Peach blossom jellyfish, commonly known as "peach blossom fish" and "parachute fish". Hydra jellyfish, transparent, slightly milky white, thumb-sized, with a diameter of about 0. 1 cm to 1 cm and 256 tentacles, can be divided into seven grades according to their length. They float and sink in the water through the contraction of the umbrella and the up-and-down movement of the tentacles. Hydra is underdeveloped, only 2 mm high and has no tentacles. Fresh water production. Worldwide distribution, China has been found in Sichuan, Zhejiang, Hubei and other places.
Peach Blossom Jellyfish belongs to Echinotheca, Hydra, Freshwater Jellyfish and Jellyfish. The body of the peach blossom jellyfish consists of only two layers of cells, and there is a cavity in the body, which is the place where food is digested and absorbed, which is equivalent to the intestines of other animals and belongs to coelenterates. Peach blossom jellyfish is crystal clear, swimming around in the water, and its posture is like peach blossom petals floating on the water. The life history of peach jellyfish is the alternation of asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. Newt (the "childhood" of jellyfish) has extremely low requirements for the environment, but once the jellyfish is isolated, it has high requirements for the environment and water quality. When the environment adapts, salamanders naturally separate jellyfish; When the environment is unfavorable, salamanders will be absorbed into underwater or rock crevices and survive for generations.
The shape of the peach blossom jellyfish is an open umbrella or an upside-down bowl, which is called an umbrella body. The edge of the umbrella has many thin-line tentacles, which are its predatory organs. The mouth faces under the umbrella and is located at the end of a tube with four lips. The food is swallowed, and the undigested residue is still excreted through the mouth, so the peach blossom jellyfish has a mouth and no anus. There is a horizontal edge film on the umbrella edge, which is the same feature of hydra jellyfish.
Peach blossom jellyfish is crystal clear, swimming around in the water with beautiful posture. Its umbrella body is constantly contracting and relaxing, and the water pressure in the lower umbrella cavity is pushed out of the body, thus swimming slowly in the opposite direction. When encountering food, the stinger sac on the tentacle shoots stingers, stung the captured object, instantly anesthetized it, sent it into the mouth with the tentacle and swallowed it in the stomach. Peach blossom jellyfish mostly feed on cyclops, small nematodes, small ring worms, small tadpoles and small fry.
Peach blossom jellyfish is a rare animal in the world, and its appearance time is generally very short, so it is difficult to find it. Because they mostly appear in the early spring when peach blossoms are in full bloom, some of them are pink and swim in the water like peach petals floating on the water, so they were called "Peach Blossom Fish" in ancient China. However, it is clearly pointed out that peach blossom fish "is not a fish, but born in water, so it is called fish;" Born when peach blossoms are in full bloom, it is named Peach Blossom Fish. This correct understanding is a great achievement hundreds of years ago.
In zoology, the peach blossom jellyfish was first recorded in the world in 1880. The specimen was collected from London, England, and named as Peach Blossom Jellyfish 1880. About half a century later, it was found all over the world, mainly in temperate regions such as Asia, Europe and America, and also in Oceania. The first discovery of the peach blossom jellyfish in China was 1907, which was collected by a Japanese and named Yichang peach blossom jellyfish by Japanese scholar Qiu Shao [C.kawaii(Oka, 1907)].
In the thirty-seventh year of Wanli in Ming Dynasty, there was a record of "Peach Blossom Fish" in Guizhou Zhi. This is the earliest record of peach blossom jellyfish in the world. In the Collection of Ancient and Modern Books in the third year of Yongzheng in the Qing Dynasty (1726), there is such a detailed and vivid description of the peach jellyfish: "The peach jellyfish is shaped like a elm pod and has different sizes. When they crawl in the water, they collect food. If people gather their fingers and put them aside, they don't know how to avoid others, so they take them out of the storage tank. From the surface of the water, it looks like a twisted saliva, soft and without complicated shape. " In the 19th year of Qing Daoguang (1839), it was recorded in "Peach Blossom Fish Out of Chixi River, Peach Blossoms Only Bloom, Red and White Flowers, No Flowers Behind". Other ancient books also include: "Peach Blossom Fish is round, as thin as cicada wings, and its floating surface stretches." When it appeared, it said, "Take the peach blossom as life and death. When the peach blossom runs out, there is nothing." According to the information we have found, we can be sure that China's understanding of peach blossom jellyfish is at least 270 years earlier than that of European and American countries.
In Zigui, it can be said that "Peach Blossom Fish" is a household name, and there is such a beautiful and moving legend circulating. Zhao Jun, the king of Han and Zhao, married the Great Wall in order to reconcile Han and Hu. Zhao Jun returned home to visit relatives before marriage, holding the lute in his arms, sitting in a boat on the Chixi River and playing a lute line with deep affection. He couldn't help but burst into tears, dripping into the river and suddenly becoming a transparent peach blossom fish.
