The cannonball jelly is a milky brown, yellow, purple in coloration. The Cannonball jellyfish can grow about to 10 in and 25cm in diameter. The cannonball jellyfish after the shape of the jellyfish. Resembles a rounded hat or mushroom. The cannonball jellyfish is a strong swimmer and strong body. Even out of the water the medusa heats prey. Still keeps its shape. Crude fat content is less than 0.01%. Unlike many jellyfish, they have oral arms and secondary mouthparts at the base of the bell that traps its prey.

 

   Cannonball jellyfish commonly live in the estuarine side of the ocean but can also be found in the northwest and the east-central Pacific Ocean. They live in the average temperature of 23.1 Celsius or 73.6 degrees Fahrenheit. They also have been found in the oceans of New England all the way to Brazil.

     

            Although the cannonball jellyfish population is unknown sightings say that there is a slow decrease in the population. The reason for the decrease is unknown. The cannonball jellyfish is not a state or federally listed species but is a major prey for an endangered leatherback turtle. 

 

    The cannonball jellyfish’s diet is mostly made up of zooplankton, drum larvae, and anything that gets swept up in its bell. Anything swept up in the water is again for the jellyfish. The cannonball jellyfish have a symbiotic relationship with the spider crab. The crab cleans the dead food on the oral that the jelly may carry. The spider crab lives in the oral arms of the jelly.

 

The cannonball jellyfish is a major food source to the endangered leatherback sea turtle. This turtle is immune to the sting that the jellyfish has. The mucus on the secondary mouth parts on the jellyfish can be harmful. They can cause hearts defects on the beating of the heart. Or the pathways to the heart. People also eat cannonball jellyfish. Being popular in Japan.  

 

There can be medicine made from the cannonball jellyfish. They hope can cure arthritis, bronchitis, a high blood pressure. Cannonball jellyfish has been important to Asian medicine for thousands of years. A single school of cannonball jellyfish has several million jellyfish. This is just one of the many things that I was reading about my animal that caught my eye.

 

Author: Mayeli S

Date: 12/2013

 

Cannonball Jellyfish - SC Department of Natural Resources     Cannonball jellyfish - Wikipedia, the free   encyclopedia                                  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannonball_jellyfish www.dnr.sc.gov/cwcs/pdf/Cannonballjellyfish.pdf   

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Jellyfish Blooms: Ecological and Societal Importance: Proceedings ...

books.google.com/books?isbn=0792369645

J. E. Purcell, W. M. Graham, Henri J. Dumont –

   Cannonball Jellyfish

jellyfishart.com/forum/thread-18-lastpost.htm

Cannonball Jellyfish - Smithsonian Marine Station

www.sms.si.edu/IRLFieldGuide/Stomol_meleag.htm

LHSVirtualZoo - Cannonball Jellyfish

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