July 24, 2012 at 6:42 pm

Picture of the Day: The Lion’s Mane Jellyfish

by twistedsifter

 

THE LION’S MANE JELLFISH

 

Cyanea capillata

 

 
We’ve already featured the astonishing undersea photography of Alexander Semenov before, and his active Flickr page is a constant source of undersea awe. In this photograph we see a popular subject of Alexander’s photographs, Cyanea capilata, commonly known as the Lion’s mane jellyfish. It is the largest known species of jellyfish and can be found in the cold, boreal waters of the Arctic, northern Atlantic and northern Pacific.

Although capable of attaining a bell diameter of 2.5 metres (8.2 ft), these jellyfish can vary greatly in size. Those found in lower latitudes are much smaller than their far northern counterparts with bells about 50 centimetres (20 in) in diameter. The tentacles of larger specimens may trail as long as 30 metres (98 ft) or more. These extremely sticky tentacles are grouped into eight clusters, each cluster containing over 100 tentacles, arranged in a series of rows. [Source: Wikipedia]

 
Be sure to check out Alexander Semenov’s incredible photography on Flickr!