Photo: Arnstein Rønning · Image source ·CC BY 3.0
Animal profile · Other aquatic life · Jellyfish
Lion's mane jellyfish
Cyanea capillata
The lion's mane jellyfish is a large drifting jelly with a golden or reddish bell and many trailing tentacles. It lives mainly in cold northern oceans and uses stinging cells to capture prey.
Not a fish · an aquatic neighborWater
Saltwater
Open ocean and coastal waters, especially cool northern seas.
Temperature
Range not established
No dependable species-specific wild temperature range was located.
Size
Bell diameter 50 cm–1 m (19 in–3.3 ft); tentacles over 30 m (100 ft)
Its longest tentacles can stretch about as far as a 10-storey building is tall.
Lifespan
Not established in the wild
Life expectancy varies with place, conditions, and what scientists have been able to observe.
01 · Signature adaptation
What does it do?
It usually drifts with currents while gently pulsing its bell. Some fish shelter near or nibble on the jelly despite its sting.
02 · Home coordinates
Where does it live?
Arctic and North Pacific oceans, from Alaska to Washington, with occasional records farther south.
Regions: Arctic Ocean · North Pacific Ocean · Alaska to Washington
03 · The menu
What does it eat?
It traps drifting and swimming prey with its tentacles, then moves food toward its mouth.
Carnivore: tiny crustaceans, zooplankton, small fishes, moon jellies.
04 · Remember this
Two wow facts
Longer than a whale
Its tentacles can be longer than a blue whale.
Sources [1]
Sherlock's jelly
A Cyanea jellyfish appeared as the murder weapon in a Sherlock Holmes story.
Sources [1]