Osaka Aquarium Kaiyukan

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Sea angel (Clione Limacina) are shaped a little like angels, and have flapping "wings", hence their common name. They are gelatinous, mostly transparent pteropods, and they only have shells in their embryonic stage.

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The next tank had Crimson anemone, snakelock anemone, chevron-tentacle anemone (Cribrinopsis fernaldi)

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Cribrinopsis fernaldi is a large anemone that can be crimson red, orange or white. This species has zigzag transverse lines on its tentacles, white tubercles on its column, and spherules just below the tentacles. These spherules can be especially hard to see as they are often withdrawn. The column is up to 200 mm in diameter and around 250 mm high. The ###### disk has yellow or pink lines radiating from the mouth to the margin. These can be difficult to see in dark red individuals

Crimson anemone, snakelock anemone, chevron-tentacle anemone (Cribrinopsis fernaldi)

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The next tank had Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

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The cosmopolitan Aurelia aurita is found throughout the tropics and as far north as 70° latitude and as far south as 40°

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Aurelia aurita is an inshore species that can be found in places like estuaries and harbors. They can be recognized by their horse-shoe shaped gonads. They live in ocean water temperatures that range from −6 °C to 31 °C; with optimum temperatures of 9 °C to 19 °C. Aurelia aurita prefers mildly cold salt water with consistent currents.

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Aurelia aurita and other Aurelia species feed on plankton that includes organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, tunicate larvae, rotifers, young polychaetes, protozoans, diatoms, eggs, fish eggs, and other small organisms. Occasionally, they are also seen feeding on gelatinous zooplankton such as hydromedusae and ctenophores. Larvae of Aurelia aurita have nematocysts to capture prey and also to protect themselves from predators. The food is tied with mucus, and then it is passed down by ciliated action down into the gastrovascular cavity where digestive enzymes from serous cell break down the food.

[cityofangels]

Thank you so much for your pictorial journal of the Kaiyukan Aquarium. My only regret is not taking the time-off to see the aquarium for myself when I was in Japan in Dec 2004.

I'm simply blown-away by the diversity of marine life which can be found in this one aquarium! Manta-rays, a whale shark, hammer head sharks, Mola-Mola, etc. I can only hope to see such marine life when I'm diving.

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Thank you so much for your pictorial journal of the Kaiyukan Aquarium. My only regret is not taking the time-off to see the aquarium for myself when I was in Japan in Dec 2004.

I'm simply blown-away by the diversity of marine life which can be found in this one aquarium! Manta-rays, a whale shark, hammer head sharks, Mola-Mola, etc. I can only hope to see such marine life when I'm diving.

Glad u like the pics....Hoe u get to see the aquarium.

I think being able to see those majestic animals in the open water is way more awesome.

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The next tank had Pacific Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens)

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Pacific Sea Nettle (Chrysaora fuscescens) is radially symmetrical, marine, and carnivorous. Its mouth is located at the center of one end of the body, which opens to a gastrovascular cavity that is used for digestion. It has tentacles that surround the mouth to capture food. Nettles have no excretory or respiratory organs. Each sea nettle is free-swimming and can reproduce both sexually and asexually.

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Stinging sea nettles are carnivorous. They generally feed on zooplankton, ctenophores, other jellies, and sometimes crustaceans. Nettles immobilize and obtain their prey using their stinging tentacles. After that, the prey is transported to the gastrovascular cavity where it is subsequently digested.

Nettles also eat young minnows, bay anchovy eggs, worms, and mosquito larvae.

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Each nettle tentacle is coated with thousands of microscopic nematocysts; in turn, every individual nematocyst has a "trigger" (cnidocil) paired with a capsule containing a coiled stinging filament. Upon contact, the cnidocil will immediately initiate a process which ejects the venom-coated filament from its capsule and into the target. This will inject toxins capable of killing smaller prey or stunning perceived predators. On humans, this will most likely cause a nonlethal, but nevertheless painful rash typically persisting for about 20 minutes.

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The next display had Upside Down Jellyfish or Cassiopeia Jellyfish (Cassiopeia andromeda)

The Upside Down Jellyfish is so named because its flattened bell (head) rests on the bottom. It extends its frilly tentacles up into the water column where they capture planktonic food and absorb light that is used by photosynthetic algae that are housed in its body.

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The upside down jellyfish's arms contain zooxanthellae that needs sunlight for photosynthesis and hence, the jellyfish flips over to maximise the exposure to the sun. these jellyfishes depend on the zooxanthellae to provide them with nutrients, therefore can be seen resting upside down on the bottom.

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An illustration of the various jellyfish....

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The next display tank had Elegant Hydromedusa (Tima formosa)

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A close up of the Elegant Hydromedusa (Tima formosa)

[ambystoma82]

they realli have a lot of jellyfish....

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Another pic of the Elegant Hydromedusa (Tima formosa)

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The next tank had Nomura's Jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai)

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Nomura's Jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai) is a very large Japanese jellyfish. It is in the same size class as the lion's mane jellyfish, the largest cnidarian in the world. The width of these jellyfish are slightly larger than most full grown men.

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A close pic of the Nomura's Jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai)

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Another pic of the Nomura's Jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai)

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Passing by the Whale Shark model and the huge prehistoric replica of the giant turtle shell