GOLDANGIT, Emma! Them jellyfish is after the cows agin! Newslink

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

There is a plague of Jellyfish in Oklahoma. I’m going to repeat that.

For it is a statement well worth repeating: in Oklahoma, an inland State, best know for Wheat, they are annoyed–no, harassed–NAY! BESET!..by Jellyfish.

http://www.newsdaily.com/Quirks/UPI-1-20080120-17495500-bc-us-jellyfish.xml

Oklahomans under siege by jellyfish

TULSA, Okla., Jan. 20 (UPI) – Residents of more than 20 counties in Oklahoma are struggling to deal with the sudden appearance of jellyfish in their local bodies of water.

While the jellyfish are typically no larger than a quarter, some Oklahoma residents told the World they have seen much larger examples.

“They attach themselves on hoses, buoys and the boats. Sometimes you see hundreds at a time,” Oklahoma resident Joey Farland said of the jellyfish.

“I’ve seen some as big as a watermelon.”

Okie Dopers? (:D) Do any of you have a camera & a little free time? I wanna see these suckers.

[CalMeacham]

I thought this had to be an Onion-quality joke, but Googling “Oklahoma” and “jrellyfish” gets lots of hits.
Most of them don’t see them as a threat, and say they’re the size of quarters, though (not watermelons), and stress amazement at the existence of fresh-water species. They say they aren’t present in large enough numbers to cause problems:

http://www.thekansan.com/stories/010208/topstories_20080102035.shtml

Home

Hodge says the freshwater jellyfish do not eat enough to be a detrimental influence on the ecosystem.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

@CalMeacham

I thought this had to be an Onion-quality joke, but Googling “Oklahoma” and “jrellyfish” gets lots of hits.

Toldya.

[Ike_Witt]

Are Jellyfish taking over the World?.

[An_Arky]

Eh, those Okies will just start noodling for them, anyway.

[Hockey_Monkey]

One of the most deadly creatures in Australia is a jellyfish that’s only 2.5 cm big. I assume these are mostly harmless, but size is not an indicator of toxicity. Jellyfish scare the bejebus out of me, so big or small, I’m not going anywhere near one. I guess Oklahoma’s off the list now.

[Tabithina]

I live in SW Missouri, so I was curious to find out if they were here as well, and apparently they are:
http://mdc.mo.gov/conmag/2000/07/3.htm

Missouri is full of weird things–scorpions, tarantulas-- so I’m not surprised that we have jellyfish too! I’ll have to keep an eye out for those next summer. If the crawdads don’t eat them all first.

[sub] ::Skeeved out, but slightly proud as well::[/sub]

[Sailboat]

@Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor

“They attach themselves on hoses, buoys and the boats.”

Say what? What does he mean by “attach”? Are they just getting tangled, or are they settling down?

I don’t know much about jellyfish, but I thought they were free-swimming, not attached (sessile). I do know of sessile “hydras” in fresh water, but they’re tiny.

[Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor]

@Sailboat

Say what? What does he mean by “attach”? Are they just getting tangled, or are they settling down?

I don’t know much about jellyfish, but I thought they were free-swimming, not attached (sessile). I do know of sessile “hydras” in fresh water, but they’re tiny.

Well, some jellyfish live the sessile life as they develop. They’re called polyps in this stage.

Since reading this, I’ve done a little online reading about jellyfish.

As for these specific ones, I dunno. Go ask the jellyfish.

[Sophistry_and_Illusion]

Do they sting? Freshwater stinging jellyfish would really suck.

[Encinitas]

At least they don’t have giant squid in Oklahoma. :eek:

[Balance]

@Sophistry and Illusion

Do they sting? Freshwater stinging jellyfish would really suck.

I would guess that these are Craspedacusta sowerbii. If so, they have nematocysts, but they shouldn’t be capable of penetrating human skin.

[Lumpy]

@Encinitas

At least they don’t have giant squid in Oklahoma. :eek:

Although rumor has it prairie squid are to be found.

[Sophistry_and_Illusion]

@Balance

I would guess that these are Craspedacusta sowerbii. If so, they have nematocysts, but they shouldn’t be capable of penetrating human skin.

That’s good. As a big fan of waterskiing, I don’t like the thought of fresh-water stinging jellyfish. Imagine wiping out in the middle of a herd of them. :eek:

[Tikki]

@Lumpy

Although rumor has it prairie squid are to be found.

The rain forests of the Pacific Northwest are home to the endangered tree octopus so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were squid out there on the wide prairie as well.

[CalMeacham]

The rain forests of the Pacific Northwest are home to the endangered tree octopus so I wouldn’t be surprised if there were squid out there on the wide prairie as well.

Tree Octopus, huh?

That would freak me out, if they weren’t such good eatin’.
Tastes like chicken. Real rubbery chicken.

[Cheez_Whia]

What’s that whooshing sound I hear?

[CalMeacham]

What’s that whooshing sound I hear?

Beats the heck outta me. I guess there are some folks who just can’t recognize a joke when they see it.