Category Sea/Ocean

Which is the largest and smallest jellyfish?

In July, 2019, two divers were swimming off the south-western tip of England. They hoped to see some rare fish, but what they came across blew their mind away. Crossing their water-path was a huge hulk of a barrel-jellyfish (Rhizostoma pulmo). The giant jellyfish was the size of a human being. It is a rarely seen species. Luckily, the divers – biologist Lizzie Daly and underwater cinematographer Dan Abbott – managed to film the mammoth creature.

The divers then shared the encounter in a Facebook video they posted on July 13. This was the time when Britain was running the Wild Ocean Week campaign to raise funds for the United Kingdom’s Marine Conservation Society. People has been invited to present pictures of any strange creatures underwater.

The divers actually saw the giant jellyfish emerge from the murky water. The fish is also called the dustbin-lid jellyfish. It is characterized by eight thick arms ending in tentacles. Its head is large and rounded. Put together, these features make it look like the lid of a garbage bin. Barrel jellyfish sometimes wash up on the shore.

The largest

Is the barrel jellyfish the largest of the species? No. That award goes to the lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), the largest known species in the world. This coldwater jellyfish has 1,200 long, trailing tentacles. If you measure the length of the tentacle, an individual lion’s mane jellyfish can be as long as 120 feet (36.5 metres). The tentacles of a lion’s mane can sting 50 to 100 people in just a few minutes if it is let loose among a crowd. Most encounters cause temporary pain and localized redness.

On a July day in 2010, around 150 beach-goers at Wallis Sands State beach in New Hampshire in the U.S. were study by the remains of a lion’s mane jellyfish that had broken up into countless pieces. Thankfully it caused temporary pain and redness around the area of the sting.

The smallest

The smallest of the species is called Irukandji (Malo maxima). It is 1 mm long and 5 mm across the part that looks like a lid. Box Jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri) is the most venomous. It is found in the Australian coasts and is considered the most poisonous, deadliest and meanest of all the jellyfish. The variety of box jellyfish known as the sea-wasp or marine-stinger has been declared one of the most deadly creatures on Earth.

Their food

What do they eat normally? Jellyfish typically eat small plants, shrimp, or fish. They use their tentacles to stun prey before eating it. According to the Mayo Clinic, if you find yourself stung by a jellyfish, your best course of action is to remove any tentacles carefully with tweezers and soak the area in hot water. If a person gets a severe reaction or becomes unconscious after a sting, seek medical attention immediately.

 

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Which is the shortest life span animal?

Adult mayflies live for only one day. They do not feed, and they die after they have found a mate and the female has laid her eggs. Winged mayflies have large compound eyes, short, bristle like antennae, and functionless mouthparts and digestive tracts. Once mayflies enter the winged stages they cannot feed. Their membranous wings include a large, triangular front pair and a much smaller, rounded hind pair. In a few species, the hind pair is extremely reduced or absent. In repose, the wings are held together upright over the body like those of a butterfly. The adult mayfly has two or three threadlike tails, usually as long as, or longer than, the body. Mayfly nymphs are preyed upon by carnivorous invertebrates and fishes. Winged stages are devoured in flight by birds, bats, and predatory insects, including dragonflies, robber flies, and hornets. When at rest, mayflies may be preyed upon by spiders, beetles, birds, and certain mammals, especially flying squirrels in North America. During their transformation to the adult stage and especially during oviposition by females, mayflies are vulnerable to predation by fishes; artificial lures used by fishermen are patterned after them.

 

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Which is the longest-living animal?

Sponges make up one of the oldest, most primitive groups of animals on Earth. Sponges have existed for at least 500 million years. Sponge cells do not have specialized purposes. Each of a sponge’s individual cells can transform to complete the job of any other cell in the body. This lack of specialization means that sponges do not have tissues, like every other type of animal. In fact, in laboratory settings, a sponge that is destroyed in a blender can reform itself as the cells swim back together and take on the form and job needed for recovery. Giant barrel sponges feed by filtering water through the body wall, trapping food particles and excreting waste materials into the inner bowl. The, now filtered, wastewater exits the sponge through the large opening at the top (called an osculum). They also obtain oxygen from the water during this process. The giant barrel sponge can live for up to 2,300 years. That is more than 10 times as long as the bowhead whale, which is the longest-lived mammal.

 

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Which is the loudest sound producing animal?

The pistol shrimp snaps its claws to make a bubble of air in water. When it bursts, the 218 decibel sound produced is louder than a gunshot. The snapping shrimp grows to only 3–5 cm (1.2–2.0 in) long. It is distinctive for its disproportionate large claw, larger than half the shrimp’s body. The claw can be on either arm of the body, and, unlike most shrimp claws, does not have typical pincers at the end. Rather, it has a pistol-like feature made of two parts. A joint allows the “hammer” part to move backward into a right-angled position. When released, it snaps into the other part of the claw, emitting an enormously powerful wave of bubbles capable of stunning larger fish and breaking small glass jars. Some pistol shrimp species share burrows with goby fishes in a mutualistic symbiotic relationship. The burrow is built and tended by the pistol shrimp, and the goby provides protection by watching out for danger. When both are out of the burrow, the shrimp maintains contact with the goby using its antennae. The goby, having the better vision, alerts the shrimp of danger using a characteristic tail movement, and then both retreat into the safety of the shared burrow. So far this association has been observed in species that inhabit coral reef habitats.

 

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Which is the smallest insect?

Fairyflies are too tiny to see. The smallest fairyfly is 0.16mm (3/500 in) long, and would easily fit inside the full stop at the end of this sentence. They usually have nonmetallic black, brown, or yellow bodies. The antennae of the females are distinctively tipped by club-like segments, while male antennae are thread-like. Their wings are usually slender and possess long bristles, giving them a hairy or feathery appearance, although some species may have greatly reduced stubby wings or lack wings altogether. They can be distinguished from other chalcid wasps by the H-shaped pattern of sutures on the front of their heads.

Fairyflies are some of the most common chalcid wasps, but are rarely noticed by humans because of their extremely small sizes. Their adult lifespan are very short, usually lasting for only a few days.

 

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Which is the smallest bird?

The Bee Hummingbird, which is found only in Cuba, is an absolute miniature, even among hummingbirds. It measures a mere two and a quarter inches long. Bee Hummingbirds are often mistaken for bees. They weigh less than two grams — less than a dime. That’s half the weight of our backyard hummers, like the Ruby-throated or Rufous. The female builds a nest barely an inch across. Her eggs are about the size of a coffee bean.

In flight, the Bee Hummingbird’s tiny wings beat 80 times a second. And during a courtship flight, they beat up to 200 times per second! The male’s entire head and throat shine in fiery pinkish-red, and blazing red feathers point like spikes down the sides of the breast.

 The bee hummingbird is 5 cm (2 in) long, and weighs just 1.6 g (just over 1/20 oz). It lays eggs that are smaller than a pea.

 

Picture Credit : Google