In One Ear: Fried egg jelly
Published 12:15 am Thursday, August 8, 2024
- Ear: Jellyfish
“Jellyfish — not a fruity spread for your bread, not a fish either,” the Seaside Aquarium posted on its Facebook page. “More commonly accepted as ‘jelly’ or ‘sea jelly’ in the scientific community, the name actually came from the Greek word for ‘sea nettle’ … There is a species of jelly actually named the sea nettle, but not this one.
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“The one you’re looking at here is a small fried egg jelly, about an inch and a half across now, but can reach sizes of about 2 feet in diameter, with tentacles trailing 20 feet beneath.”
Made of 95% water, these “fish” have no fins, gills, scales, heart, stomach or brain, according to factanimal.com. The other 5% is muscle and nerve cells, as they do have a nervous system.
They feed by stinging their prey and possible predators with their tentacles and, in turn, are fed upon by humans. A gastronomic treat for people off the coast of China, jellyfish have been on the menu for at least 1,700 years.
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Even though fried egg jellyfish only live about half a year, summer to winter, jellyfish in general have been around for at least 500 million years. (Photo: Allysa Casteel/Seaside Aquarium)