Jellyfish
Did you know?
No bones, no brains, no teeth, fins or even blood – in fact, jellies are mostly water. But they survive in oceans all over the world, and are mesmerizingly beautiful as well.
Drift with Jellies
Meet our jellies
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Eating
(and predators)
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Jellies use stinging cells to sting and immobilize prey. The long oral arms begin to digest the prey and bring it to the jelly’s mouth, found under the bell.
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Most jellies eat plankton, plus young shrimps, crabs, fish and other jellies. They’re eaten by other fish, and leatherback turtles travel for miles to eat Pacific sea nettles.
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Larvae, polyps
to medusa
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Adult jellies (‘medusa’ form) release sperm and eggs, which combine into free-swimming larvae. These settle onto rocks and grow into a polyp.
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Polyps catch zooplankton with their tentacles, developing stacks of frilled discs that break off, drift and grow into adult medusae.
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Watch that sting
and give a squeeze
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Most jellies have mild toxins that don't bother humans. But some can be as painful as bee stings, and a few, like the sea wasp, can be extremely dangerous.
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Giving their transparent muscles a synchronized squeeze, a jelly throws its body into a wave to move outward from the bell and push it through the water.
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Changing climate
THE THREAT: Jellyfish play a vital role in the ocean food chain, eating plankton and giving food to turtles and fish. Their populations are stable – but recently they’ve been “blooming” in unusual places.
TAKE ACTION: Scientists are still studying how human activity and climate change affects jellies. Meanwhile, it is threatening many other ocean animals. Find out how you can help.
Aquarium Stories
Q: Where in the world would you find an elephant, a sea turtle and an axolotl all together? A: In Species in the Sand, the new sand sculpture this summer at Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium! Beginning mid-May, our sculpting team led by Tacoma native Sue McGrew will return to create another incredible sculpture – … Continued
It’s magical enough to stand inside the Pacific Seas Aquarium and gaze at shimmering scales, cruising sea turtles or impossibly long wolf eels. But with x-ray vision, a whole new underwater world reveals itself. Thanks to our veterinary team, who regularly take radiographs of our Pacific Seas Aquarium animals to check on their health and … Continued
UPDATE: May 1, 2019 We did it! We made 3,600 paper turtles, glueing them onto ten blue silk “waves” to create a cascading spiral of ocean beauty in the Pacific Seas Aquarium. And we raised $10,068 for ocean conservation, thanks to the Ocean Art Challenge sponsored by the Bezos Family Foundation, and all the hundreds … Continued