Flat+Jellyfish


 * Common Name: Flat Jellyfish **
 * Phylum: ** Ctenophora

**Class:** Scyphozoa
 * Scientific Name: ** //Aequorea tenuis//

**Location:** Flat jellyfish (Aequorea tenuis) is found in the coastline of North America.

**Size:** Typical size: 4-8" diameter

**Habitat: J** ellyfish have no bones, exoskeleton, or shell to protect or support them. Instead, the water in which they live provides their body with the structural support it requires. If a jellyfish is removed from water or is washed ashore, it collapses and dies.

**Living Requirements:** Jellyfish feed on small planktonic animals or fish which they sting and paralyze with special cells.

**Life Cycle: T** ypically range from a few hours to several months. Life span and maximum size varies by species. One unusual species is reported to live as long as 30 years. Most jellyfish live 2 to 6 months, during which they grow from a millimeter or two to many centimeters in diameter. They feed continuously and grow to adult size fairly rapidly. After reaching adult size, jellyfish spawn daily if there is enough food. In most species, spawning is controlled by light, so the entire population spawns at about the same time of day, often at either dusk or dawn.

**Male and Female Difference:** Male gonads may be a different color from female gonads. Adult female jellyfish can be identified by the eggs she holds in her mouth or by brood pouches in the oral arms
 * Human Impact: Humans are putting waste, oil and everything you can think of in the ocean. The water is becoming dirty, and hard for Jellyfish to obtain. **
 * Facts: **
 * It has more than eight tentacles that are useful for bioluminescence when disturbed.
 * More than 200 species inhabit the world's oceans, from the arctic to the tropics and from bays and estuaries to offshore and deep-ocean waters.
 * Zookeeper's Sources: **
 * [] **
 * [] **
 * [] **