Watch Jellyfish Go Through Their “Stack of Pancakes” Phase | Deep Look
Ғылым және технология
When grown-up jellyfish love each other very much, they make huge numbers of teeny-tiny potato-shaped larvae. Those larvae grow into little polyps that cling to rocks and catch prey with their stinging tentacles. But their best trick is when they clone themselves by morphing into a stack of squirming jellyfish pancakes.
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There’s a reason the ocean is full of moon jellyfish: They’re masters at multiplying themselves over and over.
The bell-shaped creature that most people think of as jellyfish is really just the animal’s adult form.
It’s hard to tell by looking at them, but there are male and female moon jellies. The males release sperm into the water and the females collect it to fertilize their eggs. Those eggs turn into larvae called planulae that mom sends out into the world.
Each planula larva does its best to settle on something solid -- like rock - and develops into a polyp that looks like a tiny sea anemone.
The polyps clone themselves through budding, in which a new polyp grows out of an existing polyp’s side.
When the conditions are right, the polyps go through another round of cloning called strobilation. They develop ridges along their sides that get more and more pronounced over time.
“The polyp will start to look like a stack of pancakes,” says Michael McGill, senior biologist at Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco.
Each individual pancake, called an ephyra, is a clone that eventually works itself free from the stack and swims off to grow into an adult.
“The feeling of watching them break free and swim off -- it's really inspiring,” says McGill.
--- Do jellyfish have brains?
Jellyfish don’t have a single centralized brain. But that hasn’t stopped them from being successful. They do have a nervous system called a nerve net or nerve ring that is radially distributed throughout their bodies.
--- What do Jellyfish eat?
Most jellyfish are carnivores that eat plankton, small fish, fish eggs and whatever other small prey they can catch with their stinging tentacles.
-- How do jellyfish sting?
Jellyfish have special stinging cells called nematocysts that line their tentacles. If something touches a nematocyst, it will pop, releasing a microscopic harpoon filled with venom. Jellyfish use their nematocyst-laced tentacles to catch prey and deter predators.
---+ Find additional resources and a transcript on KQED Science:
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Пікірлер: 755
Ok, I had NO idea that jellyfish reproduced like that. I've never heard of animals making babies that multiplied themselves. That is so cool and almost unbelievable! The photography in this video is beautiful! I love you deep look ❤
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Thank you!
@drachior
4 ай бұрын
kind of happens to humans too, doesn't it? Albeit rarely. but some families have a disposition for getting identical twins
@Tinyvalkyrie410
4 ай бұрын
No this is different. They alternate reproduce via fertilization and cloning. Twins in humans are always created by fertilization, they still have two parents. There are lots of other animals and other organisms that do this though.
@waterunderthebridge7950
4 ай бұрын
It’s kinda like an amalgamation of different beings: Ancient plants (think prehistoric ferns) also had two stages of development that are condensed into the same plant nowadays while there are e.g. salamanders and insects that can multiply asexually to increase population but also sexually to maintain genetic variety
@alestine
4 ай бұрын
How about Aphids?
Jellies seem so alien, especially with their reproductive tendencies (and even the ones that return to polyp after some time spent in adulthood), they're one of the coolest and most interesting sea creatures imo
@TragoudistrosMPH
4 ай бұрын
A fun thought is they've been around for hundreds of millions of years, but we're pretty new... Technically, we're alien and they're standard (from their POV) 😁
@I_Never_Lie
4 ай бұрын
You mean everything under the sea? 😂
@Xenochetemist
4 ай бұрын
@@TragoudistrosMPH We have been here from the beginning with them, and they don't have our POV thing. We gained consciousness, not suddenly spawn on Earth.
@nagari9093
4 ай бұрын
Respect our older cousin
@TragoudistrosMPH
4 ай бұрын
@@Xenochetemist nothing in my comment suggests random spawning or a literal conscious point of view. That's an annoying number of strawman arguments to misattribute and shoot down... 😒
This jellyfish life cycle makes the story of the stork carrying a baby more wholesome.
