A species of jellyfish hunts its prey by hurling venom grenades to create "stinging water", researchers said Thursday, solving a long-standing mystery as to how they gather food without tentacles.
研究人員週四表示，一種水母通過投擲毒液手榴彈來製造“刺痛的水”來捕獵獵物，這解決了一個長期存在的謎團，即它們如何在沒有觸角的情況下收集食物。
The upside down jellyfish (Cassiopea xamachana), found in shallow waters around Florida, the Caribbean and Micronesia, is a frequent nuisance to snorkelers and surfers who appear to get stung without touching the creatures.
在佛羅里達、加勒比海和密克羅尼西亞附近的淺水中發現的倒置水母^(Cassiopea Xamachana)對浮潛和衝浪者來說是一個常見的滋擾，他們似乎在沒有接觸這些生物的情況下就被蜇了一下。
It was thought that the stings came from detached tentacles or younger specimens.
人們認為這些刺來自分離的觸手或更年輕的標本。
But a team from the US Naval Research Laboratory realised that Cassiopea had in fact evolved a novel way of hunting without tentacles.
但美國海軍研究實驗室的一個團隊意識到，仙后座實際上已經進化出一種沒有觸角的新型狩獵方式。
The creatures lay on their backs and lob globules of venom-enriched mucus into the water overhead.
這些生物仰面躺著，把充滿毒液的粘液滴到頭頂的水中。
These structures, called cassiosomes, can kill prey and are the likely cause of 'stinging water,' a phenomenon experienced by snorkelers and fishermen in tropical waters.
這些被稱為仙后體的結構可以殺死獵物，並且可能是“蜇水”的原因，這是在熱帶水域浮潛和漁民經歷的一種現象。
Life cycle stages of C. xamachana and its cassiosome-laden mucus.
黃毛蟲的生活史階段及其含cassiosome的粘液。
(Ames et al., Communications Biology, 2020)
(Ames等，通訊生物學，2020)
The team analysed the cassiosomes and found their outer layer to be coated with thousands of stinging cells.
研究小組分析了決明體，發現它們的外層覆蓋著數千個刺細胞。
While the venom is not strong enough to pose a serious risk to humans, it does destroy skin cells and is deadly to smaller organisms.
雖然這種毒液不夠強，不足以對人類構成嚴重風險，但它確實會破壞皮膚細胞，對較小的生物體是致命的。
According to Cheryl Ames, from Japan's Tohoku University Graduate School of Agricultural Science, the stinging water "causes a sensation that is itchy-to-burning and, depending on the person, can cause enough discomfort to make them to want to get out of the water."
據日本東北大學農業科學研究生院的謝麗爾·艾姆斯(Cheryl Ames)表示，刺痛的水“會引起一種發癢到灼熱的感覺，並且根據人的不同，可能會造成足夠的不適，讓他們想要離開水”。
She said the findings of the study, published in Communications Biology, could help tourists, divers and even aquarium staff to avoid discomfort in future.
她說，這項發表在“通訊生物學”上的研究結果可以幫助遊客、潛水員甚至水族館工作人員避免未來的不適。
Ames told AFP that the world of science has much else to learn from jellyfish.
Ames告訴法新社，科學界還可以從水母身上學到很多東西。
"They have complex and coordinated behaviour with image-forming lens eyes, and some can even kill humans in minutes," she told AFP.
她告訴法新社說：“它們有複雜而協調的行為與成像鏡頭眼睛，有些甚至可以在幾分鐘內殺死人類。”
"Much is to be learned about them and the applications to biotechnology."
“關於它們以及在生物技術中的應用，我們有很多需要了解的地方。”
© Agence France-Presse
©法新社
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