The world's largest jellyfish. The largest jellyfish in the world Jellyfish is the most
The Arctic cyanide is the largest jellyfish in the world. This is a very interesting and mysterious creature that lives in very harsh conditions, preferring the cold waters of the Arctic and With the help of this article we will try to get to know her better.
External Description
The dome of a jellyfish in diameter reaches an average of 50-70 centimeters, however, specimens up to 2-2.5 meters are often found.
Such an inhabitant of the oceans can even be called a giant. No wonder the stories of writers (for example, Arthur Conan Doyle's "The Lion's Mane") are very popular, in which Arctic cyanide is mentioned. Its size, however, depends entirely on the habitat. Moreover, the further north she lives, the larger it becomes.
Also, the arctic cyanide has numerous tentacles that are located along the edges of the dome. Depending on the size of the jellyfish, they can reach 20 to 40 meters in length. It is thanks to them that this sea creature has a second name - a hairy jellyfish.
Its coloration is striking in its diversity, and young arctic cyanideas have bright colors. As they age, they become duller. Usually there are jellyfish dirty orange, purple and brown.
Habitat
Arctic cyanide lives in the waters of the Arctic and Pacific oceans, where it lives almost anywhere. The only exceptions are the Azov and Black Seas.
Jellyfish lifestyle
Arctic cyanide, a photo of which, in addition to our article, can be found in various literature, is a fairly active predator. Its diet includes plankton, crustaceans and small fish. If, due to a lack of food, the Arctic cyanide begins to starve, it can switch to its relatives, both of its own species and other jellyfish.
Hunting takes place as follows: it rises to the surface of the water, directs its tentacles in different directions and waits. In this state, jellyfish look like algae. As soon as its prey touches its tentacles as it swims by, the arctic cyanide wraps itself around the entire body of its prey and releases poison that can paralyze. After the victim stops moving, she eats it. Paralyzing poison is produced in the tentacles, and along their entire length.
In turn, Arctic cyanide can also become a dinner for other jellyfish, seabirds, turtles and It is worth noting that even the largest specimens do not pose any particular danger to humans. In the worst case, a rash appears at the points of contact with this inhabitant of the oceans, which immediately disappears after the use of antiallergic drugs. Usually such a reaction occurs in a person with sensitive skin, and some people sometimes may not even notice anything.
Reproduction of arctic cyanide
This process is very interesting: the male ejects spermatozoa through the mouth, and they, in turn, enter the female's oral cavity. This is where the formation of embryos takes place. After they grow up, they come out in the form of larvae, which attach to the substrate and turn into a single polyp. After several months of active growth, it begins to multiply, due to which the larvae of future jellyfish appear.
Jellyfish are mysterious and beautiful representatives of underwater inhabitants, which have been studied by biologists for decades and still have not revealed all their secrets. It is believed that these creatures lived on the planet even before the advent of dinosaurs, and some of them are immortal.
Today, the Earth is inhabited by over two hundred varieties of jellyfish. Some of them are small, so they often end up in an aquarium and are kept there as pets, while others are so large that they can accommodate a person in their stomach. The article will discuss the largest of them.
It is also called gonionema or "cross" and was included in the list of poisonous jellyfish. It inhabits the Pacific Ocean and is most often found near the shores of China and the state of California. The size of the jellyfish is small and reaches 4 centimeters. Its dome is transparent, it has a cruciform pattern and about 60 thin tentacles covered with stinging cells. Spider jellyfish venom is rarely fatal, and only when the person is allergic to it. Basically, it leaves painful burns that are difficult to heal.
Irukandji are common inhabitants of the world's oceans, famous for their potent poison that is dangerous to humans. When bitten by a jellyfish, the size of which is 10 centimeters, the victim develops a whole chain of paralytic reactions within half an hour. Among them are disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, back and muscle pain, pulmonary edema and problems in the functioning of the cardiovascular system. The combination of these symptoms was called "Irukandji syndrome". Fortunately, doctors have long developed an antidote, so over the past 20 years, the number of deaths from the bite of this species of jellyfish has decreased significantly.
Interesting!
Some varieties of jellyfish have eyes that provide a 360-degree view. They need them to search for food and detect natural enemies.
