Knowra Lion's mane jellyfish Lion's mane jellyfish The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) is a large cold-water jellyfish with a bell fringed by numerous long, hairlike tentacles. It is among the largest known jellyfish.
Cnidocyte : A specialized cell in cnidarians that fires a microscopic, toxin-bearing structure. Cnidocytes in its tentacles deliver the sting that captures prey and deters threats.
Jellyfish bloom : A temporary concentration of jellyfish that becomes unusually abundant in an area. Seasonal concentrations of lion's mane jellyfish can disrupt local fisheries and coastal activities.
Nomura's jellyfish : A very large scyphozoan jellyfish, Nemopilema nomurai, native to waters around East Asia. It is another giant jellyfish, but it belongs to a different genus and region.
Alexander Agassiz : An American zoologist and oceanographer who studied marine invertebrates in the nineteenth century. His taxonomic work contributed to the scientific study of jellyfish, including Cyanea.
Nematocyst : A capsule inside a cnidocyte that rapidly ejects a coiled, often venomous tubule. Its tentacle stings are delivered by nematocysts that penetrate or entangle prey.
Jellyfish sting : A skin or systemic reaction caused by contact with stinging jellyfish cells. Its tentacles can sting people, especially when animals or detached tentacles contact swimmers.
Moon jelly : A translucent scyphozoan jellyfish in the genus Aurelia, recognizable by four horseshoe-shaped gonads. Its shorter, delicate tentacles contrast with the lion's mane's dense fringe.
Gulf of Maine : A northwestern Atlantic sea bordered by New England and Atlantic Canada. Lion's mane jellyfish are commonly encountered in this cold-water region.
Medusa (biology) : The free-swimming, bell-shaped body form of many cnidarians. The conspicuous jellyfish is the medusa stage of its life cycle.
By-the-wind sailor : Velella velella, a small colonial hydrozoan that drifts at the ocean surface using a sail. Like lion's mane jellyfish, it can strand in conspicuous numbers, but it is a different cnidarian.
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