Moon Jelly (Aurelia aurita)
Shelby Arbacheski
Jelly Fish
Within the phylum
Cnidaria
Around 10,000
species in Cnidaria,
nearly all living in
marine waters
Lacks basic
organs such
as heart,
brain,
kidneys, etc.
Posses
digestive sack
(stomach) and
stinging cells
called
nematocysts
Cnidaria contains “stinging
animals” which use
nematocysts to capture
petty
Moon Jellyfish
Commonly known as Moon Jellies,
or Saucer Jellies
Adults may live
over a year, polyps
can live up to 25
years
Drift in ocean
currents; they
can travel far;
therefore
offspring are far
reaching
Size range between 5cm-40cm in
diameter (2in-16in)
Usually have large
translucent bells,
small, short tentacles,
4 gonads, and slow
rhythmic pulsing
Predators include sea
turtles, fish, shore
birds, and other jelly
species
Found
worldwide
Taxonomy
Kingdom- Animalia
Subkingdom- Radiata
Phylum- Cnidaria
Subphylum- Medusozoa
Class- Scyphozoa
Subclass- Discomedusae
Order- Semaeostomeae
Family- Ulmaridae
Subfamily- Aureliinae
Genus- Aurelia
Species- Aurelia aurita
Swimming
Swim by
pulsations of
the bell-shaped
upper part of
the animal
The Moon Jelly swims horizontally,
keeping the bell near the surface
at all times, which allows tentacles
to be spread over the largest
possible area, to better catch food
Swimming mainly
functions to keep the
Moon Jelly near the
surface of the water
rather than to make
progress in the water
Moon Jellies are found
near the coast in
mostly warm waters
Known to live in
brackish water with as
low of a salt content as
0.60%
Occur in huge
numbers
Biomes- reef, tropical
coastal, freshwater
lake
Optimum
temperature:
9°C to 19°C (48°F to
66°F)
Can withstand
temperatures as low
as -6°C and as high as
31° C (21°F to 87°F)
Moon Jellies are
carnivorous
Feed on
zooplankton
Primary food includes
mollusks,
crustaceans, tunicate
larvae, copepods,
rotifers, nematodes,
young polychaetes,
protozoans, diatoms
and eggs. (small
plankton organisms)
Also observed eating small
hydromedusae and
ctenophores
How Moon Jellies Eat
These foods collect on the surface
of the animal, where they become
entangled in mucus
Food items are then passed
to the margins
They are moved along 8
separate canals, which are
unique to the Moon Jelly
These canals
branch off
and run into
the stomach
Sexual maturity in
the Aurelia aurita
commonly occurs in
the spring and
summer
Their gonads lie
near the bottom
of the stomach
Their eggs develop in gonads
located in pockets formed by the
frills of the oral arms
Their gonads are
commonly the
most recognizable
part of the
animal, because
of their deep and
conspicuous
coloration
Alternation of Generation
Two main stages of life cycle:
-polyp (asexual reproduction)
-medusae (sexual reproduction)
When released,
the larvae will
spend a short
period of time
free swimming
These polyps will
eventually grow into
a Moon Jelly and
restart the cycle
A male Moon Jelly releases
sperm and the female takes
it internally for fertilization
The larvae will
settle in one spot
as a polyp
The fertilized eggs go
through development
in the gonads until they
are ready to be released
The polyp will
reproduce asexually
by creating clones of
itself which will bud
off the polyp and
release them into
the water column
Sources
http://tolweb.org/treehouses/?treehouseid=3373
http://marinebio.org/species.asp?id=231
http://advancedaquarist.com/2012/8/inverts
http://www.bluewatervisions.com/BAH-moon_jelly.jpg
http://www.sheddaquarium.org/specialexhibit/images/1024x768
moom.jpg
http://www.mysticaquarium.org/animals-and-exhibits/species-ofthe-month/664-moonjelly