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taxonomy
animals kingdom
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Scyphozoa
family: Cyaneidae
order: semaeostomeae
genus: Cyanea
species: C. capillata
evolution
200 subspecies
The oldest ancestors of modern day jellies lived at least 500 million years ago, and maybe as long as 700 million years ago.
description
The lion's mane jellyfish is one of the largest jelly species in the world, growing to an average length of 1.5 feet (40 cm), but can reach lengths of 6.5 feet (200 cm). 2. The lion's mane jellyfish is named after its “mane” of long, hair-like tentacles hanging from its bell.
Lion's mane jellyfish live around 12 months to a year
Male gonads may be a different color from female gonads. Adult female jellyfish can be identified by the eggs she holds in her mouth or by brood pouches in the oral arms.
Description of the Habitat
Some live in the deep sea, some in pelagic regions of the open ocean, and some occupy frigid arctic waters, but most live in coastal regions. However, all of the various species occupy marine, or saltwater habitats and some range into brackish waters. None of the species live in freshwater.
jellyfish reach the coast when the sea temperature ranges between 28.2 and 30 degrees Celsius and during the full moon
Distribution
Jellyfish are found all over the world, from surface waters to the deep sea.
Invasive jellyfish that can grow to the size of beach balls and damage boats spotted in the Carolinas. A species of jellyfish that can grow to around the size of a beach ball and cause damage to boats has recently been spotted in North and South Carolina, according to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.
Diet
Most jellyfish love to be fed on live baby brine shrimp or frozen baby brine shrimp. In the wild, brine shrimp will commonly be a jellyfish's diet.
Generally speaking jellyfish should be fed daily, but jellies don't need food in the same way as we do – instead they use food for growth.
Jellyfish have tiny stinging cells in their tentacles to stun or paralyze their prey before they eat them.
Social Structure
for the most part, they're loners. However, jellyfish do have families, just like everyone else.
Jellyfish do not communicate like we do; they do not have a brain or language but some can flash colourful lights. Scientists think these may be used to disguise them or even to attract prey.
Reproduction
jellyfish typically mate once a day by releasing sperm or eggs directly into the water. Under favourable conditions they will do this once a day, usually synchronised to dawn or dusk.
a male will use his tentacles to grab a female's tentacles; he will then drag her around for a while before pulling her in close to him. Next, he will produce and release a spermatophore (sperm packet), and use his tentacles to pass it to one of the female's tentacles.
Some jellyfish can lay as many as 45,000 eggs in a single night.
Development
Jellyfish have a stalked (polyp) phase, when they are attached to coastal reefs, and a jellyfish (medusa) phase, when they float among the plankton.
jellyfish will reach its sexual maturity in less than 30 days if the water temperature is 20 degrees Celius or in 18-22 days if the water temperature is 22 degrees.
You can tell the male from the female by its sex glands. The males' sex glands are pink while the females' are brown.
Causes of death
The lion's mane jellyfish is preyed upon by sea turtles (which do not seem to be affected by the neurotoxins), birds, and larger fishes as well as other jellyfish
Lion's mane jellyfish are known to produce a variety of neuropeptide toxins but the effects of absorption of these toxins are largely unknown. Decompression sickness (DCS) has protean manifestations.
Competition
The only known predator of lion's mane jellies are sea turtles, most notably leatherback sea turtles, which travel to cooler waters of the northern hemisphere in the summer to gorge themselves on these jellyfish.
While adult lion's mane jellyfish prey on adult moon jellyfish, adult moon jellyfish prey on larvae and ephyrae of the lion's mane jellyfish, and both species also compete for the same prey.
IUCN Rating
The lion's mane jellyfish has not been assessed by the IUCN. No major threats to the species have been identified.
no population specified
Impact of Humans
Research suggests that these jellyfish do quite well in environments where there are human activities. Overfishing helps remove more of their competition for food, allowing them to grow bigger and multiply easier.
Overfishing, climate change and pollution have helped promote more frequent jellyfish swarms while reducing the jellies' main predators and competitors and increasing their prey. These factors have created a favorable environment for this species, and few threats are known to the lion's main jellyfish or other jellies.
Climate change has not negatively impacted the lion's mane jellyfish population. Global warming, climate change, and pollution have actually allowed for more jellyfish swarms because there are fewer predators or competition but plenty of food.
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