Lion's Mane Jellyfish

The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata), also known as the enormous jellyfish, arctic red jellyfish, or hair jelly, is one of the most massive jellyfish species known. Its range is limited to the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans' frigid boreal waters. It can be found in the English Channel, the Irish Sea, the North Sea, and western Scandinavian waters south of Kattegat and the resund. It may possibly drift towards the Baltic Sea's southwestern region (where it cannot breed due to the low salinity). Similar jellyfish, possibly of the same species, have been found in the seas off the coasts of Australia and New Zealand. 

Alexander Agassiz measured the largest known example off the coast of Massachusetts in 1865, and it had a bell that was 210 centimetres (7 feet) in diameter with tentacles that measured 36.6 metres (120 feet). Lion's mane jellyfish have been seen in the main bays on the east coast of the United States for some time below 42°N latitude. The stinging tentacles of the lion's mane jellyfish grab, pull in and eat prey like fish, zooplankton, sea animals, and smaller jellyfish.

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Categorization of Lion’s Mane Jellyfish

The taxonomy of Cyanea species is disputed; some zoologists believe that all species in the genus should be classified as a single entity. The blue jellyfish (Cyanea lamarckii Peron & Lesueur, 1810) is different in colour (blue, not red) and size (10–20 cm diameter, rarely 35 cm [14 inches]) from the red jellyfish (Cyanea lamarckii Peron & Lesueur, 1810). Cyanea nozaki, or C. c. nozaki, is a subspecies of Cyanea nozaki, which is found in the western Pacific surrounding Japan. Russian researchers claimed the discovery of a probable sibling species, Cyanea tzetlinii, in the White Sea in 2015, although other authoritative databases such as WoRMS and ITIS have yet to recognise it.

Morphological Characteristics  of Lion’s Mane Jellyfish

• The lion's mane jellyfish size varies depending on where they are found. Lower-latitude species are smaller than those found in higher latitudes.

• Lion's mane jellyfish are among the world's biggest jellyfish. It's no surprise that, while being 95 percent water, they may weigh up to 200 pounds.

• The tentacles of a lion's mane jellyfish can be anywhere from 30 to 120 feet long. They shrink in size as the temperature warms. The size of the bell can range from less than an inch to nearly ten feet.

• The bell-shaped body of the lion's mane jellyfish has flowing tentacles dangling from the underside. The jellyfish's mouth, which is on the bell's bottom, is surrounded by eight clusters grouped in four rows.

• Each lobe, or cluster, can have up to 150 tentacles. One lion's mane jellyfish can contain up to 1,200 separate tentacles, each of which can grow to be over 100 feet long. A rhopalium, or balance organ, is found in each lobe. Oral arms that extend from the mouth are also present.

• Each tentacle or appendage now contains nematocysts, which are neurotoxins that can damage people. The oral arms are also covered in nematocysts.

• The bell's top is often crimson or dark yellow, with a thick centre that thins out as it approaches the edge. Tentacles are usually yellow or red in colour, with purple or blue oral arms. The upper section of the bell is protected by poisonous nematocysts.

• Jellyfish with bell sizes smaller than 5 inches are often yellow or pink. Those between the ages of 5 and 18 are more red or yellowish-brown in colour. When they reach a height of 18 inches, they become a dark brownish-red colour.

• The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) gets its name from its long, trailing tentacles that resemble a lion's mane. Although capable of reaching a bell diameter of over 2 m (6 ft 7 in), those found in lower latitudes are significantly smaller than their far northern cousins, with a bell diameter of about 50 cm (20 in). 

• Juveniles have lighter orange or tan manes, and very young lions' manes are sometimes colourless, while adults have red manes that darken with age.

• The lion's mane jellyfish's bell is scalloped into eight lobes (lappets), each of which has 70 to 150 tentacles arrayed in four separate rows. Each of the eight indentations between the lobes the rhopalium has a balance organ that helps the jellyfish orient itself along the bell border.

• Broad frilly oral arms with numerous stinging cells protrude from the central mouth. Its total number of tentacles near its mouth is roughly 1,200.

