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Lion's mane jellyfish

(Redirected fromCyanea capillata arctica)

Thelion's mane jellyfish(Cyanea capillata) is one of thelargest known speciesofjellyfish.Its range is confined to cold,borealwaters of theArctic,northernAtlantic,and northernPacific Oceans.It is common in theEnglish Channel,Irish Sea,North Sea,and in westernScandinavianwaters south toKattegatandØresund.It may also drift into the southwestern part of theBaltic Sea(where it cannot breed due to the low salinity). Similar jellyfish – which may be the same species – are known to inhabit seas nearAustraliaandNew Zealand.The largest recorded specimen was measured off the coast of Massachusetts in 1865 and had a bell with a diameter of 210 centimetres (7 feet) and tentacles around 36.6 m (120 ft) long.[2]Lion's mane jellyfish have been observed below 42°N latitude for some time in the larger bays of theEast Coast of the United States.

Lion's mane jellyfish
In Gullmarn fjord at Sämstad,Lysekil Municipality,Sweden
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Scyphozoa
Order: Semaeostomeae
Family: Cyaneidae
Genus: Cyanea
Species:
C. capillata
Binomial name
Cyanea capillata
Synonyms[1]
  • Cyanea arcticaPéron & Lesueur, 1810
  • Cyanea balticaPéron & Lesueur, 1810
  • Cyanea borealisPéron & Lesueur, 1810
  • Medusa capillataLinnaeus, 1758

Name

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Thelion's mane jellyfishis also known as thearctic red jellyfish,[3]hair jelly,[4]snottie,[5]sea blubber[6]orgiant jellyfish.[citation needed]

Taxonomy

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Cyanea capillata,expanding (top), contracting (bottom)

Thetaxonomyof theCyaneaspeciesis not fully agreed upon; some zoologists have suggested that all species within thegenusshould be treated as one. Two distinct taxa, however, occur together in at least the eastern North Atlantic, with theblue jellyfish(Cyanea lamarckiiPéron & Lesueur, 1810) differing in color (blue, not red) and smaller size (10–20 cm [3+7⁄8–7+7⁄8inches] diameter, rarely 35 cm [14 inches]). Populations in the western Pacific aroundJapanare sometimes distinguished asCyanea nozakii,or as a subspecies,C. c. nozakii.In 2015, Russian researchers announced a possible sister species,Cyanea tzetliniifound in theWhite Sea.[7]

Description

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Lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) are named for their showy, trailing tentacles reminiscent of alion's mane. They can vary greatly in size: although capable of attaining a bell diameter of over 2 m (6 ft 7 in), those found in lower latitudes are normally smaller than their far northern counterparts, with a bell about 50 cm (20 in) in diameter. Furthermore, larger specimens are typically further offshore than smaller ones. Juveniles are lighter orange or tan, very young lion's manes are occasionally colorless and adults are red and start to darken as they age.

While most jellyfish have a circular bell, the bell of the Lion's Mane is divided into eight lobes, giving it the look of an eight-point star. Each lobe contains about 70 to 150 tentacles,[8][9]arranged in four fairly distinct rows. Along the bell margin is a balance organ at each of the eight indentations between the lobes – therhopalium– which helps the jellyfish orient itself. From the central mouth extend broad frilly oral arms with many stinging cells calledCnidocytes.[10]Closer to its mouth, its total number of tentacles is around 1,200.[11]

The long, thin tentacles which emanate from the bell's subumbrella have been characterised as "extremely sticky"; they also have stinging cells. The tentacles of larger specimens may trail as long as 30 m (100 ft) or more, with the tentacles of the longest known specimen measured at 36.6 m (120 ft) in length, although it has been suggested that this specimen may actually have belonged to a differentCyaneaspecies.[12]This unusual length – longer than ablue whale– has earned it the status of one of the longest known animals in the world.[13]

Behavior and reproduction

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Main article:Jellyfish § Life cycle
Lion's mane jellyfish ephyrae form between two medusas.

Lion's mane jellyfish remain mostly very near the surface, at no more than 20 m (66 ft) depth. Their slow pulsations weakly drive them forward, so they depend on ocean currents to travel great distances. The jellyfish are most often spotted during the late summer and autumn, when they have grown to a large size and the currents begin to sweep them to shore. Unlike most pelagic jellyfish, they are completely solitary and rarely travel in groups.

