Arctic cyanide (lat. Cyanea capillata) - the largest jellyfish in the world, which gained wide popularity thanks to Arthur Conan Doyle and his story "The Lion's Mane", which spoke of the painful and long death of one of the heroes due to a meeting with Arctic cyanide.
In fact, rumors about its fatal danger to humans are overly exaggerated. Arctic cyanide is not capable of causing death, moreover, it cannot cause serious harm to human health. The most deplorable consequences of a jellyfish touch are a rash and an allergic reaction. All this is perfectly treated with simple compresses with vinegar.
However, the Arctic cyanide is a very interesting marine animal. It lives in extremely harsh climatic conditions. There is cyanide in the Arctic Ocean and in the northern regions of the Pacific Ocean. - Arctic cyanide rarely swims below forty-second degrees north latitude and is completely absent in the waters of the southern hemisphere.
Arctic cyanoea can reach - really huge sizes. This is the largest species of all jellyfish and the largest animal in the world's oceans. In 1870, one jellyfish was found off the coast of Massachusetts, the diameter of which reached two meters, and the length of the tentacles was thirty-six meters. It is generally accepted that the bell of the Arctic jellyfish can reach up to two and a half meters in diameter, and the length of the tentacles can be up to forty-five meters. It is far beyond the size blue whale, which is the largest animal on the planet.
The further north the Arctic cyanide lives, the more impressive its size. The largest sizes are jellyfish that live in the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean. Approaching sufficiently warm waters, the Arctic cyanide decreases in size: the smallest arctic cyanide is found from the fortieth to forty-second degrees of northern latitude.
The length of the tentacles of the arctic jellyfish varies depending on the place and temperature of its habitat, and the color directly depends on the size. The largest individuals have rich raspberry-red tones, while the smaller ones have orange, pink or light brown hues. Arctic cyanide is a bell with blades at the edges in the form of a hemisphere. Long tentacles are attached to the inside of the blades, which are collected in eight bundles. Each bundle contains from sixty to one hundred and thirty tentacles. In the center of the bell there is a mouth opening, around which long mouth lobes are attached. With the help of them, the jellyfish moves the caught prey towards the mouth, which is connected to the stomach.
Like many jellyfish, the Arctic cyanide is a voracious predator. It feeds on zooplankton, small fish and ctenophores, as well as its fellow eared aurelia. In turn, the Arctic cyanide is a tasty prey for large fish, seabirds and turtles.
Reading 4 min. Published on 07/28/2019
The underwater world always beckons us with its secrets and mysteries. Most mysterious creatures- jellyfish. The translucent bodies of jellyfish are 90% water. Habitats - salty seas and oceans.
Despite their attractive and unusual appearance, jellyfish are dangerous to humans, and a meeting with some representatives can lead to lethal outcome. special attention deserve big ones.
We are offering to you TOP 10 largest jellyfish in the world.
Jellyfish boasts large sizes. It reaches 2.3 m, and this is only the body, and the tentacles can reach up to 37 m. It is almost impossible to meet this species, since the Cyanea jellyfish prefers the seabed to surface waters.
When meeting with this jellyfish, a burn appears on the hands of a person and nothing more. Habitat - waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
Bell of Nomura
Body giant jellyfish reaches 2 m. Among the people, it received a different name. She is called the Lion's Mane. In appearance, the jellyfish looks like a hairy ball, weighs 200 kg.
Nomura Bell's poison is allergenic. When meeting with her, if a person has an allergy, he may die.
The tentacles flutter along the water surface at a distance of up to 4 m, the body length is 1 m. The species does not pose a danger to humans.
If the tentacles are damaged, even when they are separated from the jellyfish, they can sting everyone in their path.
The length of the body, painted in rich purple, does not exceed 70 cm. Compared to the rest, the striped representative is considered the most beautiful and charming jellyfish.
Upon contact with the tentacles, the poison on the human body causes severe burns.
The body length reaches 0.6 m, weight - 60 kg. Habitat: Mediterranean and Black Sea. Jellyfish venom is not dangerous to humans, it just slightly irritates the skin. Jellyfish is considered peaceful, both for humans and for other inhabitants of the underwater world.
She even hides small fish under her dome when they are in danger. Cornerot - used in cooking, I make medicines from it.
