Real photograph Moon jellyfish
Aurelia aurita
say it MOON JEL-ee-fish
Why we love them
The moon jellyfish is a soft, see-through animal shaped like a floating umbrella. Near the top of its body you can spot four little rings, each shaped like a tiny horseshoe.
A moon jelly is almost all water — about ninety-five parts out of every hundred. It has no bones, no heart, and no brain. Even so, it can still tell light from dark and know which way is up and which way is down.
Moon jellies are not strong swimmers. They open and close their soft bell to give a little push, but mostly they simply drift wherever the ocean currents carry them.
They eat by catching tiny drifting animals called plankton with their short, fringy tentacles. Their sting is so gentle that it does not hurt most people.
Moon jellies float in seas in many parts of the world, in both warm and cool water. Calm and quiet, they are one of the gentlest animals you can watch drift by.
My home
Ocean, coastal waters, bays, estuaries
Where I live
Pacific Ocean, Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean
What I eat
Plankton, tiny floating animals
How long I am
0.05–0.4 m
How long I live
1 years
A moon jelly is almost all water — about ninety-five parts out of every hundred.
It has no brain, no heart, and no bones, yet it can still sense light and know which way is up.
Its gentle sting is so mild that it does not hurt most people at all.
Every moon jellyfish can feel happy, scared and loved — just like you.
Looking after my friends
Not checked yetNo one has counted them carefully yet.
You can help by learning their names, keeping wild places clean, and telling someone why this animal matters.
Where this came from
- Moon Jelly (Aurelia aurita) — Aquarium of the Pacific Online Learning Center — Aquarium of the Pacific
- Aurelia aurita — Wikipedia — Wikipedia
