Lion's Mane Jellyfish
Lion's Mane Jellyfish
Invertebrate
A cold-water jellyfish whose shaggy mane of stinging tentacles can trail far behind its drifting bell.
💡 Fun Facts
- The largest lion's mane ever recorded trailed tentacles stretching about 37 metres — but that is the span of its stringy tentacles, not a solid body; its jelly bell was only about 2 metres across.
- Hundreds of hair-like tentacles are armed with tiny stinging cells to catch small fish and plankton.
- It is common around northern British coasts, and its curtain of tentacles even gives baby fish a place to shelter.
Name Story
Cyanea capillata
means “the dark-blue, long-haired (jelly)”
What does its name mean?
- Cyanea — dark blueGreek kyaneos 'dark blue'
- capillata — having (long) hair — the mane of hair-like tentaclesLatin capillus 'hair' + -ata 'provided with'
The name sees it as a creature of deep colour and flowing locks: 'dark blue' and 'long-haired' — a perfect fit for the shaggy mane of tentacles that trails beneath its bell.