The habitat is the coast of Australia and Indonesia. The poison is dangerous to humans, it causes a heart attack. The jellyfish is transparent, it is difficult to see it. However, with these characteristics, it has 60 tentacles and 24 eyes.
Such "armament" allows you to notice the victim from afar and sting wherever possible.
The length of the body is 40 cm. Upon contact with human skin, it causes a slight burn. Used in exotic gourmet cuisine. In addition, she is called "Eared".
It got its name due to the mouth cavities that hang down like ears.
A small representative with a body length of not more than 25 cm. appearance it looks like a sailboat. The dome is blue or purple. The tentacles are very long, sometimes reaching 50 m.
Beautiful but dangerous! And, the most dangerous of all. When exposed to poison on a person in the body, all systems and organs are affected, and people drown.
Pelagia or Nightlight
Body length - 12 cm. It got its name because it glows in the water. The dome is painted purple-red, with beautiful ruffles along the edge. I
e Nightlight is dangerous, causes burns, for many a meeting with a jellyfish ends in a state of shock.
Umbrella up to 10 cm, tentacles up to 1 m. The most poisonous representative. The poison has a great danger to health, and, like a time bomb, it does not appear immediately. After a few days, a person may feel unwell, nausea appears, and the lungs swell.
Jellyfish do not specifically hunt humans. Only at a time when people swim very close to them, they try to defend themselves. While in the water, you need to be extremely careful and look around so as not to run into a jellyfish.
Did you know that the largest jellyfish lives in the Arctic? This monster has an incredible size. The diameter of its body reaches three meters, and the length of the tentacles is 36 meters. This is the Arctic cyanide, which, in terms of size, is the undisputed leader among scyphoid jellyfish, which also include blue and Japanese. The Latin name for this creature is Cyanea capillata, which translates as blue hair. Because of such long tentacles, the jellyfish is sometimes called the lion's mane.
This creature lives in the cold Arctic waters of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Medium-sized individuals sometimes appear off the Australian coast. The largest jellyfish are found only in the Arctic. In warm water, the jellyfish does not grow more than half a meter in diameter. Most likely, there are some reasons for this.
Cyanea is heterogeneous in color. Her body can be brown, red, yellow. Sometimes all these colors are mixed with each other, giving the jellyfish a certain originality. Her tentacles can be either purple or pink. In young individuals, the colors are always lighter and brighter. In shape, the jellyfish resembles an eight-pointed star, from which eight groups of tentacles depart, 150 each.
The Arctic jellyfish can be either female or male. Fertilization of the female occurs in a non-contact way. The male throws into the water through the mouth opening a seed capsule with spermatozoa, which, when meeting with the female, again through the mouth, penetrate into her genitals, where fertilization occurs, with the further appearance of larvae. Through the brood paths of the females, they enter the water, where they swim freely for several days in search of a substrate to which they must attach. As soon as this happens, the larva moves to the next stage of its development, transforming into a scyphist. The most interesting thing is that the scyphistoma can share. In science this way asexual reproduction called strobilation. As a result, the larvae of jellyfish, called ethers, are separated from the scyphist. They freely roam the ocean, gradually turning into real jellyfish.
Arctic cyanide is a predator. During the hunt, she rises to the surface layers of the water, straightens and stretches her tentacles in length, forming something similar to a fishing net. The ends of the tentacles are equipped with stinging cells that contain poison. Getting into the body of the victim, it paralyzes marine life. In addition, the tentacles of the jellyfish are covered with sticky mucus, to which small sea creatures stick. The jellyfish feeds on fish and plankton.
For a person, a jellyfish is not particularly dangerous, of course, if you do not touch it with your hands. If jellyfish venom gets on the body, an allergic reaction may occur, and nothing more. This, of course, is unpleasant, but not fatal.
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Notes
Literature
- Illustrated atlas of invertebrates of the White Sea. Moscow: Association of Scientific Publications KMK. 2006.
