📸 PhotoPhoto: Arnstein Rønning · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons Source
Lion's mane jellyfish
Cyanea capillata (Lion's mane jellyfish · キタユウレイクラゲ)
Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.
💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed
- 💡 Its usual bell diameter of 30–80 cm is about one to two and a half 30 cm rulers, and its maximum of 2.29 m is taller than a doorway (about 2 m) (Comparison).
- 💡 Contact can be dangerous to swimmers, though it does not actively hunt humans (ADW).
Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.
📖 1. Overview
The lion's mane jellyfish is a giant jellyfish living in cold northern seas, named after its lion's-mane-like tentacles.
🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology
Its hemispherical bell has scalloped margins divided into 8 lobes, and 94% of its body is water. Its bell is usually 30–80 cm in diameter, with reddish or yellow tentacles and purple oral arms.
🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior
Feeding mainly on fish, it spreads its tentacles in a circle while sinking slowly to trap prey like a net and stun it with nematocysts. It swims continuously, traveling great distances on ocean currents and sometimes forming shoals.
🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea
This species is listed in the National List of Species of Korea.
📚 Sources & References
- • IUCN Red List: not evaluated (NE) — cross-checked with the Wikidata conservation-status entry
- • marinespecies.org — aphia.php
- • 국가생물종목록(국립생물자원관) ktsn 120000235048 — https://species.nibr.go.kr/home/mainHome.do?cont_link=009&subMenu=009002&contCd=009002&ktsn=120000235048
- • wikidata.org — Q522939
- • commons.wikimedia.org — File:Cyanea capillata no.JPG
- • sealifebase.se — Cyanea-capillata.html
- • animaldiversity.org — Cyanea capillata
- • Silhouette: PhyloPic — author not recorded · CC0 1.0
Recorded dimensions are widely cited representative estimates from public literature and may vary by study or specimen.