@3takoyakis
4 ай бұрын
This is a stork cloning itself so it could send another copy of itself into the sky while the 'real' stork stay on the nest
Imagine all the weird alien creatures that sci-fi authors have given us, and all the while, Earth goes: "Oh yeah? Those squishy things with stinging tentacles with no brain? Imagine an entire stack of clones that wiggle free one-by-one. Oh, and those came from clones too. :)"
@theexchipmunk
2 ай бұрын
I mean, we are not that much less weird. We are a pile of clones changin themselves to do difernt things that all work together to make a bigger mobile colony. If you look at our cell types it gets wild. Like with Macrophages that are pretty amoeba like and move indipendently around hunting for things not suposed to be there. Or our bones, that are in a way seperate from us, being a latice struture build inside our bodys by specialised cells and colonised by others that reinfoce this latice. Neuronal cells too, did you know that they too can freely move around, again quite amobea like, before they settle down and start to branch out?
@zenith9825
2 ай бұрын
@@theexchipmunkThe very fact that we are "mostly" (I believe) not-human is very mind-blowing. By percentage, I've heard that a minority of our cells/biomass is actually our own; the rest is actually just other species inside us. Like, "all your gut bacteria" and all that.
@JetFalcon710
11 күн бұрын
@@zenith9825 Yeah, and if I remember right, around 8% of our genome is made up of various species of bacteria that decided to have a symbiotic relationship with us _(e.g. gut bacteria)_
I've seen illustrations of this for years, but never saw a video of it until now. I am so very happy to have finally seen it.
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
@sailor5853
4 ай бұрын
Same. Saw it in biology books all the time.
@ThiagoHenrique-wh7qr
26 күн бұрын
Same, I feel so happy after seeing it unfold before my eyes.
@PridefulShadow
24 күн бұрын
Same here! I have no idea why documentaries like Blue Planet never showed this process before, nor could I find photos of the polyp stage, so thank you for making this video!
When I was young, whenever I read about Jellyfish reproduction in my Encyclopedia, I was always perplexed on how does it work, it's so strange and fascinating. Thank you for the video on showing how it all works!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
You are most welcome!
@speziell1575
4 ай бұрын
It is really weird, a totally sessile animal just starts popping off other, completely different, free swimming animals. Its so weird how a body part just turns into its own organism.
@tsartomato
4 ай бұрын
@@speziell1575 you are filled with milliards of freely moving blood cells and immune cells some of which go rogue all the time
@Cpt_John_Price
2 ай бұрын
@@speziell1575 I actually assume that they are like babies spawning out of "plants". And their parents are actually making "plants" for the sole purpose of making babies.
Sea anemones are perfectly able to move about and even swim, after a fashion. Not well or quickly, but they can do it. They are like jellyfish who decided not to float free through the ocean.
Now I understand why it's called jellyfish bloom. It looks like flowers blooming 🌸
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
So true!
I had no idea that jellyfish once looked like an anemone!
@mariobenedicto3582
4 ай бұрын
I too didn't know that they were related!
@Khann_2102
4 ай бұрын
@@mariobenedicto3582they're related?!
@nikyu.106
4 ай бұрын
@@Khann_2102 Anemones are cnidarians too
@Khann_2102
4 ай бұрын
@@nikyu.106 Wow thanks for the info
@nikyu.106
4 ай бұрын
@@Khann_2102 Both are classified in the same phylum (Cnidarians). Anemones are classified in the class "Anthozoa" and the subclass "Hexacorallaria" (which also includes corals). Jellyfish are classified in the subphylum "Medusozoa" which contaims a few classes, the most common ones are "Hydrozoa" and "Scyzophozoa"
Imagine growing up in a stack of undefined flesh that slowly resolves itself into a pile of babies, and each baby just peels off the mass and tumbles down the pile once it’s fully grown.
