Life is better upside down.
“I live by my name.”
Unlike most other jellyfish, this one lives by its name, resting upside down on the seafloor and rarely swims. Its appearance provides a good camouflage against predators, which mistake them as sea anemone or a bluish green water flower. When disturbed, these jellies release strings of mucous containing stinging cells that paralyses as a defense mechanism.
“And there was light.”
Upside down jellyfish can use their mucous to hunt for plankton. Alternatively, the algae inside them absorbs sunlight and photosynthesises, which explains why they are upside down and live in shallow waters to receive maximum sunlight. This jellyfish has a primary mouth to break food down into small particles, which are then ingested by a number of secondary mouths.