The Stinging Jellyfish
Jellyfish are
jelly-like
animals with
long tentacles
that hang
beneath their
bodies. The
tentacles have
stinging cells
that are used
to paralyze
smaller fish
and push them
up to their
mouths. These
tentacles can
also sting
people.
Jellyfish have seeing organs on the edge of
their bells. They can probably only tell light
from dark. They usually live for only about a
year.
The Portuguese man-of-war is
the type of jellyfish that has the
most powerful sting. It has an
air sack that floats above the
water. It is blown about by the
wind, but it can control its
movements by changing the
shape of the air sack. It can sink
by letting out gas and raise
itself by filling the sack again.
For Parents nTeachers
This block of The Mini Page is a guide for you to use with
this week's issue. The Mini Page is intended to be a learning
center for the entire family. Parents studying it with their
children can stimulate and encourage reading and other
skills.
Page 1: Read the story aloud to younger children. Ask older
ones to read it and check their comprehension by asking:
1. What are continental shelv.-1?
i 2. What are the objections to mining companies digging sand
from the shelf floor?
3. What are the objections to nuclear power stations?
4. What are the objections to deep-water ports and oil wells?
5. What must foreign ships do before they can fish within
200 miles of our coast?
Page 4: Ask the children if they can identify the sea life they
see on this page.
If you would like to set up a salt water aquarium, here are
some pointers: 1. Keep it clean. Remove excess food, coral,
algae and other debris. Omit over decoration with coral,
sponges and other marine plants. 2. Stock sparingly, using no
more than a single one-inch-long fish per gallon of water
capacity. 3. Use quartz sand on a sub-sand filter in the bottom
of the aquarium. Good filtration is vital. Monitor fish
behavior. Fin-nipping and other actions may be a sign of
problems.
What To See by the Sea!
The next time you have a chance, hold a whelk or conch
shell opening up to your ear and listen. What do you
hear? Whelks are large sea snails. Their shells get larger
as they grow older. Some can grow to be as long as
16 inches.
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Inshore lobsters tend to
stay in one place and not
move more than a mile or
so during their lifetimes.
Deep-water lobsters travel
more. The longest recorded
distance is 225 miles.
Lobsters molt or shed
their shells as they grow.
They often eat their
outgrown shells.
Some shrimp live to be
over 6 years old. Some
are as tiny as 1/2 inch
long. Others grow to be
as long as 12 inches.
ooit-sneii and nard-sneii crans
are the same species. A soft
shell crab is one that has just
shed its shell. This is a blue
crab.
A stone cran is not nurt wnen
its large claw is broken off at
the first joint. To escape, it
can cut off this claw by
contracting its muscles.
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