Even cloning upon cloning, only the smallest percentage will survive to adulthood. So to deal with predators either consistently be in large groups or good at dodging the ambushes. Man I would think with all those tentacles, they'll just bounce on their adversaries and jump like a jumping jellyfish.
Whenever I see jellyfish I feel like I’m witnessing the first ever footage of extraterrestrial life 😱
I never really thought how jellyfish grow in numbers, it all makes sense now
I am so glad you guys finally made a video about this! Ever since I learned about how jellyfish reproduce, I’ve shared it with as many friends as would listen. You guys get the best footage, and you explain things so clearly! I can’t wait to share this!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Thanks so much Kyle!
The lifestyle of the sea jelly is so successful that these guys have been around for *millions* of years! Also, you forgot to mention that jellyfish polyps duplicate the same way coral polyps do! This makes sense considering the fact the two are also related.
For the last time Jimmy, give me the remote! No? Okay, I didn't wanna say this but... you're a clone! Yes, you! And ever since you were a kid you've been... pancaked! That's right, you better leave. Here, let me help push you away!
@ivy_47
4 ай бұрын
Zefrank missed a good opportunity with this one!
I'm always stunned by the footage on your videos, props to the video and editing team for the amazing job!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Much appreciated!
@srutideka2894
3 ай бұрын
Really the work is amazing
That factoid about how the adult sea jelly gets its name? I had no idea that’s why they were called that. That is admittedly pretty cool.
@LuisSierra42
4 ай бұрын
That's their only name in spanish. We don't have a translation for Jellyfish other than medusa
@justsomeofmyfavs
4 ай бұрын
@@LuisSierra42 Same in Italian, Hebrew and Russian.
@baptistelalue2865
4 ай бұрын
Same in French : Méduse is their only name.
@kamewantor4594
4 ай бұрын
@@justsomeofmyfavsalso Ukrainian and Belarusian
@JDog88
4 ай бұрын
A little trivia: A "factoid" is misinformation that has been spread by word of mouth for so long that it is commonly mistaken as fact. A couple examples being chewing gum staying in your stomach for seven years if swallowed, or that ostriches bury their heads in sand when threatened.
Always love a new deep look video! Keep up the amazing content! And I love how a jellyfish was named Medusa. That’s awesome
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Thank you! Will do!
@enricobianchi4499
4 ай бұрын
That's actually the normal name of the jellyfish in Italian :)
Incredible video! Great to have you film at our Aquarium!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Thanks again @AquariumOfTheBay !
What I'm interested in, is whether or not the leftover polyp bits return back to the polyp phase after all of the jellyfish are released.
@monsterdream14
4 ай бұрын
Me too
@DegenerateDryad
4 ай бұрын
I was wondering the same thing!
@fenrirgg
4 ай бұрын
It seems to me like all the polyp ends becoming jellyfish.
Nice! I've seen this plenty of times in images, but this is the first time I've seen a KZread documentary video actually showing it.
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Wow, thanks!
When it broke free and swam away, I screamed! It’s so fascinating to see this moment!!
Their reproductive cycle reminds me of plants, who have alternating generations of sporophytes and gametophytes.
And on top of it, there is a jellyfish species that's immortal, going through their life cycle over and over again
@shockal7269
4 ай бұрын
until eaten
@melvacaoyona-ollosa278
4 ай бұрын
@@shockal7269not if left alone.
@shockal7269
4 ай бұрын
@@melvacaoyona-ollosa278 left alone until eaten
@quitlife9279
4 ай бұрын
@@shockal7269 ha but that was only the clone.
@josequiles7430
3 ай бұрын
It's not really inmortal. It goes back to being a polyp and then *reproduces* to make medusas. It doesn't ever *turn* into a medusa again
Wow, jellyfish are so fascinating!!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
We agree!
