Types of Jellyfish

Jellyfish are mushy and spongy type of creatures, and one wrong step can lead to a painful and sometime even fatal mistake. Jellyfish are basically harmless creatures and their stinging mechanism is solely for defense. There are over hundreds and probably thousands of different types of jellyfish. They inhabit the many water bodies around the world and few are common jellyfish types and a few are rare species. You may find these beautiful creatures floating in the frigid waters or lazing around in the warm tropical waters, too.

What are Jellyfish Made Up Of?

So what are the different types of jellyfish made up of? Jellyfish are made of about 97% water in their body. They do not have a brain, digestive system, respiratory system or even a circulatory system. They can't even see you if you swim next to it. Yet, it is a living creature that has the ability to eat and smell.

They do not have a respiratory system as their skin is too thin and allows the body to take in oxygen by diffusion. It has a gastrodermal lining of the gastrovascular cavity, where the nutrients get absorbed, so no need for a digestive system. The umbrella like shape of their body contains a gelatinous material that is called mesoglea. This mesoglea has two layers of epithelial cells. These epithelial cells make up the bell or body, that is, the top surface or the umbrella like shape and bottom surface, that is, subumbrella.

These jellies have no brain as mentioned above. Instead they have a wide network of nerves called the nerve net. This nerve net helps them detect the stimuli by external touch. Some jellyfish also have a light sensitive organ that is called the ocelli. This oscelli helps them determine the sunlight and respond to sunlight.

What are the Different Jellyfish Species?

You will find jellyfish in all the oceans around the world inhabiting all the ocean water layers. You will find the different jellyfish swimming near the surface of the water and to the dark depths of ocean floor. There are over 350 known species of jellyfish and there are probably over 1500 species of jellyfish. You will find a few jellyfish in the warm, temperate waters of tropical oceans. And a few in the icy cold waters of North Pacific Ocean.

If this is not enough, you will find different jellyfish based on their size. There are few species of jellyfish that are over hundreds of feet in diameter and have huge tentacles. On the other hand there are a few jellyfish that are no more than a human thumbnail in size. Few jellyfish can cause a painful sting that may lead to hospitalization and few venomous jellyfish are capable of killing a person in less than 3 minutes. The jellyfish has a nematocyst inside a cell that is activated by a sensory hair. If anything gets too close to the hair or tickles and moves the hair, the lid pops out. This causes the nematocyst to fly out like a bullet and deliver a sting in mere seconds.

There are a few species of jellyfish that are totally harmless and non-poisonous. Few jellyfish also offer protection to tiny sea creatures under their tentacles. Jellyfish comes in range of colors like blue, purple, orange and brown. You will find some species glow in the dark. The following is a small list of different species of jellyfish.

Different Species of Jellyfish

• Aurelia Auritax, Moon Jellyfish, Aurelia Jellyfish
• Ball Jellyfish, Cannonball Jellyfish
• Blue Blubber
• Box Jellyfish
• Cassiopeia Jellyfish
• Chironex Fleckeri
• Comb Jellyfish
• Irukandji Jellyfish, Iracongi / Irukandji Jellyfish
• King Jellyfish
• Lagoon Jellyfish
• Lion's Mane Jellyfish, Mane Jellyfish
• Man of War, War Jellyfish, Blue Bottle Jellyfish
• Mangrove Jellyfish
• Moonlight Jellyfish
• Neon Jellyfish
• Nomuras Jellyfish
• Pelagia Noctiluca
• Physalia Jellyfish
• Sand Jellyfish
• Sea Nettle Jellyfish
• Sea Wasp Jellyfish
• Square Jellyfish
• Sun Jellyfish
• Turritopsis Nutricula (Immortal Jellyfish)
• Upside Down Jellyfish
• White Spotted Jellyfish

What are Jellyfish Commonly Known As?

Of the above mentioned jellyfish, there are a few popular species of jellyfish known in the world. Let us learn all about the different jellyfish that are popular around the world. The Lion's mane or Cyanea capillata gets its name from the way it appears. It has a bell shape that is about 6 to 8 inches in size and has reddish brown oral arms. There are eight clusters of tentacles that are underneath the oral arms. The Lion mane jellyfish has a sting that is relatively mild and lead to a stinging rash, instead of a painful sting.

The Portuguese Man of War or Physalia physalis is not a true jellyfish. It is four individual polyps that function individually as Portuguese Man of War. The bell of the Portuguese Man of War is purple blue in color that is about 10 inches in size. It has long tentacles that are about 30 to 60 feet in length. Their sting is rarely fatal. The sting is painful and leads to shock, chills, fever and a very painful rash.

The Moon Jelly or Aurelia aurita is the most commonly found and recognizable species of jellyfish. They are commonly bred on aquariums and you can catch a glimpse of these beautiful creatures on a trip to the aquarium. They have a semi transparent body that has a shallow saucer like bell shape. You can see their gonads clearly through their body. The four pink horseshoe shaped markings are their gonads. They grow up to 6-8 inches in length and 20 inches in diameter. They have a mild non-fatal sting.

The Cannonball Jelly or Cabbage Head Jellyfish or Stomolophus meleagris are the species of jellyfish a fisherman commonly catches in his fishing net. They do not have the characteristics tentacles and instead have finger like protrusions as its oral arms. Their bells are commonly white in color and have a purple brown band on the rim. The cannonball jellyfish is completely harmless to human begins and can grow up to 8 to 10 inches in diameter.

Rhopilema verrilli or the Mushroom jellyfish looks like the cannonball jellyfish. They are however, softer and flatter. They do not have the brown band like the cannonball jellyfish. They too do not have tentacles and have appendages that look a bit like tentacles and a bit like oral arms. They grow up to 10 to 12 inches in diameter and are also completely harmless to humans.

The different types of jellyfish are truly amazing creatures. One needs to spend a lot of time to understand the ways of jellyfish. Jellyfish do not cause any harm to human begins until and unless they feel threatened. I hope this article on jellyfish proves to be a useful read for those wanting to know a bit more about these beautiful, 'bundle of nerves'.