If you go near a big water reservoir you will surely notice that there are a lot of jelly-like creatures along the coast and in the water. They are called jellyfishes and are the creatures that inhabit all the oceans. But behind their beauty and attractiveness lies a danger to the health of people. Of course you can’t expect all of the jellyfishes to be dangerous, but many of them have a poisonous sting which can cause harm. But most of them are safe. One of the biggest jellyfishes known to men is the Lion’s mane jellyfish that inhabits the Pacific, Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The greatest Lion’s mane jellyfish found had a 2.3m cap diameter and tentacles that were 36.5 long.
However despite their big size their sting isn’t fatal. There hasn’t been a reported case in which a person has died, because of a sting from a Lion’s mane jellyfish. But of course if you get stung by such a jellyfish you should consider visiting a doctor as quickly as possible, because you will be feeling some strong pain and the place where you got stung will change its color to red.
However don’t be confused by the astonishing sizes of the largest species of Lion’s mane jellyfish found. The fact that one specimen had such vast sizes doesn’t make the other specimens also so big. For instance the specimens which inhabit the north oceans are quite big and can reach such sizes, but the specimens that inhabit the other oceans most often reach up to 60cm diameter with tentacles up to 30m. The tentacles of the Lion’s mane jellyfish are its main weapon for hunting due to their ability to stick to the prey, disabling its movement. The length of the tentacles is the biggest joker of the Lion’s mane jellyfish when hunting, because it can easily reach the prey without notifying it of its presence.
The Lion’s mane jellyfish is officially the longest creature on the Earth with the amazing length of the biggest specimen at 36.5 by easily beating the length of the amazing Blue whale. The body shape of the Lion’s mane jellyfish is a star and more specifically a eight edged star. As most of the other jellyfishes Lion’s mane jellyfishes also have a color and it varies by the time of their life. For instance the young ones have a medium yellow color while the older ones are pink or dark purple colored.
The Lion’s mane jellyfish specimens mostly spend their time near the top of the surface of seas and oceans and rarely submerge under 20m of depth. Due to their big size they don’t rely on their body pulsations for movement, but instead count on wind and water currents to move them around. The time when you have the biggest chance to see a Lion’s mane jellyfish is in the beginning of the autumn and the last days of summer when the strong winds and water currents carry their flocks near the coastal line.
Do you want to learn more about the lion’s mane jellyfish? Be sure to check out JellyfishFacts.Net for more information on Jellyfish. Don’t miss the jellyfish stings section either!
categories: jellyfish,marine life,ocean,biology,aquariums,fish,outdoors
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