Arctic cyanide is the largest jellyfish. The world's largest jellyfish. Structure and color

In this article, we will introduce you to the largest representative of the jellyfish family - the lion's mane jellyfish or, as it is also called, the giant arctic jellyfish.

Some representatives of this species have a bell size of almost two meters. The habitat of these creatures is the cool waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, in addition, it can be found in the Baltic and North seas. A lot of giant arctic jellyfish have chosen the east coast of Great Britain as their habitat.

The body of the lion's mane jellyfish is 94 percent water. She has a bell, consisting of two layers of fabric, hemispherical in shape, the edges of which are curly. In addition, the bell is divided into parts, there are eight of them in total. There are recesses at the base of each lobe. In these lobes are the sense organs of the jellyfish. These are the sense of smell and light receptors.

As a rule, the diameter of the bell is from 30 to 80 cm, but there were individual individuals whose bell diameter reached 180 cm.

The color of the bell can be different, for example, pink, red-gold or brown-purple. At the bottom of the umbrella is the mouth of a jellyfish, surrounded around the perimeter by a fringe of small tentacles. In addition, the giant arctic jellyfish has eight groups of tentacles, each of which has 150 of them. They contain highly effective nematocysts. The largest representatives of this species have tentacles up to 20 meters long.

The lion's mane jellyfish has both male and female specimens. In both those and others, a kind of bag is located on the wall of the stomach, which contains, depending on the sex of the individual, spermatozoa or eggs. When the spermatozoa mature, they are released into the water through the male's mouth opening, and then in the same way - through the mouth - they enter the female's body and fertilize the egg.

Until the larvae hatch, the development of the eggs takes place in the tentacles of the female. After the larvae hatch, they settle to the bottom, where their further development takes place, the next stage of which are polyps. In the process of their growth, small appendages are separated from them, from which, in the end, jellyfish grow, which, in turn, repeat this entire cycle.

Giant arctic jellyfish are not at rest for a minute, they are constantly moving, while they can reach a decent speed of several kilometers per hour, which allows them to travel long distances. In addition, sea currents help them navigate the expanses of water. There have been cases of a large accumulation of this species of jellyfish in the North Sea and off the coast of Norway.

The Arctic Cyanea (Cyanea capillata) is the largest jellyfish in the world. Its giant dome can reach a diameter of 2 meters, and thin translucent tentacles grow up to 20 meters in length.

The body of the cyanide can have a wide variety of colors, but brown and red individuals are usually found. Adult jellyfish top of the dome may be yellow, and its edging is red. The mouth lobes, as a rule, are painted in bright crimson tones, which signals danger to other animals. The younger the jellyfish, the brighter its color.

Arctic Cyanea grows and develops according to the life cycle of all jellyfish. Her life is divided into two main stages: medusoid and polypoid. From birth, the jellyfish is a larva that swims freely in the water for several days. Then it attaches to the substrate and becomes a polyp. In this state, the jellyfish actively feeds and rapidly increases in size. After some time, transparent stars bud from the polyp - larvae, which in the future will transform into jellyfish.

The halos of the habitat of these jellyfish cover all the northern seas of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, where they freely and leisurely swim near the surface of the water. They move very effectively, making rare strokes of the edge blades and reducing the dome.

Do not forget that these huge jellyfish are predators, so their long tentacles are always ready to attack and hunt. They form a dense network right under the dome of the jellyfish and secrete the strongest poison, which instantly kills small prey, and paralyzes large animals. Almost all types of marine animals become the object of cyanide hunting: from plankton to fish and other jellyfish.

For a person, a meeting with Arctic cyanide will not bring serious trouble. People who are prone to allergies or those with sensitive skin will develop a slight rash, while those who are stronger will not notice any discomfort at all.

The jellyfish reproduces as follows: males throw spermatozoa into the water through their mouths, which penetrate into special cavities inside the female's mouth. The embryos of future jellyfish are formed there, where they remain until they reach the age of entry into open water. Once outside, the larvae begin the medusoid stage of their lives.

Arctic cyanide prefer to live in the upper layers of the water and rarely sink to the very bottom. By their nature, they are active predators that feed mainly on plankton, small fish and crustaceans. With a lack of these animals, cyanide is taken to eat its relatives - jellyfish of various species, including representatives of its own species. During the hunt, the cyanide rises almost to the surface of the water and spreads its long tentacles to the sides. In this position, the jellyfish looks more like a cluster of algae. When the victim swims between the tentacles and accidentally touches them, cyanide wraps around the body of the prey and paralyzes with poison, which is produced in numerous stinging cells located along the entire length of the tentacles. As soon as the victim stops moving, the cyanide pushes it towards the mouth opening with tentacles, and then with oral lobes.

