how do jellyfish reproduce

Jellyfish reproduce in a pretty unusual way: most species use both sexual and asexual stages during their life cycle.

How it works

• Adult jellyfish, called medusae , usually release eggs and sperm into the water, where fertilization happens.

• The fertilized egg becomes a larva called a planula , which drifts until it settles on a surface like a rock or the seafloor.

• That larva grows into a polyp , which can reproduce asexually by budding or splitting into tiny juvenile jellyfish called ephyrae.

• Those juveniles grow into adults and repeat the cycle.

Simple version

Think of it as a two-step life cycle: first they make babies sexually, then one stage of the life cycle can clone new jellyfish asexually.

Small variation by species

Not all jellyfish do it exactly the same way. Some release sperm and eggs directly into the water, while a few species use internal fertilization or slightly different larval paths.