Ah, the ocean. It’s full of mysteries, marvels, and creatures that look like they were designed during a fever dream directed by HR Gieger. Among them swims a gelatinous giant with flowing, fibrous tentacles that seem to stretch into infinity. Meet the lion’s mane jellyfish, a giant egg yolk that can ruin your day with its spicy spaghetti. But when you’re an unthinking mass of stinging cells, you need to cast a wide net to find food here in LDT.
Description of the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish
Tentacles Clusters. These tentacles are divided into eight clusters, with each cluster containing around 150 tentacles.
Color Variations: Color varies depending on their size and age. Larger individuals are usually a dark reddish-brown, while smaller ones can be orange or tan.
Measure Up
Length
120 feet (36.5 meters)
- 350 go into the depth of Challenger Deep
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Width
7 feet (2.1 meters)
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Fast Facts about the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish
Habitat: They are typically found in the cooler waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic, and northern Pacific Oceans. They prefer open water but sometimes drift near coastlines.
Diet: Lion’s mane jellyfish are carnivorous and feed on small fish, zooplankton, and other jellyfish. They use their stinging tentacles to capture and paralyze their prey.
Stinging Cells: The tentacles of the lion’s mane jellyfish are covered in stinging cells called nematocysts, which release toxins to immobilize prey. While their sting can be painful to humans, it is generally not deadly.
Bioluminescence: Some lion’s mane jellyfish can produce light through a process known as bioluminescence. This is often used to deter predators or attract prey.
Life Cycle: Their life cycle includes both a medusa (adult) stage and a polyp (juvenile) stage. The medusa is the free-swimming stage, while the polyp is attached to a substrate and can produce new medusae.
Major Fact: Peril of the Bells
- The lion’s mane jellyfish holds the title for the longest animal in the world, outdoing even the blue whale.
- Its tentacles can reach up to 150 feet in length. Imagine a third of a football field of pure, stinging spaghetti. Much longer than even the blue whale at a measly 80 ft
- The tentacles are equipped with nematocysts, which are tiny cells that deliver a sting to their prey.
- Despite their intimidating length, the stings of a lion’s mane jellyfish, while painful to humans, are rarely fatal.
- They use their long tentacles to capture prey, which includes small fish, plankton, and other jellyfish.
- The tentacles draw the prey up to the jellyfish’s mouth, which is located underneath the bell.
- Lion’s mane jellyfish are found in colder, northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
Ending
So go with the flow, ring the Jellyfish bell of the new year, and troll the ocean with your nematocysts like the lion’s mane jellyfish here in LDT.