The jellyfish is a beautiful underwater creature endowed with the ability to emit light pulses when in contact with various surfaces and objects. Often, the pelagic nightlight is washed up on the coast, which causes the creature to glow with multi-colored lights at night. A feature of jellyfish was the presence of 8 stinging tentacles, dotted with poisonous glands. Contact with them causes severe burns that take a long time to heal. Therefore, doctors recommend that those who went on vacation to the Atlantic, Pacific or Red Sea do not touch the speckled jellyfish, whose diameter does not exceed 12 centimeters.
It inhabits the waters of the oceans, is often found off the coast of Pakistan and causes many problems for swimmers. The jellyfish, whose length, together with the tentacles, reaches 15 centimeters, has a paralytic poison. One bite of alatina alata can cause severe poisoning and lead to death. Small individuals are of particular danger. They are transparent and practically invisible in the water, because of which a person can touch them and suffer.
Medusa was called the Portuguese boat for a reason. It is a jelly-like animal that spends most of its life on the water. Her body is a 25-cm bubble, constantly floating on the surface of the world's oceans. With goads, the Portuguese boat attracts small fish, which are then pulled inside its dome. The legs of the jellyfish are covered with paralytic venom glands. It can cause enormous damage to human health, and in especially severe cases, lead to death. If a swimmer is stung by a Portuguese boat, you should immediately go to the hospital, even if there are no symptoms yet.
Another name for jellyfish is eared. It is one of the most common invertebrates in the world, as it inhabits all the oceans on the planet. The animal is not active, swims slowly, compressing and relaxing the dome. Its tentacles are short, dot the edge of the body and do not contain poison dangerous to humans. The size of aurelia does not exceed 40 centimeters. In Asia, jellyfish are eaten, sometimes raw. However, one must be careful with such an exotic dish, because an improperly prepared creature can burn the esophagus or cause bleeding in the stomach.
It lives mainly near the coast of Australia, occasionally jellyfish of this species are found near the Philippines, New Zealand, Thailand and Indonesia. It is characterized by a blue luminous 45-cm dome and long, thread-thin tentacles. The poison of the sea wasp is so strong that one individual can kill up to 50 people if they do not seek medical help in time. The only creature that can survive a jellyfish sting is a sea turtle. For them, the poison of the sea wasp is safe, so they are happy to eat invertebrates for food.
A beautiful and large jellyfish that can be found near the continents in the south of the globe. It also often comes across in the nets of fishermen in the Black and Mediterranean Seas. The dome of an adult can reach 180 centimeters, and weight - up to 120 kilograms. Cornerots are useful creatures whose poison is used in medicine to treat various diseases. Animal bites are harmless to humans. After contact with a jellyfish, a slight burn or blisters may remain on the body. In Japan and Korea, cornerots are eaten. Salads are made from them or a gelatinous mass is added to soups.
Interesting!
Turritopsis dornii jellyfish are considered immortal beings by scientists. They can endlessly enter the polyp stage and be born again, and so on until they are eaten by predators.
The purple striped jellyfish is a rare species that has hardly been studied by biologists. The largest individual that fell into the hands of scientists weighed about 130 kilograms, and the diameter of its dome was 190 centimeters. The remaining creatures of this species, living off the coast of Southern California, grow up to 70 cm in diameter. So far, doctors have not recorded deaths from the poison of a purple striped jellyfish, but bites, despite the rarity of the animal, are common. After poisoning, hard-healing blisters and sores form on the skin.
An incredibly beautiful and little-studied species of jellyfish, whose representatives have a dome up to 2 meters in size. The bottom of the body of the Nomura bell is dotted with thin and wide tentacles, each of which has poisonous glands. Animals live near the coast of Japan, China and Korea. They rarely harm swimmers, but often interfere with fishermen. Caught in the net, Nomura is able to kill the entire catch, spraying poison around, and even capsize a light fishing boat.
The largest jellyfish in the world. It is also called the lion's mane, arctic or hairy jellyfish. The length of the tentacles of this animal is about 37 meters, and the diameter of the body (dome) is up to 250 cm. Cyanea is the largest representative of the Scyphoid family. Its closest relatives are Japanese or blue cyanide. The creature lives in the north of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, occasionally found in the waters of the Arctic. In warm seas, hairy cyanide does not survive, and if this happens, then an individual grows up to 50 cm in diameter.
