Jellyfish: Unique and Aquatic Creature - Essay Example

Jellyfish Jellyfish is a unique and aquatic creature categorized in the of the Phylum Cnidarians. The Cnidarians consist of three major categories, which are Scyphozoan, Athoza, and Hydrozoa. The Scyphozoans group consists of adult jellyfish, Athoza include the sea anemones, and Hydrozoa that is a group of the Cnidarians that produces small jellyfish. Historically, Jellyfish is said to arise in the late Precambrian period when the first tectonic plate began to move and formed eukaryotic cells (Lindeen 44). During that period, there was so much oxygen in the atmosphere, and this condition birthed the first animal. As a result, few creatures resembling worms and jellyfish became discovered. This research seeks to discuss about the Jellyfish, its characteristics, sting, and treatment. To Oceana (1), the Jellyfish is one of the oldest creatures in the world in that it has existed for over 700 million years on the planet. Although these creatures are referred as “Jellyfish”, they are not fish at all, but related to corals and sea anemones. They are strange creatures in that they have a mouth, but lack various organs such as the anus, intestine, pancreas, and liver. Still, they have no gills or lungs and the walls of the tentacles, and body is so thin that carbon dioxide and oxygen can pass through easily. Surprisingly, Jellyfishes do not have eyes, but use its shining outer layer of the bodies to distinguish between dark and light. The jellyfish has soft bodies that lack outer shell or a skeletal structure. The creatures are delicate and require water to support its body. If removed from the water, the creatures die and collapse. Their bodies consists of 95% of water and the percentage can amount to 99% in high species (King 22). Jellyfish is umbrella shaped made of softer jelly materials as shown in the following appendix. Retrieved from http://oceana.org/en/eu/media-reports/features/about-jellyfish Jellyfish have no head, spine, heart, eyes, or brain. Instead of having a brain, the creature has a nervous system also referred as the nerve net that consists of receptors that detect odour, light, and other responses. Additionally, Jellyfish has sensory organs known as Rhopalia that helps in maintaining balance. They have primitive sense that consists of neutral net and eye spots commonly used to sense dark and light. Jellyfishes’ body is comprised of three layers. The outer layer referred as epidermis, the inner layer known as the gastrodermis, and the middle layer referred as the mesoglea. The epidermis is the most important layer that covers the external body of this creature. The epidermis protects the skin from the invasion of harmful substances in the body. The gastrodermis protects the inner layer of the jellyfish. Typically, Jellyfish has a simple digestive cavity referred as the coelenterons that is used as the stomach and excretory organ. The coelenterons operates like a gullet, intestines, and stomach through the mouth. On average, the length of jellyfish tentacle is two to ten meters and the length can grow tremendously. A study conducted by King (22), indicates that the longest jellyfish to have lived was 120 feet. Jellyfish are carnivores and they tend to increase rapidly when the food is plentiful. These creatures feed on small crustaceans and zooplankton just to name a few. Jellyfish are non-aggressive, free-swimming, and surrounded by tentacles with poisoning and stinging cells. The tentacles contain sacs filled with poison that can be life-threatening. With its severity in mind, researchers have provided facts and information on how to treat this sting. To remove the sting, one should use tweezers, thick clothing, gloves, or sticks (Lindeen 33). According to this research, one should not touch the sting with bare skin since the sting is poisonous and can severely affect the skin. One should throw away the item used for removing the sting to avoid stinging yourself later. To fully deactivate the poisonous sting, one should pour vinegar on the stung for at least one minute and then soak the area stung in vinegar for thirty minutes. If the eye is stung, one should put vinegar directly as this would affect the organ. Instead, one should use saline solution such as the artificial tears to rinse the eye from the poisonous sting. If the sting is inside the mouth, one should gargle the vinegar and salt water to rinse the poison. One should not swallow the vinegar as this would cause other complications in the body (Lindeen 23). If there is no available vinegar, one should rinse the sting with a baking soda or sea water if only it is salty water. After rinsing the sting, one should use a credit card, shaving razor, or a knife to remove the area stung. It is also recommended that one apply shaving cream or soap. After shaving the stung area, one should re-apply the salt water or vinegar to reduce swelling. Finally, one should dry the stung without using too much pressure to reduce swelling and itching. In this case, victims are recommended to apply a hydrocortisone cream to the stung area to reduce pain. After the mentioned process, one should clean any open sores regularly on a daily basis with some antibiotic products. For pain relief, one should apply ice packs. However, the victim should be taken to an emergency room if the pain becomes severe or unbearable. Still, if the victim has muscle cramps, palpitations, and shortness of breath should be taken to the hospital. The victim should also be rushed to the hospital if the continues to hurt, swell, or tear after the sting. From the ongoing discussion, the specific treatment for the specific treatment for deactivating the jellyfish stings is applying vinegar or salty sea water into the sting. If the victim has skin blisters, the victim should be treated for the burns (King 45). Jellyfish are graceful creatures that belong to the phylum cnidarians class. These bodies are much different from that of the most animals in that they have no brain, blood, or circulatory system. Jellyfish are carnivores found in water. When removed in water, these creatures collapse or die. Jellyfish are known for its brilliance skin colour such as red, orange, and blue. These creatures use their organs to provide a clear vision that differentiates the light and dark. As mentioned in the paper, the Jellyfish sting is so severe that it can lead to death in a short period. With this, victims are recommended to follow the mentioned procedure to remove and rinse the sting. If the sting is so severe, victims should be taken to the hospital for further medications and treatments. In so doing, this would reduce death rates caused by the Jellyfish sting. Works Cited King, David C. Jellyfish. New York: Marshall Cavendish Benchmark, 2006. Print. Lindeen, Carol. Jellyfish. Mankato, Minn: Pebble Plus, 2005. Print. Oceana. Feature: About Jellyfish, 2010. Web. 17 April. 2013. . Read More