Cannonball Jellyfish
Scientific name: Stomolophus meleagris
Cannonball jellyfish differ from other jellyfish by having a more muscular body and by the fact that they are good swimmers. They swim through the water pumping water through their eight arms and thereby catch plankton. The plankton is then transported to the cannonball jellyfish’s mouth.
Cannonball jellyfish is can be from milky brown to yellow in colour and looks like a large half-egg shaped mushroom.
The cannonball jellyfish is unlike many other jellyfish very nutrient and contains large quantities of protein in the collagen in their bodies. This makes the cannonball jellyfish a potentially very important food source around the world and especially in poorer area where lack of protein in the diet is a problem. It is also believe that the cannonball jellyfish might contain secrets for new medicines against arthritis, bronchitis and high blood pressure as well as other diseases. The species has for thousand of year been an important part of Asian medicine. Cannonball jellyfish also makes an excellent diet food as it is very low in fat, cholesterol and calories. The cannonball jellyfish nutritional values have caused the international market for this food item to grow. They are considered a delicates in japan.
They are mainly fished by the use of surface trawls. A single school of cannonball jellyfish can consist of several million jellyfish. The cannonball jellyfish unfortunately spoil very fast after being caught and must be processed directly after they are caught. The processing involves removing the water from the jellyfish. This is done by using salt that draws the water from the tissue of the jellyfish. Processed jellyfish can be stored for weeks.
Cannonball jellyfish reproduce like most other jellyfish and can reproduce both sexually and asexually. They reproduce sexually in the medusa state, in the form you normally call a jellyfish. They lay eggs that then develop into planulae which can be described as swimming jellyfish larvae. The planulae eventually settle down on a suitable surface and develop into to polyps and the jellyfish is in this state able to reproduce asexually. The polyps eventually develop into medusas and the circle can begin again.
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