Biggest Jellyfish in the World
Jellyfish has hundreds of species with different shapes and colors. There sizes vary from very small to huge. Some of these bigger species of Jellyfish can really be amazingly big. The two well known largest jellyfish species are Lion’s Mane jellyfish, and Nomura's jellyfish. There is another extremely rare deep sea giant jellyfish named “Stygiomedusa gigantean”.
The size of a jelly can be measured from
two sides. One way is to measure the diameter of its bell and another is the
tentacles length. The jellies with large bells also have huge body mass.
Note: Bell is the main body part of a jellyfish. It is the box like thing
from which the tentacles hang. The tentacles are long thread like organs which
are clustered below the bell of the animal.
Lion's Mane - Largest Jellyfish in the World
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| Lion's Mane Jellyfish |
The average bell diameter of a mature
Lion’s Mane is 50 cm (20 in). The largest specimens can be as big as 6 ft. The
animal has very long tentacles. The big animal’s tentacles can be as long as
100 ft (30m) or more. It is also the jellyfish with longest tentacles. These tentacles are extremely sticky. A mature jellyfish
can have about 100 such tentacles clustered in 8 groups.
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| Lion's Man Jellyfish is the Largest Jellyfish |
The largest known species of this giant
arctic jellyfish was found in 1870 in Massachusetts Bay. That giant had a bell
diameter of 6.7 m (37 ft) and its tentacles were 37.0 m (121.4 ft) long. It is
the largest jellyfish ever found and recorded by credible people.
If we measure by length, we can safely say that at 120 ft, the Lion's Mane is the world's longest living animal (that not necessarily means the largest, though). It is even longer than a Blue Whale.
If we measure by length, we can safely say that at 120 ft, the Lion's Mane is the world's longest living animal (that not necessarily means the largest, though). It is even longer than a Blue Whale.
The Lion’s Mane is venomous. Their stings
are very painful. So, do not try to touch one. The venom is not fatal but
medical attention is required in case of a severe attack.
Nomura's Jellyfish
Nomura's
jellyfish is another colossal jellyfish. That
oversized plankton can be bigger than a man. It can have a bell with 6 ft 6
inches (2 m) diameter. The full grown animal can weigh up to 200 kg or 440 lb.
To watch a Nomura in action you will have o visit China or Japan. The East China
Sea and the Yellow Sea are full with them. Actually, there population is
growing due to climate change and global warming.
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| Japan Sea is full with Nomura's Jellyfish |
Do you know that the Nomura’s jellyfish is
edible? Yes, some people in Japan eat that animal. Even there is an ice-cream
using the flesh of a Nomura.
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| Nomura's Jellyfish is one of the largest jellyfish of the world |
Stygiomedusa
gigantean is a rare species of big jellyfish which
lives in deep seas. S. gigantean lives
in the deep parts of the Antarctic or Southern Ocean. It was observed rarely by
some lucky individuals. They can also be as big as Lion’s Man. They can be
considered among the largest jellyfish found on earth. See the video to see some of them in action.
While these three above mentioned
jellyfishes can contest for the top place, we can have another candidate for
the next place after the largest three. The name of the species is Cyanea nozaki. Its popular name is
“Ghost Jellyfish”.
C. nozaki has a flat top bell which can grow up to 50 cm or 20 inches in diameter. The bell color is yellow or cream with a dark center. The edge of the bell is semi-transparent. The tentacles of the life form grow up to 10 m (33 ft). The ghost jelly also tend to form blooms like other big jellyfish species. Here is a video of one such jellyfish swimming happily under the ocean.
Learn about artificial jellyfish tanks from our article. To learn more about the fascinating world under our oceans and seas, to help generating consciousness among people to save out oceans, you can follow our official Twitter or Facebook page.
C. nozaki has a flat top bell which can grow up to 50 cm or 20 inches in diameter. The bell color is yellow or cream with a dark center. The edge of the bell is semi-transparent. The tentacles of the life form grow up to 10 m (33 ft). The ghost jelly also tend to form blooms like other big jellyfish species. Here is a video of one such jellyfish swimming happily under the ocean.
Learn about artificial jellyfish tanks from our article. To learn more about the fascinating world under our oceans and seas, to help generating consciousness among people to save out oceans, you can follow our official Twitter or Facebook page.
To learn more about these fascinating ocean dwellers you may visit the following resources:-
