Cnidaria · cnidarians

Lion's mane jellyfish

Cyanea capillata

Cyaneidae · lion's mane jelliesIUCN: Not evaluated
Lion's mane jellyfish
Photo: W.carter · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

The largest known jellyfish, with masses of trailing tentacles.

Fun factOne that washed up in Massachusetts in 1865 had tentacles about 36 m long, longer than a blue whale.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, Arctic Ocean, North Pacific
Depth zone
Coastal shallows & estuaries, Continental shelf, Open-ocean surface waters
Diet
Zooplankton, fish & other jellies
Size
Bell up to 2 m; tentacles over 30 m

Classification

Cnidaria › Scyphozoa › Semaeostomeae › Cyaneidae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Phylum Cnidaria cnidarians
    • Radially symmetric bodies with one opening that is both mouth and anus
    • Stinging cells (cnidocytes) fire tiny harpoons (nematocysts)
    • Two body forms: an attached polyp and a swimming bell (medusa)
  3. Class Scyphozoa true jellyfish
    • True jellyfish: the swimming bell (medusa) is the main life stage
    • Small polyps bud off baby jellies by splitting in stacks (strobilation)
    • Bell edge has sense organs (rhopalia) in notches
  4. Order Semaeostomeae flag-mouth jellyfish
    • Jellies with four long, frilly oral arms hanging from the mouth
    • Tentacles hang from the edge of the bell
  5. Family Cyaneidae lion's mane jellies
    • Lion's mane jellies with dense clusters of long tentacles under the bell
    • Bell can reach more than 2 m across
  6. Genus Cyanea
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  7. Species Cyanea capillata Lion's mane jellyfish

Closest relatives in the guide