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The lion’s mane jellyfish is not only the largest jelly species in the world, but it also harbors a powerful sting that it uses to catch its prey. Most humans have little to fear from this ferocious jelly, but its poison is more than enough to scare away enemies, thus creating a safe space for both the jelly and other species that are lucky enough to be immune to the toxin.

The lion’s mane jellyfish cannot be missed in the open ocean where it prefers to float about. With tentacles up to 120 feet long, some individuals even rival in size the blue whale, the largest animal in the world. Most lion’s mane jellyfish live in the Arctic and North Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Washington where the waters are cool. Its ‘mane’ of long, hair-like tentacles hanging from the underside of its bell-shaped body is the inspiration behind the lion mane’s common name. The mouth is situated on the bell’s underside, surrounded by tentacles that are divided into eight clusters of up to 150 tentacles each. These tentacles are equipped with nematocysts containing poison that stun prey when they are enveloped. The top of the bell is usually dark yellow or red in color and thick in the center, but thins out towards the edges. The lion’s mane jellyfish also possess bioluminescent abilities, meaning it’s able to produce its own light and glow in the dark underwater.
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Reaching lengths of 24 feet (7 m) and weights of more than 3500 pounds (1500 kilos), the beluga sturgeon is the largest sturgeon and one of the largest bony fishes in the world. It has a life cycle similar to the salmons in that it hatches in freshwater rivers, spends most of its adult life in saltwater seas, and returns each year to spawn upriver. Unlike the salmons, beluga sturgeon reproduce year after year, and large individuals may live for over 100 years.

The sturgeons are a very old group of fishes (over 200 million years old) and make up one of the most primitive lineages of bony fishes. Their dinosaur-like bodies match their prehistoric lineage. They are covered with strong bony plates; they have asymmetrical, shark-like tails; and they have barbels off of their long snouts that help in locating their prey. Combined with their extremely large size, the look of the beluga sturgeon can be quite intimidating, but this species is harmless and actively avoids people.
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