Related video
The underwater world of the seas and oceans is full of secrets and mysteries, and scientists have not yet been able to study it to the end. And many of those creatures that are known are very unusual and amazing. Jellyfish are just one of them.
Huge cyanoea
The greatest interest of scientists is caused by jellyfish of large, or rather, huge sizes. And there are several types of such creatures in the seas. However, the largest of them are cyanes ("arctic jellyfish"). You can meet this not quite ordinary jellyfish in the northwestern Atlantic.
Its translucent gelatinous body, which contains at least 90 percent of the liquid and completely lacks a skeleton or shell, is of enormous size. The largest jellyfish keeps its shape thanks to water, and it is very similar to a mushroom. She has a huge "hat", and numerous tentacles act as legs. The color of cyanide is quite dark, there are spots of various reddish or brown shades. The color intensity directly depends on how old she is. The older this creature, the richer the colors on its body will be. Very young individuals have a light orange color. In this type of jellyfish, it is hardly possible to find at least a gram of the brain, but it has a lot of eyes - 24 pieces.
The body of this giant among jellyfish is divided into 8 lobes. At least 60, or even 2 times more tentacles depart from each such lobe. These tentacles have a huge number of stinging cells that contain poison.
This is an ideal weapon for catching medium-sized fish and small invertebrates on which they feed. Throughout its life, the largest jellyfish in the world can eat at least 15,000 fish.
Scientists have found that cyanide hunt in groups of up to 10 individuals. These "hunters" create a kind of nets from their tentacles, into which a sufficiently large amount of prey is successfully caught.
Among this type of jellyfish there is cannibalism. In times of famine, individuals can eat each other. Cyanea cannot kill a person. She only has the ability to leave a burn on her body, which can cause a very painful allergic reaction.
As a rule, six or eight hours after the burn, the pain subsides significantly or disappears altogether. The largest representative of this species of jellyfish was first found and measured at the end of the 19th century. She somehow ended up on land, where she died.
The length of the remains of this creature, together with the tentacles, was almost 36 meters. To understand how much this is, imagine a high-rise building with at least 12 floors. And its dome was larger than 2.2 m. People had a chance to see such a huge jellyfish.
However, cyanide is not the only giant among jellyfish. The nomura is also quite large. Although this species does not have such long tentacles, its “hat” is simply huge! On average, its diameter is two meters. But this is on average. There are individuals that have large sizes - up to 3.5 meters. A person next to this jellyfish looks very small. This unusual creature weighs an average of 200 kilograms. They thrive in the East China and Yellow Seas. There are facts indicating that these creatures began to intensively multiply and migrate, which is why they can be found in other seas. The reason for this phenomenon, scientists call global warming. The Japanese, Chinese, South Koreans - lovers of exotic foods - eat these creatures, preparing gourmet dishes from them.
A few years ago, nomurs began to cause a lot of inconvenience to local residents. The fact is that due to favorable natural and climatic conditions in these places, jellyfish began to multiply at a tremendous speed. And now the exits of fishermen to the sea is a real test of strength. After all, not only do these creatures spoil the fish, introducing poison into it with the help of their tentacles, they also make it difficult to fish by stuffing themselves into the nets.
So, there is a known case when these sea giants caused the whole fishing vessel to go under water. This trawler was called DiasanShinsho-Maru, and it was sunk while in close proximity to one of the Japanese islands, which is called Honshu. Three fishermen, having taken out the nets, found that they contained countless numbers of these giants. Then people still tried to save their gear and began to get the net.
But the huge jellyfish did not like being taken from their native element, and they began to resist. As a result, the fishing boat was pulled under the water. The sailors quickly got their bearings and jumped overboard. Fortunately, the entire team managed to survive. They were picked up by passing fishermen who witnessed this incident.
Top 10 large jellyfish
No. 10. Irukandji
Far from the largest jellyfish in the world. Its dome has a diameter of only ten centimeters, but the tentacles can reach a length of one meter. She is the most poisonous of all known jellyfish and prefers to live in the waters of Australia. Her burn is incredibly dangerous for people. Anyone who experiences it on himself may die if help is not provided in time. But the fact is that the poison of this jellyfish may not work immediately, but only after a few days.