The Arctic cyanoea, or Cyanea capillata, has become a popular variety, appearing in literary works, most notably in The Adventures of the Lion's Mane about Sherlock Holmes. However, arctic cyanide is actually not as dangerous as it is portrayed in popular culture. The sting of this jellyfish is simply incapable of causing deaths in humans. Although the rash can be painful for sensitive people, and the toxins in the venom can cause an allergic reaction.

One specimen of the Arctic Cyanea, which was found in Massachusetts Bay in 1870, was over 7 feet in diameter and had tentacles longer than 120 feet. However, the bell of the Arctic Cyanea is known to be able to grow up to 8 feet in diameter, and its tentacles can be 150 feet long. This creature is much longer than the blue whale, which is generally thought to be the largest animal in the world. This species of jellyfish is very variable in size. While the largest individuals are found in the northernmost waters of the Arctic Ocean, the size of the jellyfish decreases as you travel south. The color of this species of jellyfish also depends on its size.

The largest specimens of jellyfish were dark red. As the size decreases, the color becomes lighter until it becomes light orange or brown. The medusa bell is divided into eight petals. Each petal has a group of 60 to 130 tentacles at the edge of its jelly body. The Arctic cyanide also has many oral lobes near the mouth to facilitate transport of food to the jellyfish's mouth. Like most jellyfish, the Arctic Cyanea is carnivorous and feeds on zooplankton, small fish, and ktenophores, and is also cannibalistic, feeding on other jellyfish. Predators that pose a danger to this jellyfish are seabirds, big fish, other varieties of jellyfish and sea turtles.

I think, after reading the details, you realized that the photo above or the photo, for example, the photo at the beginning of the post is still just a convenient angle (or photoshop) and of course there are no such huge jellyfish.

source Jacob delafon

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Are you also waiting for a vacation to spend it at sea? No matter how much we love to carelessly splash in its waves, we should not forget that danger can be hidden in them. Namely, jellyfish - often cute, but mercilessly stinging. And although they are almost entirely composed of water, the stinging cells of many of them contain poison, which is injected into the victim faster than a bullet flies. So it's time to find out which jellyfish you should not approach even for the sake of a beautiful picture and what to do if you are still stung.

We are in website chose 10 dangerous jellyfish, whose venom can provoke a serious allergic reaction and can even be dangerous to health and life. We hope you don't have to deal with any of these jellyfish. But it doesn't hurt to be careful.

sea ​​wasp (Chironex fleckeri)

Usually an individual reaches 30 cm in diameter, and its 24 tentacles can be up to 2 m long. The "bite" of sea nettles is extremely painful, leaving behind a rash and aching pain, but at least these jellyfish are not life-threatening.

Where does it meet: coasts of North America, the Atlantic and Indian oceans.

Irukandji (Carukia barnesi)

Portuguese boat, aka physalia, is not even a jellyfish, but a whole colony of polypoid and medusoid individuals. Very long “tentacles” are hidden under a small beautiful bubble - in fact, these are polyps covered with stinging cells with a deadly poison. Their length can reach 10 m. Physalia move in groups of up to 100 colonies, and sometimes entire beaches have to be closed in resorts because of them.

Where does it meet: tropical seas, but often appears in the seas of the temperate zone.

Cornerots (Stomolophus meleagris)

This is one of the largest jellyfish in the world: its diameter reaches 2 m, and it can weigh about 200 kg. Nomura are dangerous not only because they are poisonous, they also damage fishing equipment. There is a known case when a fishing vessel was sunk because of them: jellyfish clogged the nets, and the crew could not cope with them.

Where does it meet: Far Eastern seas of China, Japan, Korea and Russia.

Pelagia nightlight (Pelagia noctiluca)

The jellyfish can emit light in short bursts, and its color varies from pink and purple to golden. They are often carried by the waves to the beaches, as they live near the shore. Although jellyfish are small (6-12 cm in dome diameter), they sting painfully, and their venom causes burning, inflammation, allergic rashes and leaves blisters.

Where does it meet: Mediterranean and Red Seas, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

What to do if you are stung by a jellyfish?

