Compass jellyfish  (Chrysaora hysoscella)

Authentication

This information is awaiting authentication by a species expert, and will be updated as soon as possible. If you are able to help please contact: arkive@wildscreen.org.uk

Glossary

  • Asexual reproduction: reproduction that does not involve the formation of sex cells (‘gametes’). In many species, asexual reproduction can occur by fission (or in plants ‘vegetative reproduction’); part of the organism breaks away and develops into a separate individual. Some animals, including vertebrates can develop from unfertilised eggs, this process, known as parthenogenesis gives rise to offspring that are genetically identical to the parent.
  • Hermaphrodites: possessing both male and female sex organs.
  • Larvae: stage in an animal’s lifecycle after it hatches from the egg. Larvae are typically very different in appearance to adults; they are able to feed and move around but usually are unable to reproduce.
  • Planktonic: aquatic organisms that drift with water movements; may be either phytoplankton (plants), or zooplankton (animals).
  • Polyp: typically sedentary soft-bodied component of cnidaria (corals, sea pens etc), which comprise of a trunk that is fixed at the base; the mouth is placed at the opposite end of the trunk, and is surrounded by tentacles.

References

  1. National Biodiversity Network Species Dictionary (August 2002): http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nbn/
  2. Fish, J. D. and Fish, S. (1989) A student's guide to the seashore. 2nd Edition. Cambridge University press, Cambridge.
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