Wibbly Wobbly Jellyfish Trivia Quiz

Answer: Yes

It is thought that jellyfish have been on our planet for 500 million years at the very least, but some scientists believe they have been here for at least 700 million years! Older than the dinosaurs even. Viruses and bacteria have been here for billions of years of course, but these are not classed as multi-organ creatures. Jellyfish are. This is puzzling - see next question.

Answer: All of these

We humans couldn't exist for a moment without a heart, lungs, or brain. Jellyfish have none of these but do have a very primitive nervous system. They are oxygenated through their very thin transparent covering which we would think of as a skin. They don't have blood so have no need for a heart to pump it through their system.

They don't have a brain either, but extremely small sensors just underneath their "skin" layer pick up any changes in their environment. Their bodies then react to those changes.

They don't have a nose, so can't smell, or ears, so can't hear - but they do have a type of stomach, and a mouth. Nutrients are absorbed through their mouths, and what they don't use, is ejected back out of their mouths as well. This is a little like a one way street to the kitchen and toilet.

Answer: Medusa

The Medusa's name derives from an ancient Greek myth about a woman who made the chief goddess in Greece very angry - so she changed the woman into a hideous creature with long writhing snakes instead of hair. If you looked her in the face, look out! You were turned into stone.

The shape of Medusa's round head with the long trailing snakes reminded early scientists of a jellyfish, so although many people refer to the main part of this sea creature as a bell, it is actually known as a Medusa.

Answer: No

You'd think with all those long floating tentacles in the water, that should one jellyfish bump into another jellyfish, they'd get all tangled up - but no. Because those tentacles are so slithery and slippery, they just slip past objects, including other jellyfish. They don't even see those jellyfish coming. Why is that? Because jellyfish don't have eyes either.

Answer: The males eject their seed into the water and it floats to a female

Because jellyfish don't possess a brain, they don't receive the normal messages that other creatures receive when it comes to mating, and so they're not attracted to other jellyfish. What happens instead is that the male jellyfish releases its seed (known as sperm) into the water through its mouth.

The sperm then wriggle around in the water until they accidentally swim into the mouth of passing female jellyfish. It's a bit hit or miss really, like wearing a blindfold and shooting an arrow into the air hoping it lands on a target.

Answer: They float along until they find a rock on which to cling

After the female jellyfish shoots out a couple of dozen babies (known as larvae) from her mouth, she doesn't wait around to take care of them, but floats away somewhere else. The larvae drift around until they bump into a solid surface, such as a rock, to which they cling.

When that takes place, they are then called polyps - tiny little bell shapes each with a mouth and tentacles. As they begin to mature, they are then known as ephyrae (a little like teenagers perhaps). Then, when big enough, they detach themselves and go floating away - to begin the cycle all over again. Each jellyfish lives from three to six months.

Answer: The two halves grow into new jellyfish

That's a bit creepy, don't you think? It's like they're cloning themselves. Did you know that jellyfish can survive and thrive in space? In 1991, some astronauts took a few jellyfish with them into space (on the space shuttle Columbia), so scientists could find out if they survived up there without gravity.

They didn't just survive - they multiplied. The interesting thing though (but not to the poor old jellyfish) is that when they arrived back on earth, those little astronaut jellyfish couldn't figure out how to adapt to earth's gravity. Just think - they were our first jellynauts.

Answer: True

Some jellyfish are harmless, some have a sting on their long tentacles that can itch and hurt for a time, but others, such as the box jellyfish found in northern Australian waters, have a sting that is deadly to human beings and can kill within a few minutes.

Some of their tentacles, too, are extremely long, up to 100 feet each, so in waters where these deadly jellies dwell, it's strongly advised not to take a swim. Those long deadly tentacles, which can release their deadly poison into the water, have been described by researchers as floating grenades.

Answer: It dissolves away into nothing

Because jellyfish are comprised of up to 98% water, if they find themselves accidentally washed up and left high and dry on a beach, the sun will eventually dry up all the water in their bodies, and they evaporate away. How sad. But don't fret. Because jellyfish do not possess brains, they feel no pain or sorrow whatsoever. And it's just as well they feel no pain, because - see next question.

Answer: Food

Eeww, what a squishy mouthful that'd make if you popped one from the water straight into your mouth - but that is not how they are consumed, so please don't EVER try it. Instead, in countries where they are eaten, mostly in Asia, jellyfish are first dried out, and then what is left, after any toxins are removed, is treated with salt and potassium alum, before being compressed.

This apparently gives a crispy, savoury flavour to what's left of the jelly's belly. It is then soaked overnight to plump it up a bit and remove any excess salt, before being eaten as is, or cooked up first and dished up with salad, vinegar and a dash of soy sauce. Do you think you would like to try some?