intrinsicallylinkedlife:

I love Cnaidarians, it is my favourite phylum.

Upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea andromeda) is a type of jellyfish that usually lives in intertidal sand or mud flats, shallow lagoons, and around mangroves.

This jellyfish, many times mistaken for a sea anemone, usually has its mouth upward on the bottom. Its bell, which is yellow-brown with streaks and spots that are white or pale, vibrates to make the water flow through its arms for respiration and the obtaining of food.

You don’t have to even touch this jelly to get stung, the jellyfish secretes a mucus that is filled with nematocysts (stinging cells) which is carried by the water to its’ prey.

The Zooxanthellae live in the tissues of its body and it is the responsible for the color of it. As the Zooxanthellaeon gets food for the Cassiopea andromeda, in response, it gets the sunlight that is necessary for the photosynthetic algae.

This jellyfish also lives in a symbiotic relationship with photosynthetic dinoflagellate algae, the Zooxanthellae, and with shrimps.

But still, they are pretty.