• Type: Cnidaria (Coelenterata) Hatschek, 1888 = Coelenterates, Cnidaria
• Subtype: Medusozoa = Medusoproducing
• Class: Scyphozoa Götte, 1887 = Scyphozoa
• Squad: Semaeostomeae = Discomedusa
• Genus: Cyanea = Arctic cyanide
• Species: Cyanea capillata (Linnaeus, 1758) = Hairy cyanide (giant arctic jellyfish; lion's mane jellyfish)

Hairy or arctic cyanide (Cyanea capillata, synonym - C. arctica) - a species of scyphoid from the discomedusa order, in which the medusa stage reaches very large sizes. The Arctic cyanide is the largest jellyfish in the world's oceans. In large specimens that are not very common, the diameter of the dome can reach 2 m, while the tentacles of such unique specimens can stretch up to 20 m. At the same time, the largest jellyfish had tentacles 36.5 meters long, with an umbrella diameter of almost 2.3 meters . But usually most cyanideas grow no more than 50-60 cm. This species also has another very interesting name: Medusa lion's mane

Hairy cyanide has an extensive range: it can be found in almost all northern seas of both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. At the same time, cyanide is found only in the surface layers of water without sailing far from the coast. In warmer seas, like the Black and Azov Seas, this disk jellyfish is not found.

The body of the arctic cyanide can have a variety of colors, but it is usually dominated by red and brown tones. The upper part of the dome in adult specimens is yellowish, and its edges are usually red. The mouth lobes of cyanide are painted in crimson red. The marginal tentacles are usually light, painted in pink and purple hues. Unlike adults, juveniles are much brighter in color.

The edges of the cyanide bell, which has a hemispherical shape, are transformed into 16 blades separated by cutouts from each other. At the same time, at the base of these cutouts, there are marginal bodies of ropalia, in which there are such sensory organs as vision (in the form of eyes) and balance - their role is played by statocysts. The marginal tentacles are long; they are attached to the inner concave side of the dome under the lobes between the ropalia. The marginal tentacles are collected in 8 bundles. The mouth opening is located in the center of the lower part of the dome. It is surrounded by large, folded oral lobes hanging down in the form of curtains. The digestive system is quite branched. Its radial canals depart from the stomach, then go into the oral and marginal lobes of the bell, where they form additional branches.

In its life cycle, cyanide has a change of two generations: sexual and asexual. The sexual or medusoid generation leads an active lifestyle and lives in the water column, while individuals of the asexual polypoid generation lead an attached benthic lifestyle.

Jellyfish of the sexual generation of cyanide are separate sexes. Reproduction occurs as follows. Cyanea males release mature spermatozoa into the water through their mouths. From here they penetrate into the brood chambers of females, which are located in the oral lobes, where the eggs are fertilized, and then their further development. Motile planula larvae emerging from fertilized eggs leave the female's brood chambers. They swim in the water column for several days, and then, having chosen a suitable place, they attach to the substrate. After that, the larva transforms into a single polyp, which is called the scyphistoma. At this stage, the polyp actively feeds, due to which it increases in size. He, budding from himself daughter scyphistomas, can thus reproduce asexually. In the spring, the process of strobilation or transverse division of the scyphistoma occurs, as a result of which active larvae of the jellyfish ethers are formed. In appearance, they resemble transparent stars with eight rays. At this stage of development, they do not have marginal tentacles and oral lobes. The ethers break away from the maternal scyphistoma and swim away, and by the middle of summer they gradually turn into jellyfish.

Jellyfish - cyanide most of the time hover freely in the surface layer of ocean water, periodically shortening the dome and flapping the edge blades. At the same time, numerous tentacles of jellyfish are straightened and extended to their full length. Cyanees are predators, therefore their long tentacles, densely seated with stinging cells, form a dense trapping net under the dome. When the stinging cells are fired, a strong poison penetrates the body of the victim, as a result of which small aquatic animals die, and large ones cause significant damage to the body. The main prey of cyanides are various planktonic organisms, including other jellyfish.

The jellyfish of the Arctic cyanide is also dangerous for humans, since it can cause very painful burns to careless divers with its tentacles. Basically, the burn leaves only local redness on the body of a stung person, which disappears over time, but one death was also recorded ...

Everyone is well aware that in absolutely every species of vertebrates you can meet the most outstanding representative, who for one reason or another has become a record holder. But not only vertebrates are distinguished by any feature.

