Lion's Mane Jellyfish

Cyanea capillata

Way back in 1870, a Lion's Mane Jellyfish washed ashore in Massachusetts Bay. Jellyfish wash up all the time, but this one was special... this one has a bell that was 7'6" in diameter and tentacles that were nearly 120 ft long! That means that the Lion's Mane Jellyfish might just be the longest animal alive!

The Lion's Mane Jellyfish doesn't always grow that large. In fact, most of the time their bell is only around a few feet wide, and those that live in the warmer waters max out around a foot and a half. Basically, the colder the water the larger they grow! The species is rarely found at latitudes lower than 42 degrees, and are nonexistent in the Southern Hemisphere.

All Lion's Manes, regardless of size, have tentacles that are clustered into eight segments. There are at least 65 tentacles per segment, though there can be as many as 150, and these tentacles can grow over 100ft long!

If you touch the tentacle of a Lion's Mane Jellyfish, you will probably get stung.. which results in blistering, irritation, and muscle cramps. Stings are not thought to be fatal to humans.

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IUCN Status : Not Evaluated
Location : High latitude oceans
Size : Bell Diameter up to 8.2ft (2.5m)

Classification : Phylum : Cnidaria -- Class : Scyphozoa -- Order : Semaeostomeae
Family : Cyaneidae -- Genus : Cyanea -- Species : C. capillata

Staghorn Coral

Acropora cervicornis

Today we delve into the story of the Staghorn Coral, a really cool species that is very quickly going extinct.

Staghorn Corals are named for their deer antler-like shape, and their individual branches can grow up to 2m long. They are the fastest growing of all the western Atlantic Corals, capable of adding on another 4-8in each year. Staghorn Coral has a relationship with algae, and the Coral gets most of its food from the byproducts of the algaes' photosynthesis.

Unfortunately they are a species that does not handle change very well, and  even slight variations in temperature or water salinity can damage and even kill the polyps. Hurricanes, White Band Disease, Algae overgrowth, increased predation, and human interaction has caused a 98% population decline since 1980.

Staghorn Coral is listed as Critically Endangered by the IUCN, and was placed on the United States Endangered Species List in 2006. Efforts are being made to revitalize the species, including retattaching broken branches, but the future of the Staghorn Coral is still very much in question. Not helping matters is the fact that the Coral primarily reproduces asexually. Fragments break off and then reattach elsewhere to create new Corals. While this works to repopulate after hurricanes and other natural events, it doesn't work well in cases of disease and bleaching. Lack of genetic diversity can hurt the revitalization of the species.

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IUCN Status : Critically Endangered
Location : Caribbean Sea, Atlantic Ocean
Size : Branches can grow up to 6.5ft (2m)

Classification : Phylum : Cnidaria -- Class : Anthozoa -- Order : Scleractinia
Family : Acroporidae -- Genus : Acropora -- Species : A. cervicornis

Spotted Jelly

Mastigias papua

The Spotted Jelly is a neat little Jellyfish that hails from the shallow lagoons and bays of the Indian and Pacific Oceans (Theya re also sometimes referred to as Lagoon Jellyfish). They aren't especially, large, but aren't by any means tiny either. They can grow to lengths of around 1ft (30cm), with bell diameters of about 4in (12cm).

Each Spotted Jelly has four interesting little arms that each have mouth openings on them. That's right, they don't have just one mouth, they have a whole bunch of mouths! They use all those tiny mouths to feed on different kinds of Zooplankton.

Because they only eat really tiny things, small fish sometimes hang out near the Jellies. Like many jellyfish, this particular species has the ability to inject toxins into attackers, so the little fish will actually swim up inside the bell to stay safe! (The toxin will cause pain and nausea in humans, but there have been no reported deaths)

Spotted Jellies are normally solitary, but sometimes groups will form when they swim towards the surface during the daytime (they then descend deeper at night). They are able to reproduce both sexually and asexually. Sexually reproduction takes places only during times when water is cooler, but asexual reproduction (through budding) can happen year round.

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IUCN Status : Not Listed
Location : Southern Pacific Ocean
Size :  Body diameter around 4in (12cm)

Classification : Phylum : Cnidaria -- Class : Scyphozoa -- Order : Rhizostomeae
Family : Mastigiidae -- Genus : Mastigias -- Species : M. papua