The lion's mane jellyfish uses its stinging tentacles to capture, pull in, and eat prey such as fish, zooplankton, sea creatures, and smaller jellyfish.[14]

Like other jellyfish, lion's manes are capable of bothsexual reproductionin themedusastage andasexual reproductionin thepolypstage.[15]Lion's mane jellyfish have four different stages in their year-long lifespan: a larval stage, a polyp stage, anephyraestage, and the medusa stage.[15]The female jellyfish carries its fertilized eggs in a tentacle, where the eggs grow into larvae. When the larvae are old enough, the female deposits them on a hard surface, where the larvae soon grow intopolyps.The polyps begin to reproduce asexually, creating stacks of small, immature medusae called ephyrae.[16]The individual ephyrae break off from the stacks, where they eventually grow into the mature medusa stage to become full-grown jellyfish.[17]

Sting and human contact

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Lion's mane jellyfish swimming, side view

Human encounters with the jellyfish can cause temporary pain and localized redness.[18]In normal circumstances, however, and in healthy individuals, the stings of the jellyfish are not known to be fatal;vinegarcan be used to deactivate thenematocysts.If there is contact with a large number of tentacles, however, medical attention is recommended after exposure.

There may be a significant difference between touching a few tentacles with fingertips at a beach and accidentally swimming into the jellyfish. The initial sensation is more strange than painful and feels like swimming into warmer and somewhat effervescent water. Some minor pain will soon follow.[citation needed]Normally, there is no real danger to humans (with the exception of people suffering from special allergies), but in cases when someone has been stung over large parts of their body by not just the longest tentacles but the entire jellyfish (including the inner tentacles, of which there are around 1,200[11]), medical attention is recommended as systemic effects can be present.[19]Although rare, severe stings in deep water can also cause panic followed by drowning.[20][11]

In July 2010, around 150 beachgoers were stung by the remains of a broken-up lion's mane jellyfish alongWallis Sands State BeachinRye,New Hampshire,US. Considering the size of the species, it is believed that this incident was caused by a single specimen.[21]

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A photograph widely distributed on the internet appears to show an anomalously large lion's mane dwarfing a nearbydiver.The photo was subsequently shown to be a hoax.[22]

On the television programQI,the show claimed that the longest animal in the world was the lion's mane jellyfish. This was later corrected – in 1864, abootlace worm(Lineus longissimus) was found washed up on the coast ofFife,Great Britain, that was 55 m (180 feet) long. However, this claim is disputed, as bootlace worms can easily stretch to several times their natural length, so it is possible the worm did not actually grow to be that length. If that is the case, the lion's mane jellyfish would indeed be the longest animal in the world.[23]

The creature is referred to as the culprit in the 1926 short story "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane"inThe Case-Book of Sherlock HolmesbySir Arthur Conan Doyle.[24]

Predators

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Seabirds,largerfishsuch asocean sunfish,other jellyfish species, and mostsea turtleswill only attack juveniles or smaller specimens while a fully grown adult is incapable of being eaten, due to their massive size and the abundance of stinging tentacles they possess, although both adults and juveniles have been documented eaten by anemones.[15]Theleatherback sea turtlefeeds almost exclusively on them in large quantities during the summer season around Eastern Canada.[25]

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  • Lion's mane jellyfish capturing threemoon jellyfishes
  • Lion's mane jellyfish with full threads visible
  • Lion's mane jellyfish contracted
  • Lion's mane jellyfish expanding into star formation
  • Lion's mane jellyfish open, showing underside
  • Life-sized model in theSmithsonian Museum of Natural History,Washington DC, US
  • Small, dead lion's mane jelly washing up on the beach

