關(guān)于水母的驚人事實

關(guān)于水母的驚人事實

They're gooey, they sting and they're probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of seafood, but jellyfish are surprisingly fascinating creatures. They can mesmerize aquarium crowds like few other organisms, and they're some of Earth's most ancient animals that are still alive today. Take a few moments to revel in these fun facts about jellyfish. You might be surprised at what you don't know about these oddly charismatic gelatinous creatures.

它們黏糊糊的，會蜇人，可能不是你想到海鮮時首先想到的東西，但水母是一種令人驚奇的神奇生物。它們能像其他生物一樣吸引水族館的觀眾，它們是地球上現(xiàn)存最古老的動物之一?；c時間來享受一下這些關(guān)于水母的有趣事實吧。你可能會對你所不知道的這些奇特

These bizarre creatures never fail to amaze. (Photo: Chai Seamaker/Shutterstock)

They predate the dinosaurs by hundreds of millions of years.

它們比恐龍早了數(shù)億年

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.

水母沒有骨頭，所以很難找到化石。然而，科學(xué)家有證據(jù)表明，這些生物在世界海洋中漂浮了至少5億年。事實上，水母的譜系可能可以追溯到更早的時期，可能是7億年前。這大約是第一批恐龍年齡的三倍。

They aren't actually fish; they're gelatinous zooplankton.

它們實際上不是魚;他們是凝膠狀的浮游動物。

Despite their name, jellyfish aren't fish at all. (Photo: Vilainecrevette/Shutterstock)

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."

看一眼水母，這似乎很明顯，但它們實際上不是魚。它們是刺胞動物門的無脊椎動物，作為一個分類群，它們是如此的多樣化，以至于許多科學(xué)家把它們簡單地稱為“凝膠狀的浮游動物”。

But some have eyes ...

但有些水母有眼睛……

Some box jellyfish species are among the most venomous creatures in the world. They also have several sets of 'eyes.' (Photo: Daleen Loest/Shutterstock)

Despite their simplistic 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 actually capable of seeing in color. It's also believed this animal's complicated array of visual sensors make it one of the few creatures in the world to have a full 360-degree view of its environment.

盡管水母的身體設(shè)計過于簡單，但它們也有視力。事實上，對一些物種來說，它們的視覺可能會非常復(fù)雜。例如，箱形水母有24只“眼睛”，其中兩只實際上能夠看到顏色。據(jù)信，這種動物復(fù)雜的視覺傳感器陣列使它成為世界上為數(shù)不多的能全方位觀察周圍環(huán)境的動物之一。

Some might be immortal.

有些可能是不朽的

At least one unique species of jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula, may never actually die. 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!

至少有一種獨特的水母，燈塔水母，可能永遠不會死亡。當受到威脅時，這種物種能夠進行“細胞轉(zhuǎn)分化”，即生物體的細胞本質(zhì)上重新成為新的細胞。換句話說，這種水母有一個內(nèi)在的青春源泉。它在理論上是不朽的!

A group of jellyfish is called ...

一群水母被稱為……

A very large group of jellyfish is often referred to as a 'bloom.' (Photo: leungchopan/Shutterstock)

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."

一群海豚叫豆莢，一群魚叫魚群，一群烏鴉叫兇殺。但是一群水母叫什么呢?許多人把水母群稱為“花”或“群”，但它們也可以被稱為“啪”。

They range widely in size.

它們的大小差別很大

Possibly the world's longest jellyfish, the lion's mane jellyfish has a poisonous sting. (Photo:Boris Pamikov/Shutterstock)

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.

有些水母非常小，幾乎看不見它們漂浮在洋流中，最小的是Staurocladia屬和Eleutheria屬，它們的鐘形盤直徑只有0.5毫米到幾毫米。相比之下，世界上最大的水母才是真正的怪物。