• The long, thin tentacles that protrude from the bell's subumbrella are described as "very sticky" and contain stinging cells. The tentacles of larger specimens can trail for up to 30 metres (100 feet), with the longest known specimen's tentacles measuring 36.6 metres (120 feet), though it has been hypothesised that this specimen may have belonged to a different Cyanea species. Its remarkable length longer than that of a blue whale has given it the title of one of the world's longest known mammals.

Reproduction 

• The lion's mane jellyfish goes through four stages of development. They begin life as larvae. They then change into a polyp, then into the ephyrae stage, and lastly into a medusa. The life span of this jellyfish species is only one year.

• When a mature female reaches the medusa stage, she is ready to reproduce sexually. External fertilisation is used to breed this jellyfish species around March and early May.

• The female lion mane will transfer the fertilised eggs in her tentacles until the eggs hatch into larvae.

• When the larvae reach adulthood, the mother abandons them on a hard surface to develop into polyps. Lion mane jellyfish (along with many other species) reproduce asexually during the polyps stage.

• During this phase, each polyp develops stacks of ephyrae. Then each of these ephyrae separates from the rest of the group and enters the medusa life stage. They are fully matured and ready to reproduce sexually at this point. It usually takes 30 to 40 days to complete the process.

Feeding Habit of Lion’s Mane Jellyfish

Small fish, other smaller jellyfish, ctenophores, zooplankton, crustaceans, and moon jellies make up a lion's mane jellyfish's diet. This species may shine in the dark because it is bioluminescent. The jellyfish can use their extra sticky tentacles and toxic stingers to attract prey close enough for them to be grabbed by their extra sticky tentacles and lethal stingers. Once the tentacles wrap around the victim, the stingers force the animal to become stunned.

Some types of food, on the other hand, seek refuge under the bell of a jellyfish in open water. Food and protection from other predators are provided by Medusa Fish, shrimp, young prowfish, butterfish, and harvestfish.

Habitat of Biggest Jellyfish in the World

Because Lion's Mane jellies prefer cooler water, they aren't found in tropical places. They spend the majority of their time in the Arctic, North Pacific, and North Atlantic waters. They're especially widespread off the coast of British Columbia and in the waters between Alaska and Washington. Because jellyfish do not actively swim, their habitat is influenced by water currents. This variety of jellyfish, on the other hand, is rarely found near the coast. Out in the open ocean, they're significantly more common.

In the wide water, where it prefers to float, the lion's mane jellyfish is easy to spot. Some individuals rival the blue whale, the world's largest animal, in size, with tentacles up to 120 feet long. The Arctic and North Pacific Oceans, from Alaska to Washington, are home to the majority of lion's mane jellyfish. The lion mane gets its name from its ‘mane' of long, hair-like tentacles that hang from the underside of its bell-shaped body. The mouth lies on the underside of the bell, surrounded by tentacles separated into eight clusters of up to 150 tentacles each. These tentacles are armed with nematocysts, which contain poison and paralyse prey when engulfed. The top of the bell is usually dark yellow or red in colour and thick in the centre but thins out as it gets closer to the margins. The lion's mane jellyfish is also bioluminescent, which means it can generate its own light and glow in the dark underwater.

According to scientific evidence, jellyfish thrive in regions where human activity is prevalent. Overfishing, climate change, and pollution have all contributed to more frequent jellyfish swarms, as well as a reduction in the jellies' major predators and competitors, as well as an increase in their prey. These elements have created a healthy environment for this species, and the lion's mane jellyfish and other jellies face minimal dangers.

Lion’s Mane Tentacles

The Lion's Mane tentacles are not only long, but they are also many. On the bell of the jelly, there are eight groups of tentacles, each with 70 to 150 tentacles. As a result, a single jellyfish could have up to 1200 tentacles.

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Ecology of World's Largest Jellyfish

These jellyfish can't survive in warmer waters because they're coldwater species. The jellyfish are pelagic for the majority of their lives, but near the end of their one-year lifecycle, they like to settle in shallow, sheltered coves. In the open ocean, lion's mane jellyfish serve as floating oases for shrimp, medusa fish, butterfish, harvestfish, and juvenile prowfish, providing both food and safety from predators.