Because of this video I finally understand the life cycle of jellyfish even though I had to learn about it 3 years ago and it only now clicked in my brain. This young biologist can finally let this subject rest, so THANK YOU. Now it’s just the life cycle of coral that has to click in my brain
I will call these baby jellies “Squishies” and they shall be mine and they shall be my Squishies.
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Nemo Nemo Nemo
- 4:17 What !?! The story ends here!?! We *need* more. MUCH LONGER VIDEOS PLEASE 🙏🏽 🙂 ❤
Almost 40 and it’s only now that I see a good video showing well the reproduction cycle of jellyfish. What a great channel!
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Wow, thank you!
A+ video!! The descriptions. Visual metaphors. Footage! Amazing. Thank you to your team!
Then what will happen to the part that still clings to the rock? Does it break free too or just lay there and die?
Wow. That’s really awesome. This was a great video! It was amazing to see how Jellyfish develop in such massive numbers!!
Love watching deep look baked 😂
This really makes me want to replay the marine expansion of Zoo Tycoon 2. Such a lovely game, and so cool for learning the animals and their biomes.
Wow, didn't think the cloning went that far. That's really fascinating!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Thank you!
Love this channel! Laura has a soothing voice and she's funny!
Wow! This is amazing! Jellyfish are awesome!
Ooh, I love jellyfish! Especially moon jellies. Ive never theough about how they reproduce, but this makes sense. This is a very unique and interesting way to reproduce. 10/10 episode, probably my favorite thus far!!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
That's high praise! #inspo
Of course i love these episodes deep look, Your work is seriously exceptional as i have been watching your videos for almost 4-5 years❤❤
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Thank you!
Wow this is fascinating I like how jellyfish released
I have always heard about how jellyfish reproduce but this is the first time I have seen it on a video so thanks
Very beautiful!
More on sea creatures please. The narrator is amazing. So is the choice of music.
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Thanks! Here's a playlist with many of our ocean episodes: kzread.info/dash/bejne/YquortSlea7ceqg.html
Always wondered... now I know! Very well done and interesting.
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
Amazing images! Took me back to my zoology classes in my first year of biology ❤
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
I'm so glad!
Amazing video! It really gives us the visuals to really see what's going on in the classic jellyfish life cycle that we've studied in high school or university :D Also how fitting that once the ephyrae break free, they resemble little sea snowflakes :)
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Thanks so much Justin!!
Great video ❤❤❤
Thats crazy but neat, that also explains the moon jellies in Ponyo :3
I was in St. John snorkeling a couple years ago and I didn't realize it was a Jellyfish bloom. (The adults were mostly at or near the surface) and when I noticed finally, I freaked out and noped my way out of the water and back onto the boat.
in a lot of ways, true jellyfish are like ferns where they have two adult stages, just that jelly polyps aren't haploid like fern gametophytes
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Our next video on 4/16 will be about the fern lifecycle! And there will be gametophytes a-plenty.
one of those videos that get increasingly interesting
Close-ups of a jelly are marvelous!
This was wonderful. Thanks for sharing
Wow what a great video! I had never heard any of this. I just love how life works so differently for so many living creatures.
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you for uploading your lovely content🤗🤗
I love the sound effects!
I go through a stack of pancakes phase every weekend
Fascinating. As a kid I've been stung a couple of times by some form of jellyfish so I'm terrified of them.
This was very fascinating and extremely well photographed, and produced. Thank you for sharing. You have earned my subscription!😊
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Thank you very much!
shoutout for cameraman staying that long under the sea to capture the life cycle
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
You would be amazed at how long Josh can hold his breath.
*mrs. jellyfish:* hun I'm pregnant *mr. jellyfish:* what!! you know we can't afford another 700 kids!!!
i am so grateful for such an incredible channel, thank you always for making content that is so beautiful and informative!!
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
You are most welcome,. We love making these videos.
The ocean is fascinating. I'm not setting foot in it ever again.
Great video! Thank you!
