Giant jellyfish cyanide: description, lifestyle, interesting facts

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:48

It's no secret that each group of vertebrates (phylum, class, family, genus) has its record holders for certain achievements. Invertebrates do not lag behind them, because among them there are also those who can be envied! One such creature is the giant cyanide jellyfish.

Giant in the sea

The hairy cyanide is the largest jellyfish in the world. This is a real giant of the seas and oceans. Its full name is Cuanea arctica, which in Latin sounds like "jellyfish arctic cyanide". This beautifully glowing pink-purple creature can be found in the high latitudes of the northern hemisphere of the Earth: the jellyfish is common in all northern seas that flow into the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. You can see it directly near the coast, in the upper layers of the water. Researchers studying hairy cyanide initially looked for it in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, but never found it.

Cyanea jellyfish. Impressive size

According to the latest oceanographic research, which leads the members of the expedition of the so-called Cousteau team, the diameter of the gelatinous "body" (or dome) of cyanide canreach 2.5 m. But what else! The pride of the hairy arctic jellyfish is its tentacles. The length of these processes ranges from 26 to 42 m! Scientists have come to the conclusion that the size of these jellyfish depends entirely on the conditions of their habitat. According to statistics, it is the individuals that inhabit the coldest oceanic waters that have huge sizes.

Exterior structure

The hairy jellyfish cyanide has a rather varied coloration of its body. It is dominated by brown, purple and red tones. When the jellyfish becomes an adult, its dome (“body”) begins to turn yellow on top, and its edges turn red. The tentacles located along the edges of the dome have a purple-pink hue, and the oral lobes are red-crimson. It is because of the long tentacles that the cyanide was called the hairy (or hairy) jellyfish. The dome itself, or bell, of the Arctic cyanide has a hemispherical structure. Its edges smoothly pass into 16 blades, which, in turn, are separated from each other by specific cutouts.

Lifestyle

The lion's share of their numerous time these creatures spend in the so-called free swimming - soar on the surface of sea waters, periodically reducing their gelatinous dome and flapping their extreme blades. Hairy cyanide is a predator, and very active. It feeds on plankton floating in the surface layers of water, crustaceans and small fish. In especially “hungry years”, when there is literally nothing to eat, cyanide can starve for a long time. But in some cases, these creatures become cannibals, devouring their own relatives.

The members of Cousteau's team describe in their research the method of hunting used by the jellyfish. Hairy cyanide rises to the surface of the water, spreading its long tentacles in different directions. She is waiting for her prey. The researchers noticed that in this state, cyanide very much resembles seaweed. As soon as the victim swims closer to such “algae” and touches them, the jellyfish immediately wraps them around their prey, releasing poison into it with the help of so-called stinging cells that can paralyze. As soon as the prey ceases to show signs of life, the jellyfish eats it. The venom of this gelatinous giant is quite strong and is produced along the entire length of the tentacles.

Reproduction

This creature reproduces in a very unusual way. The male ejects his sperm through the mouth into the female's mouth. As a matter of fact, that's all. It is in the mouth of the female jellyfish that the formation of embryos occurs. When the "babies" grow up, they will come out in the form of larvae. These larvae, in turn, will attach to the substrate, turning into a single polyp. In a few months, the grown polyp will begin to multiply, after which the larvae of future jellyfish will appear.

Interesting facts

Until now, the largest officially documented arctic cyanide caught is a creature washed up in 1870 on the coast of a bay in the US state of Massachusetts. The diameter of the dome of this giantwas 2.3 m, and the length of the tentacles was 36.5 m. At present, scientists know for certain about the existence of specimens with a gelatinous body diameter of up to 2.5 m and a tentacle length of 42 m. Such jellyfish were recorded using a scientific underwater bathyscaphe in as part of oceanological expeditions, but so far no one has managed to catch at least one such individual.

The cyanide jellyfish is known among divers for its painful burn. Officially, the world's largest jellyfish is considered dangerous to humans. But in fact, only one death was recorded. As a rule, such a burn leaves a local reddening on the skin of a person, which disappears for some time. Sometimes rashes appear on the body, accompanied by painful sensations. And all because the giant's venom contains toxins that can cause an allergic reaction. However, if you have been stung by the giant cyanide jellyfish, it is recommended that you seek medical attention.