How Did Jellyfish Get in the Ocean?

The world’s oceans are full of interesting animals that are both simple and complex in nature. Scientists believe there are many more organisms and species that exist below the ocean’s surface that have not even been discovered yet. This is merely because the ocean is so vast and the depths have yet to be explored. However, one of the oldest and most fascinating organisms that live in oceans around the world are jellyfish.... but how did they get there?

The exact origin of jellyfish in the ocean eludes us... perhaps because jellyfish have been in there for so long.

It is believed that jellyfish evolved into what they are today from prehistoric cnidrians and are one of the first multi-cellular organisms to exist on Earth. Jellyfish are still considered a part of this classification. However, there is much deliberation about whether jellyfish have ever evolved.

Many scientists believe the jellyfish in our oceans today are the same jellyfish that existed in the ocean 450,000,000 years ago and they have not evolved from that point in time. Very little is known about where jellyfish came from or evolved from, they are just simply there.

Science has shown that jellyfish are one of the oldest organisms on the planet. Fossilized remains of jellyfish have been discovered that prove jellyfish have existed on this Earth for approximately 450,000,000 years. This means that they existed in the waters on the planet way before dinosaurs inhabited the Earth.

Unique Jellyfish Characteristics

So, just because we can't answer exactly how jellyfish got in the ocean doesn't mean there isn't a lot to learn about jellyfish. For example, it is interesting to note that there isn't just one type of jellyfish found in the ocean... there are many. Jellyfish are fascinating in the sense that they are predatory, but they lack what most predators have that makes them dangerous.

Below is a list of characteristics that make the jellyfish unique:

• Invertebrates: This means the jellyfish has no backbone and no skeleton.
• Make Up: Jellyfish are made up of 99 percent water and one percent organic matter. They do not possess a brain, a gut, or muscles. However, they do possess a nervous system and a pair of rudimentary eyes.
• Color: Jellyfish come in many different bright colors. These bright colors are meant to signify to their prey that they are dangerous and they should be avoided.
• Shape: A jellyfish can come in three different shapes that is denoted by the main part of their body, which resembles a dome. The shape of a jellyfish can be either bowl shaped, cup shaped, or parachute shaped.
• Tentacles: From the main dome-shaped body, the jellyfish has tentacles that hand and resemble cooked noodles. These tentacles can be as short as one centimeter or as long as 120 feet. These tentacles are able to deliver venom through deadly stings to their prey and sometimes, depending on the type of jellyfish, to a human being. The jellyfish then uses these tentacles to maneuver their prey to their mouth so that they can eat it.
• Life: Jellyfish can swim freely through the water since this is what they are mostly made of. Most simply move with the current. Jellyfish will live as long as a year as long as none of their predators end their life prematurely. It is also imperative that the jellyfish have salt water to survive.

These unique animals are likely to continue living in the ocean for centuries to come, all the while leaving people wondering just how these jellyfish got into the ocean in the first place.