favourite jellyfish

[rocketturtle]

my favourite jellyfish is a new species found in 2003. my favourite part about it is that it has short thick arms instead of the typical long and stringy tentacles. it is called tiburonia granrojo. it was named after the vessel that found it (the tiburon) and the granrojo is spanish for "big red". it has a red pigment that prevents light from passing through it like other jellyfish so you can't see its internals or what it was eating.



it was actually first seen as early as 1992, but it wasn't until 2003 that it was officially identified and recognized as a new species. in fact, it is the only member within its genus. a new genus, by the way, had to be made for this jellyfish. little is still known about it though.

[duncvis]

That is pretty cool.



These buggers are my favourites, as they fill me with nostalgia. As an eight year old I once spent a happy day in Scarborough filling a hole in the sand with jellyfish washed ashore, and collaring all the kids on the beach to come for a look/prod. How I managed it without stinging myself is a mystery. 

[Peter]

<Reads about Jellyfish>

Sliced and marinated jellyfish bells (often known as sesame jellyfish or jellyfish salad) is a common appetizer in Chinese cuisine. It is usually made using sesame seeds, sesame oil and, occasionally, spring onion. A similar dish appears in Vietnam, with red chilli pepper added. Korean version of the dish, haepari naengchae (cold jellyfish salad), is a summertime delicacy in the country, and is usually served with sweet and sour seasoning with mustard.

Packages of jellyfish bells (Chinese: 海蜇; pinyin: hǎizhé) can be bought at chinese grocery store in a salted and semi-desiccated form, which is usually yellow or slightly brownish in colour. The salted jellyfish does not have any fishy or unpleasant odours. It has been compared to the texture of elastic bands if dried.

[Nomaken]

My favorite kind of jellyfish is a dead one.  Then again I'm not sure a dead one would have inactive stingers.  I feeeeeear teh jellyfish.

[Peter]

I think they're pretty.  Used to play with dead ones on the beach as a kid, but never been stung.

[Nomaken]

I've never been stung by a jellyfish either.  But I have been stung.  And I am so batshit fucking afraid of being stung that I will break the laws of physics to avoid them.

[DirtDawg]

I've only been stung once, by a Man-O-War and that's pretty good considering I grew up near South Padre Island (no hotels, then. It was totally undeveloped). It tangled around my leg and I pulled it off without realizing what it was, at first. It made my hand red and a few streaks on my leg, but no big deal really. I may have some lack of sensitivity to any allergen effects, which I normally do. I've seen people hospitolized, though, from the tiniest contact. There are so many of those type of jellyfish there, during certain times of the year, that you can't walk on the beach for a few days, without stepping on one.

Rocketturtle, DAMN! ... those things get to be a meter in diameter! ... are you a marine biologist or simply interested in jellyfish? ... or is it the discovery of any new species that holds your attention?

[Nomaken]

Humans have built in instincts to fear some things.  I don't remember which things those are, but I think large dark places, and a scorpions tail are among them.  But my fear of things that sting is WAY out of whack.  It isn't extreme enough for a psychologist to call it a phobia.  But in a non-official sense, anybody who has seen me react to bee's and shit would call it that.

[rocketturtle]

Rocketturtle, DAMN! ... those things get to be a meter in diameter! ... are you a marine biologist or simply interested in jellyfish? ... or is it the discovery of any new species that holds your attention?

i'm only interested in that particular jellyfish. i first saw it on a documentary about cnidarians two years ago and it showed some of the footage about its most recent discovery. watching it move is amazing too. i'm not a marine biologist, i'm a software developer.

[DirtDawg]

I would love to see it move. Every glimpse of jellyfish movements, I have ever observed, has turned into hypnotic contemplation, for me. It's almost like watching clouds that have purpose, sometimes.

[rocketturtle]

i only have links to these small video clips of it moving but they don't really do the granrojo any justice. they just show it kind of floating around.

http://www.mbari.org/midwater/Tiburonia/Tiburoniavideo.htm

i haven't been able to find anything linking back to the original documentary that shows its movement a lot better. i can't remember the name of the show though. i think it was on the discovery channel (i'm not 100% certain though, it could have also been the knowledge network ...) and i've checked both sites many times for older shows but they only seem to have current articles and programmes posted there.