- Mentioned in the short story The Lion's Mane by Arthur Conan Doyle ISBN 5-85735-005-0 (vol. 3)
An excerpt characterizing Hairy cyanoea
Anatole Lately moved to Dolokhov. The plan for the kidnapping of Rostova had already been thought out and prepared by Dolokhov for several days, and on the day when Sonya, having overheard Natasha at the door, decided to protect her, this plan was to be carried out. Natasha promised to go out to Kuragin on the back porch at ten o'clock in the evening. Kuragin was supposed to put her in a prepared troika and take her 60 miles from Moscow to the village of Kamenka, where a trimmed priest was prepared, who was supposed to marry them. In Kamenka, a set-up was ready, which was supposed to take them to the Varshavskaya road, and there they were supposed to ride abroad on postage.
Anatole had a passport, and a traveler's, and ten thousand money taken from his sister, and ten thousand borrowed through Dolokhov.
Two witnesses—Khvostikov, the former clerk whom Dolokhov and Makarin used to play, a retired hussar, a good-natured and weak man who had boundless love for Kuragin—were sitting in the first room at tea.
In Dolokhov's large office, decorated from wall to ceiling with Persian carpets, bearskins and weapons, Dolokhov sat in a traveling beshmet and boots in front of an open bureau, on which lay bills and wads of money. Anatole, in his unbuttoned uniform, walked from the room where the witnesses were sitting, through the study to the back room, where his French footman and others were packing the last things. Dolokhov counted money and wrote it down.
“Well,” he said, “Khvostikov should be given two thousand.
- Well, let me, - said Anatole.
- Makarka (that's what they called Makarina), this one disinterestedly for you through fire and into water. Well, the scores are over, - said Dolokhov, showing him a note. - So?
“Yes, of course, that’s how it is,” said Anatole, apparently not listening to Dolokhov and with a smile that did not leave his face, looking ahead of him.
Dolokhov slammed the bureau shut and turned to Anatole with a mocking smile.
- And you know what - drop it all: there is still time! - he said.
- Fool! Anatole said. - Stop talking nonsense. If you only knew... The devil knows what it is!
“Damn right,” said Dolokhov. - I'm talking to you. Is this a joke you're up to?
- Well, again, teasing again? Went to hell! Huh?... – Anatole said with a frown. “The right is not up to your stupid jokes. And he left the room.
Dolokhov smiled contemptuously and condescendingly when Anatole left.
“Wait a minute,” he said after Anatole, “I’m not joking, I’m talking business, come, come here.
Anatole again entered the room and, trying to concentrate his attention, looked at Dolokhov, obviously involuntarily submitting to him.
- You listen to me, I'm telling you the last time. What should I joke with you? Did I cross you? Who arranged everything for you, who found the priest, who took the passport, who got the money? All I.
- Well, thank you. Do you think I'm not grateful to you? Anatole sighed and hugged Dolokhov.
- I helped you, but still I have to tell you the truth: the matter is dangerous and, if you take it apart, stupid. Well, you'll take her away, okay. Will they leave it like that? It turns out that you are married. After all, you will be brought to criminal court ...
– Ah! stupidity, stupidity! - Anatole spoke again, grimacing. “Because I told you. BUT? - And Anatole, with that special predilection (which stupid people have) for the conclusion that they reach with their own mind, repeated the reasoning that he repeated a hundred times to Dolokhov. “After all, I explained to you, I decided: if this marriage is invalid,” he said, bending his finger, “then I do not answer; Well, if it's real, it doesn't matter: no one abroad will know this, right? And don't talk, don't talk, don't talk!
- Right, come on! You only bind yourself...
“Go to hell,” said Anatole, and, holding his hair, went out into another room and immediately returned and sat down with his feet on an armchair close to Dolokhov. “The devil knows what it is!” BUT? Look how it beats! - He took Dolokhov's hand and put it to his heart. - Ah! quel pied, mon cher, quel regard! Une deesse!! [ABOUT! What a leg, my friend, what a look! Goddess!!] Huh?
Dolokhov, smiling coldly and shining with his beautiful, insolent eyes, looked at him, apparently wanting to still have some fun with him.
- Well, the money will come out, then what?
- What then? BUT? - Anatole repeated with sincere bewilderment at the thought of the future. - What then? There I don’t know what… Well, what nonsense to say! He looked at his watch. - It's time!
Anatole went into the back room.
– Well, will you soon? Dig in here! he shouted at the servants.
Dolokhov took away the money and, shouting to a man to order food and drink for the road, entered the room where Khvostikov and Makarin were sitting.
