Brainless Box Jellyfish Learn How To Behave
Box jellyfish are learners, not thinkers, according to a recent study conducted by a team of German and Danish scientists. We know that box jellyfish are brainless and rely on a nervous system developed over millions of years to navigate and hunt their prey. It's a fact that box jellyfish have some kind of short-term memory, though it's unclear how long this learned behaviour lasts. In this case, a Caribbean species of box jellyfish, tripedalia cystophora which is also found in South-East Asia, was studied resulting in clear evidence they can learn to manoeuvre around obstacles to avoid a potentially damaging collision. The roots of mangrove trees, which form the breeding ground for box jellyfish, get in the way of catching small fish and prawns, and can snag fragile tentacles. So, these box jellyfish use their visual senses - their 24 eyes - to swim around the roots. If the same exists in other box jellyfish including the lethal chironex species, and it is understood tha