12 Fascinating Facts About Jellyfish
These odd animals are ancient, adaptable, and in some cases, possibly immortal.
By Bryan Nelson
Updated April 14, 2021
Jellyfish are some of the Earth's most ancient animals that are still alive today. They're also
immensely diverse — most animals that are called jellyfish are part of the phylum Cnidaria,
which includes more than 10,000 species. Take a few moments to revel in these fun facts about
jellyfish. You might be surprised by what you don't know about these oddly charismatic
gelatinous creatures.
1. They Predate the Dinosaurs by Hundreds of Millions of Years
Jellyfish have no bones, so fossils are hard to come by. Nevertheless, scientists have evidence
these creatures have been bobbing along in the world's oceans for at least 500 million years. In
fact, it's likely the jellyfish lineage goes back even further, possibly 700 million years. That's
roughly three times the age of the first dinosaurs.
2. They Like How We're Changing the pH Levels of the Oceans
Unlike most marine creatures, jellyfish are thriving in our oceans — ecosystems disrupted by
marine heat waves, ocean acidification, overfishing, and various other human influences, as a
2019 report on our oceans from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change lays bare.
Human activity has made them feel even more at home. While corals, oysters, and any marine
organisms that build shells are considered the biggest losers of increasingly acidic oceans,
jellyfish aren't as susceptible. That doesn't mean they are immune, but they are certainly faring
better.
3. They Aren't Really Fish; They're Gelatinous Zooplankton
Despite their common name, jellyfish are not fish at all. One look at a jellyfish and this might
seem rather obvious, but they aren't actually fish. They are invertebrates from the phylum
Cnidaria, and are so varied as a taxonomic group that many scientists have taken to simply
referring to them as "gelatinous zooplankton."
4. They Are 98% Water, Without a Brain or a Heart
Jellyfish seem to blend in with their environment, undulating gently with the ocean's currents,
and with good reason: Their bodies are made up of as much as 98% water. When they wash
ashore, they can disappear after just a few hours as their bodies evaporate into the air. They
have a rudimentary nervous system, a loose network of nerves located in the epidermis called a
"nerve net," but no brain. They also don't have a heart; their gelatinous bodies are so thin they
can be oxygenated solely by diffusion.
5. But Some Have Eyes
Some box jellyfish species are among the most venomous creatures in the world. They also have
several sets of eyes. Despite their simple body design, some jellyfish have the ability to see. In
fact, for a few species their vision can be surprisingly complex. For instance, the box jellyfish has
24 "eyes," two of which are capable of seeing in color. It's also believed this animal's
complicated array of visual sensors makes it one of the few creatures in the world to have a full
360-degree view of its environment.
6. Some Might Be Immortal
At least one species of jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula, may be able to cheat death. When
threatened, this species is capable of undergoing "cellular transdifferentiation," a process
whereby the organism's cells essentially become new again. In other words, this jellyfish has a
built-in fountain of youth. It's theoretically immortal!
7. They Poop Where They Eat
It might not sound very appetizing, but jellyfish have no need for separate orifices for eating and
pooping. They have one orifice that does the job of both the mouth and the anus. Yuck! But
that's also beautiful in a minimalist sort of way.
8. A Group of Jellyfish Is Called …
A group of dolphins is called a pod, a group of fish is called a school, and a group of crows is
called a murder. But what is a group of jellyfish called? Many refer to groups of jellyfish as
blooms or swarms, but they can also be called a "smack."
9. They Are Among Earth's Deadliest Creatures
All jellyfish have nematocysts, or stinging structures, but the power of their stings can vary
widely depending on the species. The most venomous jellyfish in the world is probably the box
jellyfish, capable of killing an adult human with a single sting in just a few minutes. Each box
jellyfish reportedly carries enough venom to kill more than 60 humans. To make matters worse,
their stings are excruciatingly painful — it's said the pain could kill you before the venom does.
On the bright side, that knowledge has helped Australian researchers to develop a potential
antidote for box jellyfish stings.
10. They Range Widely in Size
Some jellyfish are so tiny they are practically invisible floating in the ocean's currents, and the
smallest are those in the genera Staurocladia and Eleutheria, which have bell disks from just 0.5
millimeters to a few millimeters in diameter. By contrast, the world's largest jellyfish are true
monsters. The lion's mane jellyfish, Cyanea capillata, might be the world's longest, with
tentacles that can extend as far as 120 feet (37 meters)! But the perhaps the world's largest
jellyfish by weight and diameter is the titanic Nomura's jellyfish, Nemopilema nomurai, which
can dwarf a human diver. These beasts can have a bell diameter of 6.5 feet (2 meters) across
and weigh as much as 440 pounds (200 kilograms).
11. Some Are Edible
You won't find them on many restaurant menus, but jellyfish are edible and are eaten as a
delicacy in some places, such as in Japan and Korea. In fact, in Japan jellyfish have been
transformed into candy. A sweet and salty caramel made out of sugar, starch syrup, and jellyfish
powder has been produced by students in an effort to make use of the jellyfish that often
plague the waters there.
12. They Have Been to Space
Though they look rather alien, jellyfish are indeed from planet Earth. Nevertheless, they have
been to space. NASA first started sending jellyfish to space aboard the Columbia space shuttle
back in the early 1990s to test how they might get along in a zero-gravity environment. Why?
Interestingly, both humans and jellyfish rely on specialized gravity-sensitive calcium crystals to
orient themselves. (These crystals are located inside the inner ear in the case of humans, and
along the bottom edge of the mushroom-like bodies of jellies.) So studying how jellyfish manage
in space can reveal clues about how humans might also fare.
