how to insert it into the DNA of other cells. There, it acts like a biochemical beacon, marking genetic modifications or revealing the path of critical molecules. Scientists have used the glow of GFP to watch cancer cells proliferate, track the development of Alzheimer's, and illuminate countless other biological processes. Developing the tools and techniques from GFP has netted three scientists a Nobel Prize in 2008, and another three in 2014.
But it's jellyfish that may be the most successful organisms on Earth. Ancient fossils prove that jellyfish have inhabited the seas for at least 500 million years, and maybe go back over 700 million. That's longer than any other multi organ animal. And as other marine animals struggle to survive in warmer and more acidic oceans, the jellyfish are thriving, and perhaps getting even more numerous. It doesn't hurt that some can lay as many as 45,000 eggs in a single night. And there's a jellyfish whose survival strategy almost sounds like science fiction.
When the immortal jellyfish is sick, aging, or under stress, its struggling cells can change their identity. The tiny bell and tentacles deteriorate and turn into an immature polyp that spawns brand new clones of the parent. As far as we know, these are the only animals who found a loophole when facing mortality. That's pretty sophisticated for species that are 95% water and predate the dinosaurs.
About the Creator
Althea March
I am a writer who searches for facts to create compelling nonfictional accounts about our everyday lives as human beings, and I am an avid writer involved in creating short fictional stories that help to stir the imagination for anyone.
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