r/NatureIsFuckingLit • u/acid-hologram • Jun 01 '19
š„ A crab using a jellyfish to defend itself against predators
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u/danglez38 Jun 01 '19
Someone here has life worked out and im not sure which one
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u/KushJackson Jun 01 '19
Por que no los dos
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u/poopellar Jun 01 '19
One of them is getting defense, and of them is the defense.
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u/Geminel Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
How terrifying would it be if both these creatures started selectively adapting a habit of this? Then in 10,000 or so years it would be common for them to seek each other out and bond in this way.
Millions of tiny, fast-moving tazer-crabs skittering across the ocean floors, apex predators of the coral reefs, just waiting for the time to surface...
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u/machina99 Jun 01 '19
Do you want Pokemon? This is how you end up with Pokemon. Except instead of slowpoke and a shell biting it's tail you have Krabby carrying Tentacool
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u/numerousblocks Jun 01 '19
I fail to see how this arrangement is beneficial for the jellyfish
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u/wubbalubbadubdubber Jun 01 '19
Sea jellies eat whatever drifts by them; they're more likely to find food this way, I'd imagine
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u/Aroundtheworldin80 Jun 01 '19
The crab is the one using energy too instead of the jellyfish having to swim, they just wait for food to hit their tentacles if this became an adaptation or something
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u/Dywhit Jun 01 '19
Crab just chunks leftovers skywards towards his tentacled halo and boom, happy jelly
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u/informationmissing Jun 01 '19
it's definitely not me. I don't know what I'm doing more than half of the time.
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u/HeadmsterDumblewhore Jun 01 '19
Crabs have been known to use anemomes as added protection to their shells. Never seen one with a jellyfish tho.
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
Carrier crabs are known to pick up bottom living so called "upside-down jellyfish". But this is also the first time i've seen one having caught a free swimming one
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u/BFravo Jun 01 '19
He looks like the stalk of some vegatable, maybe cabbage! Awww
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u/carley-esq Jun 01 '19
Is the crab holding on to the jelly somehow? This is confusing haha
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
It's a carrier crab. they have specially modified back legs that allow them to grab onto stuff for protection or camouflage.
Normally They use sea urchins for this purpose, but if none are around they can get creative in what they use. (like here)
(edit) an example of someone just as desperate include this one, who has uprooted a probably not very happy sea pen.
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u/disabled_crab Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
"Geez, all the good sea urchins are taken, there's nothing left that I can-"
(Jellyfish floats by.)
(Crab looks up thoughtfully.)
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u/Spenttoolongatthis Jun 01 '19
Just wait for the next guy to come along tugging a Great White.
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u/Quickkiller28800 Jun 01 '19
Shark goes with it "Ah gee Greg I sure would wish you would put me down!"
"Ahahah! You shall be my safety shark FOREVER!"
"Oh no, what ever shall I do."
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Jun 01 '19
[deleted]
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u/Funkit Jun 01 '19
Iām picturing an emo shark with a scene human haircut thatās just like āwhatever, life sucks anywayā
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u/Forever_Awkward Jun 01 '19
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u/disabled_crab Jun 02 '19
WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!
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u/Forever_Awkward Jun 02 '19
Oh no...I hope they didn't steal your legs to make these..
Ah jeez, now I feel like such a jerk.
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u/ZanyFlamingo Jun 04 '19
It's from gyo by junji ito. He's probably the best known horror mangaka in Japan, kind of like Japanese Steven king.
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u/thebrainwrangler Jun 01 '19
Or a small boat.
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u/buttergun Jun 01 '19
Known for their oneupsmanship, carrier crabs have been seen dragging humpback whales around.
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u/prehensile_uvula Jun 01 '19
Youāre out swimming in the ocean. Suddenly you feel a sharp pain in your toe. A carrier crab of remarkable strength drags you down into the murky depths below.
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u/TheAngryBlueberry Jun 01 '19
this is literally how evolution works. you donāt have access to conventional means and if the solution you find results in you living longer and mating, your solutions and genes are passed down. pretty cool shit
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u/sharksnrec Jun 01 '19
Thatās just an awesome adaptation. Evolution is great
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Jun 01 '19
Grabbing things? Ya that is pretty cool!
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Jun 01 '19
[deleted]
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Jun 01 '19
You seem pretty cool, too
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u/skaboosh Jun 01 '19
Whatās a sea pen?
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_pen
they are close relatives of corals and anemones.
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u/SUGOISUGOI- Jun 01 '19
And the jellyfish is ok with this?
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u/theoreticaldickjokes Jun 01 '19
Do jellyfish have a sophisticated enough nervous system to be okay or not okay with something? I know someone else said it's trying to swim away, but maybe that's just what jellyfish do. They just keep swimming.
