The Mid-Autumn Festival in China is a celebration of the moon. People spend the festival night appreciating the beautiful full moon, enjoying mooncakes and telling stories about the moon fairy Chang'e and her moon rabbit. Do you know the rabbit is not the only thing closely related to the faraway satellite? In the animal kingdom, a variety of members are named after the moon. Let's see how many of them you know.

The moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita) is a translucent, delicate creature. When it swims its iridescent glow looks like moonlight in the water. The most amazing thing about it is that the moon jellyfish never ages. Studies have found that the moon jellyfish is capable of life cycle reversal, meaning it grows younger instead of older.

As a fish species, as long as it has a flat body with silver glitter, it may be called the moonfish in different cultures. The term moonfish may refer to the opah, the mene, the selene, or some certain kinds of spadefish and platyfish. In many languages, including Chinese, the ocean sunfish (common mola) is also called moonfish. It may also be the most impressive in the "moonfish" family because of its weird shape and the size. It can weigh up to 1,000 kilograms.

The name "moon lizard" is shared by two species: the common house gecko and the Mediterranean house gecko. They got the name for their habit of emerging in the evening. In fact, most geckos are nocturnal, foraging for insects at night. These small reptiles are non-venomous and not harmful to humans. They may even help you get rid of the annoying mosquitos.

The moonrat is not a rat! Though it is a rodent, the moonrat (echinosorex gymnura) is more closely related to hedgehogs. The moonrat can be found in the jungle of Southeastern Asia. It looks harmless, but you may not want to get too close; it has a distinct, pungent odor with a strong ammonia scent.

The Asian black bear is also known as the moon bear because of the crescent-shaped white hair on its chest. Native to Asia, the black bear is one of the superstars in the animal kingdom. But its life is not so easy. The Asian black bear is listed as "vulnerable" on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and is threatened by deforestation, habitat fragmentation and human activities. Many black bears are trapped and killed for their body parts; some of them are also captured and sent to circuses for animal performances.

Different from all species listed above, the "moonbird" is not a species. It is a nickname belonging to a single bird: a red knot (Calidris canutus) "B95." The bird got the name because its annual migration along the Atlantic Flyway between Tierra del Fuego and the Canadian Arctic exceeds the distance to the moon. It is celebrated worldwide for its longevity. The famous bird has become symbolic in efforts to conserve shorebirds; there is even a statue of it on Delaware Bay.

(Cover image via VCG)

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