The most cursed ability of some jellyfish is they can revert into polyp state and reclone themselves again.
Finally, some explanation of what polyps are.
Merry Christmas Laura !
One more amazing evidence of the "thin border" between the animal and plant kingdoms. Thank you, Deep Look, for reminding us once again that we are all one interconnected world. 🐚🐙🐋🐟🐠🐡🐬🐾🤍
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
You are welcome, Natali!
@NataliDali
4 ай бұрын
@@KQEDDeepLook Best regards from Ukraine! ❤🤍💙💛
This is why jellyfish will rule the Earth someday.
So how many babies do you want? Jellyfish: yes
Thank you.😊😊 I'd learnt this during my Life Science matriculation year(Biology subject)-never seen it in real life(like this video). This is one of the reasons I like biology and another one is how fern reproduce and virus. Although I'm an engineer now(taking another foundation after that matriculation-Engineering),I still remembered this. Biology is fascinating-same as physics and other engineering subjects. Thank you again-this video warms my heart,reminds me of the time I read about this in my college library where I spent hours and hours reading about plants,marine sponges and fungi etc.😊😊
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Thank you. Our next episode on April 16th will be about fern reproduction. And you are the first person we are telling!
@knisayusuf
Ай бұрын
@@KQEDDeepLook Ohhh..thank you so so much..❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️ I love ferns🥰🥰 I really appreciate this channel's efforts for making us(viewers) understand the world around us in an easy to digest form.😊😊 Thank you again.😊😊
I'm crying while watching this, they're so beautiful 😢
Jellyfishes look like giant microorganisms.
This is like real life shape shifting with a twist
Here in Venezuela there was recently a jellyfish bloom near the sea shores. Normally they don't come to the shores. It's believed to be caused by more contamination in the waters (because this species, the "cannonball" jellyfish, is mainly a filter feeder targeting algae), and a decrease in sea turtle population.
I have known this for a long time, but I have NEVER seen a video of it until now, even after looking. Thank you so much.
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
You're very welcome!
Sea anemone: alr now we have to stay here and catch fish Sea anemone: nah imma swim *becomes jelly fish*
Masterclass video documentary shots 😳❤👌
One of my all time favorite animals.
This is amazing!
Soooo sooo soo much beautiful video... thank you so much for your entire team.... please please keep making these amezing videos guys
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
We will!
"Being a stack of pancakes isn't a phase, mom. It's how I identify."
I like how science names things in the most complex ways and then there's "Strobilation"
Jellyfish is are so cute.
Awww. The babies make babies🥹
Deep Look is a wonder of KZread! great work
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Glad you think so!
Stunning footage!
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Many thanks! Josh Cassidy who produced and shot the episode.
Amazing. Thanks for this.
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Glad you liked it!
I knew they cloned themselves, but didn't know about their second method of doing so! Lovely video
@KQEDDeepLook
Ай бұрын
Thanks! 😃
This was awesome
I usually saw on how Jellyfishes reproduce on books back in my elementary school days, but to here, it really does seemingly pretty cool than only the figures and one picture. Jellies were really are almost alien like creatures on earth
You could feed the world with all these jellies!
Fascinating, imagine plants evolving into more animal-like versions similar to jellyfish,
Here in Australia we have many cool species of jellyfish in the ocean. I recently went to the beach and found that hundreds of them had washed up on the shore. Massive jellyfish that were about the size of those mini basketballs that you'd have growing up. They were soft, slimy, and surprisingly dense in comparison to many others. Their surface had an amazing brain-like texture to it. It was cool to see! This video is perfect timing!
That was pretty cool!!!! 👍
Thanks Deeplook for introducing us how to clone pancakes. Now we don't have to make a new one for everyday breakfast.
@KQEDDeepLook
4 ай бұрын
Any time! Now if we could just clone maple syrup....
Wow. Fascinating.
This past summer I experienced my first jellyfish bloom. So cool to see on the beach
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