Catalina Island Leadership Program

Phoenix Country Day School

Kelp Forest Information Links

Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuaries

Wherefore Art Thou Jellyfish?

Jellyfish are found in all seven seas of the planet earth, however we did not see any jellyfish in Catalina. In order to figure out why we didn’t see any jellyfish we decided to find more information about them. We then later found out that the temperature was too cold in Catalina for jellyfish. Jellyfish like water that is in between 20-28 degrees Celsius and the water in Catalina was 16-18 degrees Celsius. The big round part of the jellyfish is called the bell. Connected to the bell are the tentacles, which on most jellyfish are electrical. They move by opening and closing the bell, and by going into currents. Jellyfish have two stages in their life. The first stage is called the polyp, and the second stage is called the maduca also known as jellyfish. There are some jellyfish that will occasionally visit the Channel Islands one of which is the Lions Main jellyfish. This is the biggest jellyfish in the world. Its’ body can become up to six feet across and its tentacles can become as long as a school bus. A new jellyfish that was just discovered is the Granrojo. This is Spanish for big red. The Granrojo is so unique because its’ tentacles are almost like octopus tentacles without the suction cups on them. This jellyfish is a predator and it lives in the deep sea. Not much is known about the Granrojo yet. An amazing fact about jellyfish is that they don’t have a brain or bones, and they are made up of 94-98% water. Now we know why jellyfish weren’t in Catalina and some simple facts about them.