No. 9. Pelagia
The dome of this creature has a diameter of 0.12 meters. Her tentacles are not very long, but this jellyfish has incredible beauty. The moment it comes into contact with something or someone, it glows with a soft light. Prefers to live in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also noteworthy that this creature immediately has 4 oral cavities. For humans, its poison is not too dangerous.
No. 8. Physplia (Portuguese boat)
This creature has a dome, a quarter meter (25 cm) in diameter. But its tentacles are about fifty meters long. Most often, the body of a jellyfish is painted blue, purple individuals can also be found. The "ship" floats almost on the surface, and its "tools" in the form of tentacles go deep under the water. The poison is very dangerous for humans, a burn can be fatal.
No. 7. Aurelia
The tentacles of this jellyfish are not too long, but there are a lot of them, and the dome in diameter is basically 0.4 meters. It is also often referred to as the "Eared" jellyfish. The thing is that her mouth cavities (of which there are four pieces) look like hanging ears. The poison is not dangerous for humans and can cause only a small burn.
No. 6. Australian sea wasp
This large jellyfish has a dome that reaches almost half a meter (45 cm) in diameter, but its tentacles are much longer and can exceed three meters. This creature has no color, its body is almost completely transparent, like all 60 tentacles. But his poison is incredibly strong. It can induce cardiac arrest in a swimmer in minutes.
No. 5. Cornerot
This type of jellyfish has a dome with a diameter of 0.6 meters. This is a fairly large creature that can weigh up to 10 kg. Lives in the Mediterranean and Black Seas and is not at all dangerous to humans. It is noteworthy that this jellyfish is used for the manufacture of medicines, as well as for the preparation of various dishes.
No. 4. Purple striped jellyfish
The diameter of its "top" often reaches 0.7 meters. This creature is still poorly understood. It is only known that it lives in Montarey Bay and has a bright purple color. His "bite" for people is not too dangerous, but a rather significant burn can remain.
No. 3. Sea nettle (Chrysaora)
The diameter of her body is one meter. There are a large number of tentacles, and their length is four meters. It lives in the Pacific Ocean, often this jellyfish is grown in aquariums. The burn is not dangerous for a person. It is noteworthy that the detached tentacle does not die for a long time and can even sting.
No. 2. Nomura Bell
We have already talked about this jellyfish above.
No. 1. Hairy cyanoea
The largest jellyfish in the world. We talked about her first.
These are the largest jellyfish that live in the waters of the oceans. All of them are beautiful and unusual in their own way, and if a long tentacle reaches a person and still stings, then not intentionally, but by accident.
The largest jellyfish in the world is the Arctic cyanide. This is a very interesting inhabitant of sea waters in its lifestyle and structure. Lives in cold regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where conditions are extremely harsh. It lives in the upper layers of water at a depth of no more than 20 meters. Keeps in open waters, moves along with sea currents. It rarely comes close to the coastline.
Notable is the color of this jellyfish. In young individuals, it is much brighter than in mature ones. Common colors are dirty orange, purple and brown. At the same time, the upper part of the dome is mostly yellow. The mouth lobes are crimson red. The tentacles located along the edges of the dome have purple and pink hues.
The dome has a hemispherical shape. Its edges are blades. There are 16 of them. Ropalia are located between the blades. They contain the organs of balance (statocysts), nerve centers and eyes. The tentacles are long, they are collected in bundles and are located behind the concave side of the dome. And in its central lower part there is a mouth opening. It is surrounded by oral lobes. Outwardly, they resemble a hanging curtain.
The tentacles at the edges of the dome are extremely long and resemble hair. They can reach 20-30 meters. Thanks to them, this sea creature has another name - hairy cyanide. In the largest specimens, the dome reaches 2 meters in diameter, but usually does not exceed 50-60 cm. The largest recorded specimen had a tentacle length of 36.5 meters, and its dome diameter was 2.3 meters. So it's safe to say that the Arctic cyanide is the largest jellyfish in the world.
The representative of the discomedus order we are considering is an active predator. Its diet consists of plankton, crustaceans and small fish. If there is little food, then this inhabitant of cold waters begins to attack other jellyfish and eat them.