References

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  1. ^Collins, A.G.; Morandini, A.C. (2023). World List of Scyphozoa.Cyanea capillata(Linnaeus, 1758). Accessed throughWoRMSon 2023-05-31
  2. ^Agassiz, Alexander.Illustrated Catalogue of the Museum of Comparative Zoology: North American Acalephae.Vol. 2. p. 44.
  3. ^"Wildlife Safety: Jellyfish".Parks Canada.13 December 2023.Retrieved5 September2024.
  4. ^"Hair jelly (Cyanea capillata)".Australian Venom Research Unit.Archived fromthe originalon 19 April 2013.
  5. ^"Snottie (Cyanea s.)".Beachsafe.Retrieved5 September2024.
  6. ^"Sea Blubber | Reef Environmental Education Foundation".
  7. ^Glafira D. Kolbasova; Arthur O. Zalevsky; Azamat R. Gafurov; Philipp O. Gusev; Margarita A. Ezhova; Anna A. Zheludkevich; Olga P. Konovalova; Ksenia N. Kosobokova; Nikita U. Kotlov; Natalia O. Lanina; Anna S. Lapashina; Dmitry O. Medvedev; Katerina S. Nosikova; Ekaterina O. Nuzhdina; Georgii A. Bazykin; Tatyana V. Neretina (2015). "A new species of Cyanea jellyfish sympatric to C. capillata in the White Sea".Polar Biol.38(9): 1439–1451.Bibcode:2015PoBio..38.1439K.doi:10.1007/s00300-015-1707-y.S2CID12405201.
  8. ^"Lion's Mane Jellyfish".Scubatravel.co.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 11 January 2014.Retrieved3 September2010.
  9. ^"Lions Mane Jellyfish – Types Of Jellyfish".8 January 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2011.
  10. ^Kozloff, Eugene (2003).Seashore Life of the Northern Pacific Coast.University of Washington Press. pp. 54, 56 (1983 edition).ISBN978-0295960845.
  11. ^abc"15 Facts About the Lion's Mane Jellyfish".15 February 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 6 January 2018.Retrieved6 January2018.
  12. ^McClain, Craig R.; Balk, Meghan A.; Benfield, Mark C.; Branch, Trevor A.; Chen, Catherine; Cosgrove, James; Dove, Alistair D.M.; Gaskins, Lindsay C.; Helm, Rebecca R. (13 January 2015)."Sizing ocean giants: patterns of intraspecific size variation in marine megafauna".PeerJ.3:e715.doi:10.7717/peerj.715.ISSN2167-8359.PMC4304853.PMID25649000.
  13. ^"Lion's Mane Jellyfish – Reference Library".redOrbit. 18 June 2009.Retrieved18 August2018.
  14. ^"Lion's Mane Jellyfish: Discovery Channel".Dsc.discovery. 23 May 2013.Retrieved8 September2013.
  15. ^abc"Lions Mane Jellyfish".Types Of Jellyfish. Archived fromthe originalon 8 January 2011.Retrieved3 September2010.
  16. ^"SCDNR – Jelly fish".Dnr.sc.gov. Archived fromthe originalon 12 November 2008.Retrieved3 September2010.
  17. ^"Open ocean – Jellyfish life cycle – Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand".Teara.govt.nz. 2 March 2009.Retrieved3 September2010.
  18. ^"Lion's Mane Jellyfish".Jellyfishfacts.net. Archived fromthe originalon 26 December 2010.Retrieved3 September2010.
  19. ^Mahon, Andrew; Mallinson, Tom E (2020). "Lion's mane jellyfish sting".International Paramedic Practice.10(2): 46–48.doi:10.12968/ippr.2020.10.2.46.ISSN2052-4889.S2CID225837493.
  20. ^"Jellyfish stings – Symptoms and causes".Mayo Clinic.
  21. ^"150 Stung By Jellyfish At Rye Beach – New Hampshire News Story – WMUR Manchester".Wmur. 21 July 2010. Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2011.Retrieved3 September2010.
  22. ^"Picture of Giant Lion's Mane Jellyfish – Facts – Hoax Or Fact".hoaxorfact.Archived fromthe originalon 14 October 2017.Retrieved18 January2018.
  23. ^Carwardine, M.1995.The Guinness Book of Animal Records.Guinness Publishing. p. 232.
  24. ^The Complete Sherlock Homes Short Stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. published by John Murray. 1928, reprinted October 1966, page 1285
  25. ^Heaslip, Susan G.; Iverson, Sara J.; Bowen, W. Don; James, Michael C. (2012)."Jellyfish Support High Energy Intake of Leatherback Sea Turtles (Dermochelys coriacea): Video Evidence from Animal-Borne Cameras".PLOS ONE.7(3): Article e33259.Bibcode:2012PLoSO...733259H.doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0033259.PMC3306388.PMID22438906.

Other sources

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