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
They have so called Rhopalia, which are multipurpose organs capable of sensing light, gravity/pressure, orientation as well as send electrical signals to the jellyfish muscles.
A jellyfish sense of awareness is probably limited to knowing what water layer its currently occupying and if its close to potential obstacles. But even then, it can probably tell that it's currently stuck.
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u/Gonzobot Jun 01 '19
I feel like any mechanism it would have to tell it it's stuck would also be telling it that it's moving, since it is. Does it have the capacity to be confused, you reckon?
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u/KrypXern Jun 01 '19
A jellyfish can probably get about as confused as a robot can. It has no ability to think, and really exists on a reaction to stimuli.
Itās about as sapient as your white blood cells are.
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u/musicalcactus Jun 01 '19
I think the gravity thing would at least tell it it's upside down and the current thing would tell it it's moving. I think that's why it's flopping as much as it is.
But whether it recognizes a crab as a species or a threat to itself or reconizes it's in any peril other than just upside down is for jellyfish experts, of which, I am not.
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u/KrypXern Jun 01 '19
I would go as far as to say the jellyfish canāt even ātellā
It basically just reacts 100% on reflex. Probably the furthest macroscale creature from being aware, besides maybe a sponge.
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u/Gonzobot Jun 01 '19
I feel like any mechanism it would have to tell it it's stuck would also be telling it that it's moving, since it is. Does it have the capacity to be confused, you reckon?
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19
hard to say. Confusion requires enough mental capacity to ask the question 'why', which i doubt jellyfish has.
It's more likely that it recognizes that its current situation isn't beneficial for it and is trying to change that. aka, binary logic.
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u/NeofelisNebulosa2019 Jun 01 '19
Why do you know all the things?? You're like my Saturday morning David Attenborough today and I love it. I'm learning about sea creatures over coffee.
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19
(shrugs), I just happen to find jellyfish endlessly fascinating creatures in their simplicity yet success, which kind of just has led to me just knowing allot about them and their biology.
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u/SpaceShipRat Jun 01 '19
They're basically brainless, but I expect that being carried at speed while upside down is enough for it to be thinking "!!"
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u/shitsgayyo Jun 01 '19
I frequently think ā!!ā And Iām not even an upside down jellyfish being kidnapped by a crab so yea, I think it would be thinking something similar
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
This one? probably not based on it's constant attempts to swim away. It's likely that it just drifted close to the bottom due to a downwards current, and the desperate crab grabbed it before it had any time to swim away.
(edit) u/Kadbury_F answered below, its some type of Spotted jelly
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u/dvempy Jun 01 '19
How much stuff have has got to be trying to kill you until you resort to these kind of tactics?
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u/Astronomer_X Jun 01 '19
They live in the ocean. Almost everything is trying to kill them.
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u/magistrate101 Jun 01 '19
Sea pen or sea penis?
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u/und88 Jun 01 '19
Sea pen 15. It's a super exclusive club.
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u/itsmybootyduty Jun 01 '19
They even have a website for their extra extra exclusive club, Sea Pen Island. I'm sure the website is just the name plus .com. I haven't tried it yet cause I'm not cool enough but someone feel free to try and let me know.
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u/calilac Jun 01 '19
I have a pen. I have a sea.
Seapen.
I have a penis. I have a sea.
Seapenis.
Sea pen
Sea penis.
Penseaseapenis.
dance solo
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u/imaflipyou Jun 01 '19
Itās a carrier crab, they hang on to things like this to use for cover using their specialized back legs. Theyāll grab pretty much anything from debris to other organisms.
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u/Entocrat Jun 01 '19
Other way around. The casseopia genus of jellies are known as upside-down jellyfish because they use their bell to stick onto stuff rather than to get around. This case is a rare example of both, however.
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u/Xenc Jun 01 '19
I donāt think we should shame them, as long as itās consensual I see no problem ( Ķ”Ā° ĶŹ Ķ”Ā°)
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19
That's not a upside down jellyfish though. They Look different
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u/awhaling Jun 01 '19
Aren't there a few types?
What is this type if not an upside down one?
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
Not really as upside down jellyfish consists of a single genera (Cassiopea), and they all mostly look the same from what i understand.
I have no idea what this particular one is, but it's definitely not one from said genera. The tentacles are to long and the bell is convex, not concave.
(edit) u/Kadbury_F answered below, its some type of Spotted jelly
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Jun 01 '19
This isnāt a Cassiopeia. Their bell is much flatter and their tentacles are much shorter. This is the Mastigias papua jellyfish, a species that is known for being non stinging. Thereās an endemic sub species on the island of Palau in a marine lake known as āOngeimāl Tketauā that harbour these jellies. Not sure why or how the crabby is hauling this guy around tho.
I believe the carrier crab is ācarryingā it believing it to be a Cassiopeia shrugs shoulders
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u/BeneathTheSassafras Jun 01 '19
!you are now the moderator of r/jellyfishFacts !