Getting food is as follows: the sea giant soars in the upper water column with tentacles directed in different directions. From the side, the jellyfish resembles a large clump of algae, harmlessly floating in the ocean. As soon as a passing victim touches the tentacle, it immediately wraps around its body and strikes with paralyzing poison. After the prey stops fluttering, it is eaten. Paralyzing poison is produced in the tentacles along their entire length.
But the ocean is the ocean, and therefore any predator can become the prey of another, larger predator. Therefore, hairy cyanide is eaten by other jellyfish, sea turtles, birds and large fish. It should be said that even the largest specimens do not pose a danger to humans. The worst thing that can happen when in contact with a huge jellyfish is the appearance of a rash at the point of contact. But it immediately disappears after the use of antiallergic drugs. A rash usually appears in people with sensitive skin, while the rest do not notice anything at all.
The reproductive process of arctic cyanides consists of 2 stages. At the first stage, the males release spermatozoa into the water. Those fall into the oral lobes of the females, where the brood chambers are located. This is where the eggs are fertilized and developed.
At the second stage, the formed embryos (planula larvae) leave the brood chambers, attach to some substrate and transform into one polyp. For several months, it actively grows and reproduces asexually, producing a scyphist. From them, the larvae of future jellyfish are formed - ethers. Outwardly, they are transparent stars with 8 rays. These stars swim in the water and gradually become jellyfish.
Here is such a complex process of reproduction invented by nature. And as a result, the Arctic cyanide is born - the largest jellyfish in the world. It moves in the upper water column along with cold sea currents and is an integral part of the northern waters of the oceans.
The largest jellyfish in the entire world's oceans, the Arctic cyanide (lat. Cyanea capillata) became widely known thanks to the story "The Lion's Mane" by Arthur Conan Doyle, which told about the painful death of one of the heroes caused by a meeting with the Arctic cyanide.
In fact, rumors about its mortal danger to humans are too exaggerated. Arctic cyanide not only cannot cause death, but is not even able to cause any serious damage to human health. The worst effects of contact with this jellyfish are an itchy rash and, in some cases, an allergic reaction. All this is successfully treated with compresses with vinegar.
However, arctic cyanideas are very interesting sea creatures. Let's start with the fact that cyanides live in extremely harsh climatic conditions. They can be found in the waters of the Arctic Ocean and in the northern regions of the Pacific Ocean during the coldest winter months. They rarely fall below forty-second degrees north latitude and are completely absent from the waters of the southern hemisphere.
Arctic cyanide can reach truly enormous sizes. These are not only the largest of all jellyfish, but also the largest animals in the world. The diameter of one of the jellyfish, found in 1870 off the coast of Massachusetts, exceeded two meters, and the length of the tentacles reached thirty-six meters. It is believed that the cyanide bell can grow up to two and a half meters in diameter, and the tentacles up to forty-five meters in length. This far exceeds the size of the blue whale, the largest animal on the planet.
The further north the Arctic cyanide lives, the larger it is. The most impressive sizes are jellyfish living in the coldest regions of the Arctic Ocean. As you approach warmer waters, the size of the Arctic cyanide decreases: the smallest jellyfish are found between the fortieth and forty-second degrees of northern latitude.
Usually the diameter of the bell of the Arctic cyanide does not exceed two and a half meters. The length of the tentacles of these arctic jellyfish also varies depending on the temperature of their habitat, and the color depends on the size. The largest specimens impress with rich raspberry-red tones, while the smaller specimens are characterized by pink, orange or light brown hues.
The body of the arctic cyanide is a bell with blades along the edges, resembling a hemisphere in shape. Long tentacles are attached to the inside of the blades, collected in eight bundles. Each such bundle grows from sixty to one hundred and thirty tentacles. In the center of the bell there is a mouth opening surrounded by long oral lobes, with the help of which the Arctic cyanide moves the caught prey towards the mouth connected to the stomach.
Like most jellyfish, the Arctic cyanide is a voracious predator that feeds on zooplankton, small fish and ctenophores. She does not deny herself the pleasure of feasting on her relatives, such as, for example, eared Aurelia. In turn, arctic cyanideas are desirable prey for seabirds, large fish, sea turtles and other jellyfish.