Josh Chen – Global Citizen

Liburan Lebaran 2011 yang beberapa bulan lalu kami sekeluarga lewatkan untuk mengunjungi Hong Kong. Kunjungan kali ini sebenarnya untuk “menebus” kekecewaan kami tahun 2010 pada waktu ke sana yang disambut tiga hari tiga malam hujan terus menerus. Hampir seluruh trip ke sana, kami tidak menikmatinya, termasuk gagal mengunjungi Ocean Park. Kali ini kami berhasil mengunjungi Ocean Park yang sangat menarik.

Salah satu yang untuk kami sangat menarik adalah melihat jellyfish di dalam aquarium raksasa di sana. Berbagai jenis jellyfish, dari yang besar, sedang, kecil – berbagai jenis jellyfish – nampak berenang-renang indah.

Mengutip dari Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jellyfish deskripsi tentang jellyfish adalah:

Jellyfish (also known as jellies or sea jellies or a stage of the life cycle of Medusozoa) are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish life stages among animals in the phylum. Jellyfish have multiple morphologies that represent cnidarian classes including the Scyphozoa (over 200 species), Staurozoa (about 50 species), Cubozoa (about 20 species), and Hydrozoa (about 1000–1500 species that make jellyfish and many more that do not).

Jellyfish are found in every ocean, from the surface to the deep sea. Some hydrozoan jellyfish, or hydromedusae, inhabit freshwater; freshwater jellyfish are less than an inch (2.5 cm) in diameter, are colorless and do not sting. Large, often colorful, jellyfish are common in coastal zones worldwide. Jellyfish have roamed the seas for at least 500 million years, and possibly 700 million years or more, making them the oldest multi-organ animal.

In its broadest sense, the term jellyfish also generally refers to members of the phylum Ctenophora. Although not closely related to cnidarian jellyfish, ctenophores are also free-swimming planktonic carnivores, are generally transparent or translucent, and exist in shallow to deep portions of all the world’s oceans.

Alternative names for groups of jellyfish are scyphomedusae, stauromedusae, cubomedusae, and hydromedusae. These may relate to an entire order or class.

Yang saya jepret ini adalah dari keluarga Chrysaora. Saya kurang jelas apakah ini Chrysaroa quinquechirra (Atlantic sea nettle) atau saudaranya, yaitu Chrysaora fuscescens (Pacific sea nettle) yang sedikit lebih besar.

Masih mengutip Wikipedia:

Chrysaora quinquecirrha (known as the Atlantic sea nettle or East Coast sea nettle) is a species of jellyfish that inhabits Atlantic estuaries, such as the Chesapeake Bay. It is smaller than the Pacific sea nettle, and has more variable coloration, but is typically pale, pinkish or yellowish, often with radiating more deeply-colored stripes on the exumbrella, especially near the margin.

Chrysaora fuscescens (commonly known as the Pacific sea nettle or West Coast sea nettle) is a common free-floating scyphozoa that lives in the Pacific Ocean.

Sea nettles have a distinctive golden-brown bell with a reddish tint. The bell can grow to be larger than one meter (three feet) in diameter in the wild, though most are less than 50 cm across.

The long, spiraling, white oral arms and the 24 undulating maroon tentacles may trail behind as far as 3.6 to 4.6m (12 to 15 feet). For humans, its sting is often irritating, but rarely dangerous.

Chrysaora fuscescens has proven to be very popular for display at public aquariums due to their bright colors and relatively easy maintenance. It is possible to establish polyps and culture Chrysaora in captivity. When provided appropriate aquarium conditions, the medusae do well under captive conditions.

Dari keterangan yang saya baca penampakan kedua saudara dekat ini mirip sekali. Manapun itu, yang saya tahu pasti, mahluk ini indah sekali. Gerakan gemulai mereka di dalam air nampak magis dalam dunianya yang sunyi senyap di kedalaman samudera.

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Posted by J C Tuesday, 20 December 2011 on 07:26.

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