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.
研究人员周四表示，一种水母通过投掷毒液手榴弹来制造“刺痛的水”来捕猎猎物，这解决了一个长期存在的谜团，即它们如何在没有触角的情况下收集食物。
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.
在佛罗里达、加勒比海和密克罗尼西亚附近的浅水中发现的倒置水母^(Cassiopea Xamachana)对浮潜和冲浪者来说是一个常见的滋扰，他们似乎在没有接触这些生物的情况下就被蜇了一下。
It was thought that the stings came from detached tentacles or younger specimens.
人们认为这些刺来自分离的触手或更年轻的标本。
But a team from the US Naval Research Laboratory realised that Cassiopea had in fact evolved a novel way of hunting without tentacles.
但美国海军研究实验室的一个团队意识到，仙后座实际上已经进化出一种没有触角的新型狩猎方式。
The creatures lay on their backs and lob globules of venom-enriched mucus into the water overhead.
这些生物仰面躺着，把充满毒液的粘液滴到头顶的水中。
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.
这些被称为仙后体的结构可以杀死猎物，并且可能是“蜇水”的原因，这是在热带水域浮潜和渔民经历的一种现象。
Life cycle stages of C. xamachana and its cassiosome-laden mucus.
黄毛虫的生活史阶段及其含cassiosome的粘液。
(Ames et al., Communications Biology, 2020)
(Ames等，通讯生物学，2020)
The team analysed the cassiosomes and found their outer layer to be coated with thousands of stinging cells.
研究小组分析了决明体，发现它们的外层覆盖着数千个刺细胞。
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.
虽然这种毒液不够强，不足以对人类构成严重风险，但它确实会破坏皮肤细胞，对较小的生物体是致命的。
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."
据日本东北大学农业科学研究生院的谢丽尔·艾姆斯(Cheryl Ames)表示，刺痛的水“会引起一种发痒到灼热的感觉，并且根据人的不同，可能会造成足够的不适，让他们想要离开水”。
She said the findings of the study, published in Communications Biology, could help tourists, divers and even aquarium staff to avoid discomfort in future.
她说，这项发表在“通讯生物学”上的研究结果可以帮助游客、潜水员甚至水族馆工作人员避免未来的不适。
Ames told AFP that the world of science has much else to learn from jellyfish.
Ames告诉法新社，科学界还可以从水母身上学到很多东西。
"They have complex and coordinated behaviour with image-forming lens eyes, and some can even kill humans in minutes," she told AFP.
她告诉法新社说：“它们有复杂而协调的行为与成像镜头眼睛，有些甚至可以在几分钟内杀死人类。”
"Much is to be learned about them and the applications to biotechnology."
“关于它们以及在生物技术中的应用，我们有很多需要了解的地方。”
© Agence France-Presse
©法新社
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