Behaviour of Biggest Jellyfish in the World

Lion's mane jellyfish live usually on the surface, at a depth of little more than 20 metres (66 feet). Because their modest pulsations are insufficient to propel them forward, they must rely on ocean currents to traverse long distances. During the late summer and autumn, when the jellyfish have grown to a big size and the currents begin to sweep them to shore, the jellyfish are most commonly seen. They are fully solitary, unlike most jellyfish, and rarely migrate in groups.

Lion's mane jellyfish, like other jellyfish, can reproduce sexually in the medusa stage and asexually in the polyp stage. During the course of their year-long existence, lion's mane jellyfish go through four stages: larval, polyp, ephyrae, and medusa. The fertilised eggs are carried by the female jellyfish in her tentacle, where they develop into larva. When the larvae are old enough, the female places them on a hard surface, where they develop into polyps quickly. The polyps begin to reproduce asexually, resulting in ephyrae, or little organisms. Individual ephyrae break away from the stacks and evolve into the medusa stage, eventually becoming full-grown jellyfish.

Lion's Mane Jellyfish Sting and Human Contact

Jellyfish contacts in humans can result in transient pain and regional redness. The stings of the jellyfish are not known to be fatal in normal circumstances or in healthy people; vinegar can be used to deactivate the nematocysts. However, if a considerable number of tentacles are encountered, medical treatment should be sought immediately.

The difference between touching a few tentacles with your fingertips on a beach and swimming into a jellyfish could be enormous. The sensation is weird rather than terrible at first, and it seems like swimming in warmer, somewhat effervescent water. Minor discomfort will soon follow. In most cases, humans are not in any serious danger (with the exception of people suffering from special allergies). However, if a person has been stung across a wide area of their body by not just the longest tentacles, but the entire jellyfish (including the inner tentacles, which number roughly 1,200), medical attention is advised since systemic consequences may occur. Although uncommon, severe stings in deep water can induce fear and drowning.

Around 150 beachgoers were stung in July 2010 at Wallis Sands State Beach in Rye, New Hampshire, by the remains of a lion's mane jellyfish that had broken up into innumerable fragments. Given the species' size, it's possible that a single animal was responsible for the tragedy.

Popular Tales on Lion’s Mane Jellyfish (Biggest Jellyfish in the World)

In The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, the lion's mane jellyfish occurs in the Sherlock Holmes short tale "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane." The genuine killer of a professor who died shortly after going swimming (shouting "the lion's mane" before succumbing) was actually this jellyfish, as Holmes discovers at the end of the storey. Suspicion was initially levelled at the professor's love rival until the latter was also attacked (he survived, although badly stung). In the framework of the storey, the school professor succumbs solely because he has a weak heart, as evidenced by the survival of the second victim.

The lion's mane jellyfish was claimed to be the world's longest animal on the popular television show QI. This was eventually corrected when a 55-meter-long bootlace worm (Lineus longissimus) was discovered washed up on a Scottish beach in 1864. Because bootlace worms can easily stretch to several times their natural length, it is probable that the worm did not actually develop to that length.

Predators of Lion Jellyfish

Due to their massive size and abundance of stinging tentacles, seabirds, larger fish such as ocean sunfish, other jellyfish species, and sea turtles will only attack juveniles or smaller specimens, while a fully grown adult is incapable of being eaten, although anemones have been known to eat both adults and juveniles. During the summer season in Eastern Canada, the leatherback sea turtle eats nearly solely on them in vast quantities. Zooplankton, tiny fish, ctenophores, and moon jellies are the main food sources for jellyfish.

Did You Know

• The lion's mane jellyfish is one of the world's biggest jellyfish species, with an average length of 1.5 feet (40 cm) and a maximum length of 6.5 ft (200 cm).

• The lion's mane jellyfish gets its name from the "mane" of long, hairy tentacles that hang from its bell.

• The tentacles of a lion's mane jellyfish are divided into eight clusters and have a total length of up to 1,200.

• The lion's mane jellyfish hunt by spreading their tentacles outward and trapping prey such as fish and crabs. 

• The world's biggest jellyfish is a lion's mane jellyfish, 120 feet (36.5 metres) long.

• The sting of the lion's mane jellyfish can be quite severe for humans.