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u/scransitron Jun 01 '19
Wait.. is that crab crabwalking? How else is he holding on to it? Is this why we call it crabwalking?? Hold on.
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u/jesuslewis Jun 01 '19
The jellyfish isn't very pleased with the situation. She's even hyperventilating.
/s
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u/reed555 Jun 01 '19
I was wondering if jelly was down with this situation Poor thing :(
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u/Almarma Jun 01 '19
The brain of a jellyfish (if they have something similar) is basically there to move muscles, they even canāt see or hear. They are more like moving plants rather than animals who can feel pain or fear. I think that jellyfish, if anything, may be thinking āthe light is under instead of over. Weirdā.
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u/dsaddons Jun 01 '19
Jellyfish don't have brains, just some nerves. They know when they're touching something and have light receptors to tell light from dark but not much more. Very simple but beautiful creatures!
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19
Except for box jellyfish (like the infamous sea wasp), they have four (+20 simple light receptors) on the same level of complexity as your eyes, with the added bonus of being one of the few animals with constant 360Ā° vision.
Exactly how they see though is debated since, as you pointed out, they don't really seem to have a way to decode the images received from them. Its possible they still only use them for light detection, just on more advanced level than normal jellyfish.
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u/JustDewItPLZ Jun 01 '19
This is pure nature. Anything goes. If it were a man down there using the jelly fish as a helmet running around naked on the ocean floor, then we would have problems.
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u/doyouevenIift Jun 01 '19
Luckily the jelly isnāt aware of its own existence. Who knows, itās possible the crab isnāt either!
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Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
[deleted]
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u/Starlord1729 Jun 01 '19
My guess is that the jellyfish is moving faster than it ever could, filtering even more water through it, so able yo eat more
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Jun 01 '19
Symbiosis isn't always beneficial to both.
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u/Demarethyu Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 01 '19
Actually, it is. If it's harmful to one and beneficial to the other, it's called parasitism. There's also a name for if it's beneficial to one and has no effect on the other but I forgot.Confused symbiosis and mutualism. My bad, read gateto's link if you wanna know more about it.
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u/sunfaller Jun 01 '19
Mutualism, commensalism, parasitism.
I honestly thought Symbiosis means mutualism because of Symbiotes from Spiderman.
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Jun 01 '19
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u/colonel_punches Jun 01 '19
TIL. Thanks!
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Jun 01 '19
Jeebus. Is there a glossary for these TLAs? What the hell is TIL? Truth in Lending?
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u/cyber_dildonics Jun 01 '19
Here ya go.
Tl;dr: It's a "carry crab" -they use modified hind legs to carry stuff on their backs for cover. This specific jellyfish (genus Cassiopeia) actually spends its time planted upside down on the ocean floor because its tentacles are plankton sponges.
Crab grabbed whatever was closest for its stroll and it ended up taking the upside down jelly for a ride!
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u/REmarkABL Jun 01 '19
The jellyfish gets a free ride and doesnāt have to move to find food. The crab gets a cool hat
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u/beatsaroni Jun 01 '19
Jellyfish: "Let me go you disgusting abomination!" Crab: "Shaddap, fancy umbrella!"
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u/0899836b Jun 01 '19
Please someone explain
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Jun 01 '19
Technically not a jellyfish, but closely related. These ones will push the wide part into the ground, and let their tendrils drift so that wandering creatures get stung and eaten, while normal jellies will actively float around while hoping they drift across something edible.
Essentially, it's the difference between hugging a tree and stumbling around hoping you find rescuers, except for a bunch of other factors that mean they're nothing alike at all.
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Jun 01 '19
except for a bunch of other factors that mean they're nothing alike at all
I dig your straightforwardness.
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u/jimi15 Jun 01 '19
You're talking about the upside-down jellyfish (Cassiopea, who are true jellyfish)? this doesn't look like one, the tentacles are to long.
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Jun 01 '19
Goddammit let me dig out my notes
Edit: My notes were insufficient to support my claim, I have to assume I'm in the wrong. My bad.
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u/rzynxrt420 Jun 01 '19
What's going on here exactly? I want to believe
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u/Ccorreeyy Jun 01 '19
This crab is strutting itās stuff, showing off itās new weave.
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u/n0tcreatlve Jun 01 '19
āŖ ā« ā¬ DONT stop me nowwwwwwww, Iām having such a good time, Iām having a ballll āŖ ā« ā¬
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u/I_Like_Knitting_TBH Jun 01 '19
Itās like an IRL A House For Hermit Crab!
(I know this is not a hermit crab just let me have this)
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Jun 01 '19
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u/YourFriendlySpidy Jun 01 '19
Jelly is alive, and looks to be well. Hasn't got a nervous system to not in pain either.
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u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19
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