关于水母的惊人事实

They're gooey, they sting and they're probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of seafood, but jellyfish are surprisingly fascinating creatures. They can mesmerize aquarium crowds like few other organisms, and they're some of Earth's most ancient animals that are still alive today. Take a few moments to revel in these fun facts about jellyfish. You might be surprised at what you don't know about these oddly charismatic gelatinous creatures.

它们黏糊糊的，会蜇人，可能不是你想到海鲜时首先想到的东西，但水母是一种令人惊奇的神奇生物。它们能像其他生物一样吸引水族馆的观众，它们是地球上现存最古老的动物之一。花点时间来享受一下这些关于水母的有趣事实吧。你可能会对你所不知道的这些奇特

These bizarre creatures never fail to amaze. (Photo: Chai Seamaker/Shutterstock)

They predate the dinosaurs by hundreds of millions of years.

它们比恐龙早了数亿年

Jellyfish have no bones, so fossils are hard to come by. Nevertheless, scientists have evidence these creatures have been bobbing along in the world's oceans for at least 500 million years. In fact, it's likely the jellyfish lineage goes back even further, possibly 700 million years. That's roughly three times the age of the first dinosaurs.

水母没有骨头，所以很难找到化石。然而，科学家有证据表明，这些生物在世界海洋中漂浮了至少5亿年。事实上，水母的谱系可能可以追溯到更早的时期，可能是7亿年前。这大约是第一批恐龙年龄的三倍。

They aren't actually fish; they're gelatinous zooplankton.

它们实际上不是鱼;他们是凝胶状的浮游动物。

Despite their name, jellyfish aren't fish at all. (Photo: Vilainecrevette/Shutterstock)

One look at a jellyfish and this might seem rather obvious, but they aren't actually fish. They are invertebrates from the phylum Cnidaria, and are so varied as a taxonomic group that many scientists have taken to simply referring to them as "gelatinous zooplankton."

看一眼水母，这似乎很明显，但它们实际上不是鱼。它们是刺胞动物门的无脊椎动物，作为一个分类群，它们是如此的多样化，以至于许多科学家把它们简单地称为“凝胶状的浮游动物”。

But some have eyes ...

但有些水母有眼睛……

Some box jellyfish species are among the most venomous creatures in the world. They also have several sets of 'eyes.' (Photo: Daleen Loest/Shutterstock)

Despite their simplistic body design, some jellyfish have the ability to see. In fact, for a few species their vision can be surprisingly complex. For instance, the box jellyfish has 24 "eyes," two of which are actually capable of seeing in color. It's also believed this animal's complicated array of visual sensors make it one of the few creatures in the world to have a full 360-degree view of its environment.

尽管水母的身体设计过于简单，但它们也有视力。事实上，对一些物种来说，它们的视觉可能会非常复杂。例如，箱形水母有24只“眼睛”，其中两只实际上能够看到颜色。据信，这种动物复杂的视觉传感器阵列使它成为世界上为数不多的能全方位观察周围环境的动物之一。

Some might be immortal.

有些可能是不朽的

At least one unique species of jellyfish, Turritopsis nutricula, may never actually die. When threatened, this species is capable of undergoing "cellular transdifferentiation," a process whereby the organism's cells essentially become new again. In other words, this jellyfish has a built-in fountain of youth. It's theoretically immortal!

至少有一种独特的水母，灯塔水母，可能永远不会死亡。当受到威胁时，这种物种能够进行“细胞转分化”，即生物体的细胞本质上重新成为新的细胞。换句话说，这种水母有一个内在的青春源泉。它在理论上是不朽的!

A group of jellyfish is called ...

一群水母被称为……

A very large group of jellyfish is often referred to as a 'bloom.' (Photo: leungchopan/Shutterstock)

A group of dolphins is called a pod, a group of fish is called a school and a group of crows is called a murder. But what is a group of jellyfish called? Many refer to groups of jellyfish as blooms or swarms, but they can also be called a "smack."

一群海豚叫豆荚，一群鱼叫鱼群，一群乌鸦叫凶杀。但是一群水母叫什么呢?许多人把水母群称为“花”或“群”，但它们也可以被称为“啪”。

They range widely in size.

它们的大小差别很大

Possibly the world's longest jellyfish, the lion's mane jellyfish has a poisonous sting. (Photo:Boris Pamikov/Shutterstock)

Some jellyfish are so tiny they are practically invisible floating in the ocean's currents, and the smallest are those in the genera Staurocladia and Eleutheria, which have bell disks from just 0.5 millimeters to a few millimeters in diameter. By contrast, the world's largest jellyfish are true monsters.

有些水母非常小，几乎看不见它们漂浮在洋流中，最小的是Staurocladia属和Eleutheria属，它们的钟形盘直径只有0.5毫米到几毫米。相比之下，世界上最大的水母才是真正的怪物。