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Freshwater Jellyfish, Not as Rare as You Might Think
The small, umbrella-shaped jellyfish are found on every continent except Antarctica. An invasive species that is thought to have originated in China’s Yangtze River, they were first documents in the late 19th century and are thought to have spread from China attached to plants and the bottoms of boats.
Freshwater jellyfish feed on whatever small food they get their tentacles on – mostly plankton, insect larvae and small worms. They use toxic barbs on the ends of their tentacles, which protrude from the rim of their round bodies, to sting and pull in prey.
Terry Peard, a retired biology professor in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania keeps tabs on the sightings of these jellyfish and has received several hundred reports in 2012 alone. Luckily, these quarter size invertebrate are not harmful to humans. Peard believes they are not able to penetrate human skin.
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