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| Lion's mane jelly, Cyanea capillata. Floating in a bed of shredded sea lettuce with browned eelgrass garnish. |
The bell of the lion's mane jellyfish is scalloped into eight lobes (lappets), each lobe containing from 70 to 150 tentacles, arranged in four fairly distinct rows. Along the bell margin is a balance organ at each of the eight indentations between the lobes – the rhopalium – which helps the jellyfish orient itself. From the central mouth extend broad frilly oral arms with many stinging cells. Closer to its mouth, its total number of tentacles is around 1200. (Wikipedia)
The rhopalia are located in those orange Vs between the lobes. This year, the Vs were strongly marked in all the lion's manes that washed up at Oyster Bay; I looked back through older photos of the jellies, and they were either the same colour as the rest of the jelly, or just slightly yellower.
By the time the dying jelly reaches the shore, most of the tentacles have disappeared, and the edges are fraying.
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| Moon jelly, Aurelia labiata, with sea lettuce, rockweed, sea cauliflower, and eelgrass. |
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