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Road to Net Zero

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Road to Net Zero

Music & On-stage

Fashion & Beauty

The aquarium is the biggest in the Middle East with wildlife cared for by a team of 80 experts

Moon jellyfish at the Invasion of the Jellyfish exhibition at The National Aquarium in Abu Dhabi. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

The exhibition displays many interesting attributes of jellyfish, who are believed to have inhabited our seas for more than 600 million years

Wang Siyong, 2, with her father Wang Wen Dong looking at jelly blubbers

Sea nettles at the exhibition

A toddler admiring the aquarium's moon sea jellies

The exhibition takes its name from a term often used when blooms of jellyfish appear suddenly and for no apparent reason

This is part of their life cycle, which includes a dormant phase when the plant-like creatures known as ‘jellyfish polyps’ remain as sediment on the seafloor

When something extreme happens in the ocean, such as a sudden temperature change, the polyps start firing out an army of clones

These genetically identical jellyfish clones – which have no brains and are 98 per cent water – swarm the beaches, often causing distress among members of the public

The National Aquarium worked with marine biologists who have mastered the jellyfish life cycle in special breeding facilities

A visitor watching moon sea jellies

Jelly blubbers

Sea nettles

The Abu Dhabi exhibition features numerous jellyfish in various shapes and forms

A visitor at the exhibition

The National Aquarium is home to 46,000 creatures from 300 species and is spread across 10 zones

The aquarium is the biggest in the Middle East with wildlife cared for by a team of 80 experts

Moon jellyfish at the Invasion of the Jellyfish exhibition at The National Aquarium in Abu Dhabi. All photos: Chris Whiteoak / The National

The exhibition displays many interesting attributes of jellyfish, who are believed to have inhabited our seas for more than 600 million years

Wang Siyong, 2, with her father Wang Wen Dong looking at jelly blubbers

Sea nettles at the exhibition

A toddler admiring the aquarium's moon sea jellies

The exhibition takes its name from a term often used when blooms of jellyfish appear suddenly and for no apparent reason

This is part of their life cycle, which includes a dormant phase when the plant-like creatures known as ‘jellyfish polyps’ remain as sediment on the seafloor

When something extreme happens in the ocean, such as a sudden temperature change, the polyps start firing out an army of clones

These genetically identical jellyfish clones – which have no brains and are 98 per cent water – swarm the beaches, often causing distress among members of the public

The National Aquarium worked with marine biologists who have mastered the jellyfish life cycle in special breeding facilities

A visitor watching moon sea jellies

Jelly blubbers

Sea nettles

The Abu Dhabi exhibition features numerous jellyfish in various shapes and forms

A visitor at the exhibition

The National Aquarium is home to 46,000 creatures from 300 species and is spread across 10 zones

The aquarium is the biggest in the Middle East with wildlife cared for by a team of 80 experts

Photo essay: Abu Dhabi's jellyfish exhibition takes visitors to an alien world

The National Aquarium has worked with marine biologists who specialise in the aquatic creatures' unique life cycle

August 18, 2023

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