21st century skills library 4 A Sea of Jelly chapter 1 It was summertime and the jellyfish were drifting north Thousands of them floated in the waters around Japan They were enormous bigger and heavier than washing machines They bumped and pushed one another as they drifted Their bodies pulsed as they moved along Their stinging tentacles dangled beneath them As they plowed into one another their stinging cells sometimes fired Normally a jellyfish sting might paralyze or kill another animal But not a single jelly was harmed
exploring our oceans 5 This cauliflower jellyfish is sometimes eaten as a delicacy in Japan and China or used to make medicine
Too many jellyfish in the water near beaches can be dangerous for swimmers 6 21st century skills library
exploring our oceans 7 Jellyfish swarms like this are becoming more common in Japan But jellies have always lived in the waters nearby Japan is not the only place where jellies show up They appear in every ocean on earth Most swim in the open water but some rest quietly in the shallows and some even rest on the bottom Certain species prefer cold temperatures They spend their lives in Arctic or Antarctic seas Others prefer the scalding water of deep-sea volcanic vents Jellyfish are among the great success stories of the animal world Scientists have found fossils of jellylike animals The fossils were in rocks that were more than 500 million years old Jellyfish might have been here millions of years before the dinosaurs think about it Jellyfish swarms occur in many different places around the world But people are usually not pleased to see them Why might that be
