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Monday, September 15, 2008

Radial Symmetry - Cyanea capillata

For the last week or so I've been hearing about big jellyfish washing up on the beaches so today I decided to look for some. Above is one floating near the Ogden Point Breakwater. I think it's dead because it was not moving at all. Several others nearby were moving but were not so photogenic. This is Cyanea capillata or Lion's Mane Jellyfish, the largest known species of jellyfish, with tentacles that have been measured up to 120 feet in length. The one above was about the size of a dinner plate, more typical of those found in warmer waters. Local experts say that this rise in sightings is not the result of global warming or ocean pollution but is a part of the natural four-year cycle of these animals.

6 comments:

USelaine said...

Interesting. Its blue cousin has been photographed in Scotland. Equally dead. Films of their movement are mesmerizing.

Sally said...

I love the scalloped edges of this one.
Sydney Daily Photo

Unknown said...

Beautiful jellyfish! I think I have never seen this species before...

Janet said...

Unusual looking jellyfish, There were lots of little ones on the Gulf of Mexico beaches this summer. I wonder if they were a foretelling of the hurricanes.

Knoxville Girl said...

An Ogden Point jellyfish deserves an Ogden Nash poem:
Who wants my jellyfish?
I'm not sellyfish!

Benjamin Madison said...

KG, Thanks for the Ogden Nash poem. It's very much to the point.