Jellyfish

Jellyfish are invertebrates that inhabit saltwater. They appeared more than 700 million years ago. They were among the first multicellular animals on Earth.

There are three species of jellyfish in our sea with the interesting names of the barrel jellyfish, the moon jellyfish and the invasive species of comb jellyfish. They are not dangerous, but can sometimes cause an allergic reaction on the skin when their tentacles touch us and secrete mucus that causes burning and itching, and very rarely blisters. What we need to do is flush the area with sea water because tap water can only make the situation worse.

Jellyfish are not good swimmers, so the sea currents carry them long and in different directions and we often see them washed up on the shores. They use a reactive motion rarely seen in nature - they contract their body rapidly and the resulting jet of water propels them forward at great speed. They live for about a year in the wild and because they have few natural enemies in our sea, the main causes of their death are strong currents, bacterial infections, parasites and the end of their life cycle. It is difficult for them to survive in temperatures below freezing or above 25 °C. They feed on zooplankton and small fish.