How can turtles eat jellyfish




















Today, however, we shall be focusing on leatherbacks, who are often known as gelatinivores, devouring gelatinous prey such as jellyfish wherever they go.

Among the seven species, leatherback sea turtles are the largest, with a study showing that they could grow up to kilograms in weight despite their specific jellyfish diet.

These sea turtles tend to experience this high amount of consumption during the summer, before making a 9, miles migration journey in search of nesting beaches. How do leatherbacks exactly feed on jellyfish and how are they capable of doing so? As humans, we are familiar with the venom jellyfish release when stinging the enemy. The venom comes from specialised cells called nematocysts and when made in contact with the human skin, the stung one gets could be awful and at times even fatal.

Sea turtles however are reptiles, and their scales can protect them from these venoms. While these characteristics might seem like a nightmare for jellyfish they are , eating any other food other than invertebrates would likely damage their unique scissor-like jaws. This is why it is imperative for leatherbacks to prey on jellyfish on a large scale. Furthermore, they only require 22 seconds one average to catch one jellyfish and are usually able to swallow dozens in continuity.

Jellyfish exist in abundance throughout the seven seas and they are known to be resistant even in the most distressed environment. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that there are a great resemblance and little difference between jellyfish and plastic bags for hungry sea turtles roaming the waters for food. This summer binge allows them to dramatically increase their body weight before heading off on the long voyage to the Indo-Pacific, in search of mates and find breeding spots.

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Paid Content How Hong Kong protects its sea sanctuaries. History Magazine These 3,year-old giants watched over the cemeteries of Sardinia. Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption. Have you ever wondered how a sea turtle can eat a jelly without being harmed? Sea turtles have special adaptations to protect them from sea jelly venom called papillae.

They are made out of the same protein found in our hair and nails, keratin. The largest species of sea turtle, the leatherback, can weigh as much as 2, lbs and grow as long as 6 feet.

A sea turtle that big needs to eat a lot of jellyfish, since they are mostly made out of water. This is also why it is so important to help out our sea turtle populations. Sea turtles help keep the jelly populations in check. Because sea turtles confuse jellies for other things floating in the ocean like plastic grocery bags and balloons, it is so important that we do our part.

Simple things like taking your own reusable grocery bag to the store with you and remembering not to release any balloons in the air can help out these amazing ocean animals. For more information on how to help, visit our sea turtle conservation page. This week, Turtle A weighs grams and measures Refer back to the table in this post to keep up with our weekly updated measurements.



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