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Invertebrates
Oceans

Jellies

Jellies
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   5.06

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    colorless, digestive, lavender, cases, creature, thrust, fairly, death, swimmers, brushes, defend, attack, likely, painful, certain, nerve

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Jellies
By Cindy Grigg 		  
1     What sea creature is called a fish but is not really a fish at all? The answer is a jellyfish. They are invertebrates- animals without backbones. They belong to a group called Cnidarians (pronounced NYE dare ee ahns). This group has stinging cells to defend themselves or attack prey. Other kinds of Cnidarians are corals and sea anemones.
 
2     Jellyfish are strange looking sea animals found in every ocean of the world. They are also found in some freshwater lakes and ponds. Since they are not fish, some people just call them "jellies." Jellies come in sizes from less than one inch across to about eight feet across!
 
3     Jellies have no brain, no heart, and no bones. Yet they have lived in the waters of the Earth for more than 650 million years. Long before dinosaurs walked the Earth, jellyfish floated in the seas.
 
4     A jelly's body is made up almost completely of water. Living in water helps an animal that has no bones move and capture food. Water keeps the jellyfish moist. If a jelly is taken out of the water, it quickly dries up and dies.

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