Lion's Mane Jellyfish
The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) is one of the largest jellyfish, with a bell up to about two meters across and tentacles that can trail for tens of meters. It lives in the cold waters of the Arctic and the northern Atlantic and Pacific.
The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) is one of the largest jellyfish, with a bell up to about two meters across and tentacles that can trail for tens of meters. It lives in the cold waters of the Arctic and the northern Atlantic and Pacific.
🧬 Field Guide Specimen: Open Lion's Mane Jellyfish in the CRV Science Field Guide to log the specimen, see its place among the Cnidaria+Ctenophora lineages in the Cladogram Explorer, and test your recall in the Red List conservation game.
A Mane of Tentacles
Hundreds of tentacles hang in eight clusters from the underside of the bell, forming a dense curtain that sweeps through the water to catch fish, plankton and other jellyfish. The stinging cells are painful to humans but rarely dangerous.
A Shelter for Young Fish
Young fish such as juvenile cod and haddock shelter among the tentacles, apparently immune to the stings. The partnership gives the fish protection while the jellyfish may gain food scraps.
In Literature
The species features in a Sherlock Holmes story, "The Adventure of the Lion's Mane" (1926), in which it is the culprit. See Moon Jellyfish.
Lion's Mane Jellyfish at a Glance
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | Cyanea capillata |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Cnidaria |
| Class | Scyphozoa |
| Order | Semaeostomeae |
| Family | Cyaneidae |
| Field Guide group | Cnidaria + Ctenophora (Radiata & Jellies) |
| Diagnostic feature (Field Guide) | Largest known jellyfish, with a red-brown bell up to 2 meters and hundreds of stinging tentacles longer than a blue whale. |
| Class | Scyphozoa |
| Bell diameter | Up to about 2 meters |