Anatole was lying in the study, leaning on his arm, on the sofa, smiling thoughtfully and softly whispering something to himself with his beautiful mouth.
You probably often saw this photo on the Internet with the caption THE BIGGEST MEDUSA IN THE WORLD. Moreover, almost everywhere they write that this is an arctic cyanide, also known as a hairy or lion's mane cyanide (lat. Cyanea capillata, Cyanea arctica). The length of the tentacles of these jellyfish can reach 37 meters.
But surely many of you had doubts whether the jellyfish is really so huge!
Understanding...
In general, the title photo from the series is something like this:
or for example like this:
So what is really in the photo? You may be surprised, but the photo shows a real Arctic cyanide. And she really is the largest jellyfish in the world. True, the diameter of her dome reaches a maximum of 2 meters and it looks something like this:
The largest jellyfish reached 36.5 meters, and the diameter of the "cap" was 2.3 meters.
There is a difference, isn't there? Let's learn a little more about this jellyfish.
Photo 1. 
Cyanos is translated from Latin as blue, and capillus - hair or capillary, i.e. Literally, a blue-haired jellyfish. This is a representative of the scyphoid jellyfish of the disc jellyfish order. Cyanea exists in several forms. Their number is a matter of dispute between scientists, however, two more of its varieties are currently distinguished - blue (or blue) cyanide (suapea lamarckii) and Japanese cyanide (suapea capillata nozakii). These relatives of the giant "lion's mane" are significantly inferior to her in size.
Photo 2. 
Cyanea giant is a resident of cold and moderately cold waters. It is also found off the coast of Australia, but is most numerous in the northern seas of the Atlantic and Pacific Ocean, as well as in the open waters of the seas of the Arctic. It is here, in the northern latitudes, that it reaches a record size. IN warm seas cyanide does not take root, and if it penetrates into milder climatic zones, it does not grow more than half a meter in diameter.
In 1865, on the coast of Massachusetts Bay (North Atlantic coast of the USA), the sea threw out a huge jellyfish, the diameter of which was 2.29 meters in diameter, and the length of the tentacles reached 37 meters. This is the largest of the giant cyanide specimens, the measurement of which is documented.
Photo 3. 
The body of the cyanide has a varied color, with a predominance of red and brown tones. In adult specimens, the upper part of the dome is yellowish, and its edges are red. The mouth lobes are crimson red, the marginal tentacles are light, pink and purple. Young individuals are colored much brighter.
Cyanides have many extremely sticky tentacles. All of them are grouped into 8 groups. Each group contains 65-150 tentacles inside, arranged in a row. The dome of the jellyfish is also divided into 8 parts, giving it the appearance of an eight-pointed star.
Photo 4. 
Jellyfish Cyanea capillata are both male and female. During fertilization, cyanide males release mature spermatozoa into the water through their mouths, from where they enter the brood chambers located in the females' oral lobes, where the eggs are fertilized and developed. Then planula larvae leave the brood chambers and swim in the water column for several days. Attached to the substrate, the larva transforms into a single polyp - scyphistoma, which actively feeds, increases in size and can reproduce asexually, budding off daughter scyphistomas from itself. In the spring, the process of transverse division of the scyphistoma begins - strobilation and the larvae of the jellyfish ethers are formed. They look like transparent stars with eight rays, they do not have marginal tentacles and mouth lobes. The ethers break away from the scyphistoma and swim away, and by the middle of summer they gradually turn into jellyfish.
Photo 5. 
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Most of the time, cyanideas hover in the near-surface layer of water, periodically shortening the dome and flapping their edge blades. At the same time, the tentacles of the jellyfish are straightened and extended to their full length, forming a dense trapping net under the dome. Cyanees are predators. Long, numerous tentacles densely covered with stinging cells. When they are fired, a strong poison penetrates the victim's body, killing small animals and causing significant damage to larger ones. Cyanide prey - various planktonic organisms, including other jellyfish, sometimes small fish that stick to the tentacles also get caught.
Although the Arctic cyanide is poisonous to humans, its poison does not have such power to lead to death, although one case of death from the poison of this jellyfish has been recorded in the world. It can cause an allergic reaction and possibly a skin rash. And in the place where the tentacles of the jellyfish touch the skin, a person can get a burn and, subsequently, reddening of the skin, which disappears over time.
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