Monterey Bay Aquarium II: Jellyfish.

First, an awesome picture (not taken by me):

And now, without further ado...

Monterey Bay Aquarium II: Jellyfish!

Another extremely interesting and unique exhibit that the Monterey Bay Aquarium was hosting included some of the jellyfish species that inhabit the bay. This exhibit was excellent for a few reasons. First, and foremost, I have NEVER seen, nor have I expected to see, anything like this.

Secondly, the tanks that the jellyfish were living in must have had some fine tuned currents flowing through them, in various directions. So, for example, in the picture above you can see the jellyfish (sea nettles) swimming top to bottom. Further, they must have tuned the currents to match the average jellyfish swimming (or whatever they do) speed---this caused the jellyfish to more or less pulse right in front of us.

Also, the colors that were chosen were very fitting. The deep blue backdrop of the jellyfish really served to illustrate some of their intricate features. Of course, I am familiar with the intricate features of jellyfish, having found them wrapped (on more than one occasion) around my legs.

Finally, the care that was taken with such fragile creatures was impressive. These "egg yolk jellies" were in tremendous condition, and it is incredible to think how these animals must be handled. Of course, they were raised from polyps (or wherever they come from), but it's still interesting to think about how they feed these things, and how they ensure that tentacles and such are not lost in day-to-day jellyfish life.

The next two are moon jellies, in different life stages. The first picture is a baby jellyfish, and I think Bryanne will have some better pictures of these.



I'll close with the sea nettles, which were the most impressive and (I think) Bryanne's favorite. Their fire orange bells stood out in stark contrast to the cold azure background, and there must have been a hundred specimens in what was the largest tank in the room.


This last picture is rotated by pi radians and is a pretty damned good picture, if I do say so myself.


Coming soon: Starfish, Crabs and the Last of the Invertebrates!