Up to now, peach jellyfish 1 1 species has been found in the world. Except for two species (1922) from Britain and Japan, the other nine species are all produced in China:
China peach blossom jellyfish (1939) is distributed in Leshan, Sichuan and Yichang, Hubei.
Leshan Peach Blossom Jellyfish (1939) is distributed in Leshan, Sichuan, Zigui, Hubei and Chongqing.
Hangzhou Peach Blossom Jellyfish (1980) is only distributed in Hangzhou.
Xinyang Peach Blossom Jellyfish (1980) is only distributed in Shihe Port, Xinyang, Henan.
Sichuan Peach Blossom Jellyfish (1984) is only distributed in Qingcheng Mountain, guanxian, Sichuan.
Peach Blossom Jellyfish in Zigui (1985) is distributed in Zigui, Chongqing and other places in Hubei (with the impoundment of Three Gorges Reservoir, the habitat of Peach Blossom Jellyfish in Zigui was destroyed).
Chuxiong Peach Blossom Jellyfish (2000) is only distributed in Chuxiong City, Yunnan Province.
Peach Blossom Jellyfish (2002) is only distributed in Zigui, Hubei.
Yichang peach blossom jellyfish (1907) is only distributed in Yichang, Hubei.
65438-0880 Saussurea involucrata is distributed in Japan, Korea, Philippines, Russia, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Denmark, Australia, USA, Canada, Panama and Chile. , has not been recorded in China. 1959 a new species of peach blossom jellyfish was reported in Taiwan Province province, but Kramp( 196 1) thought it was not a new species, but was Saussurea, which needed to be confirmed. The Japanese historical peach jellyfish (1922) is only distributed in Japan, and only one specimen has been collected.
According to the investigation and study of domestic experts for more than 50 years, from 1907 to 2002 and 1995, there were 14 provinces and 53 cities and counties in China, and some areas were found only once, such as Changsha, Chengdu, guanxian, Xiamen, Xinyang, Taiwan Province and Hongkong, and a few areas appeared almost every year. The species, wide distribution and early record of peach jellyfish in China are unmatched by other countries.
Why do peach jellyfish suddenly appear and disappear quietly in a few days or ten days? This is to be answered from their reproductive law. Peach blossom jellyfish seen in early spring in China are mature aquatic parents, which can be divided into two types: male and female. It used to be thought that male and female peach jellyfish were indistinguishable in appearance. According to our observation, the tentacles are slender, all of them are female, the tentacles are short and thick, and the ones vertically below are male. Men and women discharge eggs and sperm into water, and after fertilization, the eggs develop into tiny ciliated floating larvae, and one end of the latter larvae contacts and fixes with foreign objects such as the center of stony soil, and develops into tiny dendritic hydra. Hydra can survive hot summer and cold winter, and germinate and reproduce in the next spring to produce water matrix. After the aquatic mother matures, sexual reproduction is carried out. 1993 The hydra found in Zigui is only 0.3 mm long, and it was found again in 2002 under the condition of artificial culture. In zoology, polyps reproduce sexually, and polyps reproduce asexually to produce polyps, which is called generational alternation.
100 For many years, only1/peach jellyfish has been found in the world. Although there are many species and wide distribution in China, there are only two or three places in China where peach jellyfish can be collected because of the pollution of water quality, the destruction of natural environment and ecological imbalance. Therefore, this rare species in China is on the verge of extinction. Among the nine species of peach blossom jellyfish distributed in China, Yichang peach blossom jellyfish, Xinyang peach blossom jellyfish and short hand peach blossom jellyfish have been listed in the national red list of endangered animals, which are the highest-extremely endangered species, while Hangzhou peach blossom jellyfish, Leshan peach blossom jellyfish, Sichuan peach blossom jellyfish, China peach blossom jellyfish and Chuxiong peach blossom jellyfish are listed as endangered species.
He Zhenwu, Ren Xu and two experts who have studied jellyfish for more than 40 years found peach jellyfish in Wuxi Cuihu Lake, and the measured PH value was 6.4. He Zhenwu said that this slightly acidic water environment is most suitable for jellyfish growth. The water source mainly comes from the nearby Luding mountain stream.
Peach blossom jellyfish has important academic value and ornamental value. The extinction of this precious species is not only the loss of species diversity in China, but also the permanent loss of the recorded "Peach Blossom Fish" cultural resources in ancient China. At present, the call for protecting the peach blossom jellyfish has attracted the attention of domestic academic circles and all aspects. We have begun to study specific measures to save the peach blossom jellyfish, trying to save this extremely endangered species.
Research experts pointed out that the peach blossom jellyfish is a veritable "living fossil" with high research value and ornamental value. As a species formed in the process of biological evolution, its status is no less than that of giant pandas. Peach blossom jellyfish recorded the development of life on earth with its unique life form. Its unique genes are of great value to the research of modern genetic engineering, and also provide conditions for studying and understanding the inheritance and evolution of species.