The Plankton Chronicles - Gelatinous Zooplankton

About this video

Are Jellies destined to rule the ocean?

Having flourished more than 500 million years ago jellies could be destined to rule the oceans.                                          

Although flaccid, gelatinous blobs out of water (hence the name jellies), in the sea their delicate organs have perfectly adapted to the drifting routine of planktonic organisms.

In fact, they have proved much more resilient and adaptable than larger land mammals and reptiles having survived the five major episodes of extinction.

Here we see examples of jellies all along the evolutionary path – from salps and pteropods to comb jellies and their fragile cousins, the siphonophores. 

View this video on the Plankton Chronicles website.