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Moon jelly
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The Jellies
Despite their common name, jellyfish—also called jellies— The almost-transparent moon jelly moves through the
are not fish, but invertebrates, or animals without a backbone. water by pulsing its body. It captures prey—plankton, fish
Side-by-side tanks hold two types of jellies: the moon jelly eggs, mollusks, and smaller jellies—using four oral arms
and the frilled upside-down jelly. and hundreds of short tentacles. The upside-down jelly
Jellies have radial symmetry, meaning their right half is is usually lying on sediment or other surface with its body
a mirror image of the left. They are bell-shaped and have an parts pointing up toward sunlight, or in this case, bright
opening in the center of their body where they draw in food LED lights. Like corals and sea anemone, its tissues contain
and eliminate waste. Like their relatives, coral and sea anemone, zooxanthellae, which need light for photosynthesis.
jellies have stinging cells in their tentacles which they use to To learn more, view our “Bringing the Zoo to You”
catch prey and defend against enemies. video, “Moon and Upside-down Jellies," on Brookfield
Zoo's YouTube channel.
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