Invertebrates are also not inferior to their vertebrate "brothers" in terms of records. One of these outstanding invertebrates is considered to be the giant jellyfish cyanide.

Giant sea wonder

hairy cyanoea- this is, undoubtedly, the largest jellyfish in the entire body of water in the world. This is truly a gigantic maritime miracle. In scientific terms, the invertebrate is called Cuanea arctica. From Latin, this translates as "Arctic cyanide." You can meet this majestic creature in the heights of the northern hemisphere. Compared with its counterparts, the Arctic cyanide has a beautiful color. The pink-purple cyanide jellyfish can be observed in any northern sea that flows into the oceans:

• Quiet.
• Atlantic.

As a rule, it lives near the coast, mainly near the surface of the water. Scientists who studied the giant jellyfish assumed that it lives in the Azov and Black Seas. But all attempts to find Arctic cyanide there were in vain.

The huge size of the invertebrate giant

According to the results of the conclusion, the last study carried out by members of the Cousteau team, we can say that the diameter of the so-called body, is about 2.5 meters. But the main pride of the Arctic cyanide is associated with its tentacles. Incredibly, the length of these truly majestic limbs can reach 42 meters. Researchers around the world have come to the conclusion that the size of the Arctic cyanide is directly affected by its habitat. More precisely, the temperature of the water in that place. It has already been proven that the largest specimens live in the icy waters of the ocean.

Appearance

This species of invertebrate has a rather specific and interesting body color. Mostly the body of the arctic cyanide consists of flowers:

• red;
• brown;
• Violet.

As the jellyfish matures, its body begins to gradually turn yellow. And red shades appear along the edges of the body. The tentacles emanating from the edges of the body, or as it is also called, domes, are predominantly purple-pink in color. Oral cavities are usually red-crimson. The dome of the giant jellyfish has the shape of a hemisphere. Along the edges of the body, there are 16 smoothly passing blades, separated from each other by special cuts. Some people compare it to a lion's mane. Indeed, there are similarities. So another name was attached to this giant, the lion's mane jellyfish.

Lifestyle

Jellyfish of this species spend a lot of time in free swimming, living closer to the surface of the ocean. By nature, the lion's mane jellyfish is a predator. And very dangerous and active . Her diet mainly consists of:

• plankton located in the upper layers of the water;
• crustaceans;
• small fish.

During the “hungry years”, when jellyfish cannot find food for themselves, they can exist for a long time without food. But it often happens that they transform into cannibals and begin to devour their fellows.

Until recently, the method of hunting this jellyfish was unknown. . arctic cyanoea floats to the surface of the water. Spreads its huge tentacles in all directions. After the preparatory stages, the time of waiting for its victim begins. Scientists who studied the behavior of the jellyfish during the hunt drew attention to the fact that in this position it is very similar to algae, which, in turn, are similar to a lion's mane. This is one of the reasons why the Arctic invertebrate is called the "lion's mane" jellyfish.

The victim, not suspecting anything, goes towards these "algae". As soon as the prey touches this "lion's mane", the predator immediately grabs it with its tentacles and injects its poison into the body of the prey. This poison paralyzes all the vital organs of the victim, and when she no longer shows any signs of life, the jellyfish eats her. It is worth noting that the poison produced is present along the entire length of the tentacle and has a strong effect.

reproduction

These invertebrates have a peculiar way of reproduction.. The spermatozoa of the male spill out of his mouth into the mouth of the female. After the sperm enters the female's mouth, it is there that they begin to turn into embryos. After some time, the offspring comes out of the mother in the form of larvae. The larvae begin to cling to the substrate, forming a solid polyp. After a few months, the resulting polyp multiplies. Due to this, larvae appear, which in the future will become jellyfish.

To this day, the largest officially recorded specimen caught is an invertebrate of this type. diameter 2.3 meters. The length of the tentacle of the giant creature was 36 meters. This phenomenon happened in 1870, near Massachusetts. But this is far from the largest aquatic inhabitant. With the help of modern equipment, scientists have found that there are much larger representatives of this species. But, so far, no one has been able to see this majestic miracle.

The burn that a jellyfish can leave is very painful. Large individuals of this species of invertebrates are considered potentially dangerous to humans. A fatal outcome, after meeting with a jellyfish, was recorded once. This was because the venom from the tentacle caused an allergic reaction in the victim, which resulted in death. Although the poison of the lion's mane jellyfish is practically harmless to humans, if it enters the body, you should consult a doctor.