Record #00419Nature archive
The lion's mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) holds the longest documented jellyfish tentacle measurement: 36.5 metres from an 1870 specimen washed ashore in Massachusetts Bay, USA, with a bell about 2.28 metres across.
Current Record
36.5m
Current record value
Lion's mane jellyfish inhabit cool northern seas and catch small fish and plankton with numerous nematocyst-bearing tentacles trailing from the bell. The record measures tentacle reach rather than the animal's mass or bell diameter.
Guinness's Largest jellyfish entry reports an 1870 Massachusetts Bay specimen with a 2.28-m bell and 36.5-m tentacles. Smithsonian Ocean independently gives 120 feet, equivalent to approximately 36.5 metres. The earlier draft's 37.0 m and 121.4 ft were not the values in those sources, so the sourced precision is preserved.
The exact beach, primary measurement method and historic specimen repository were not independently established from the inspected public accounts. A species taxonomy entry should not be misrepresented as the original length measurement or an archival museum document.
The record conclusion has sufficient verification support.
Basis: direct confirmation by an authority
The Guinness Largest jellyfish listing gives an 1870 Massachusetts Bay specimen with a 2.28-m bell and tentacles of 36.5 m. Smithsonian Ocean independently reports the longest known lion's mane jellyfish as 120 ft (36.5 m). The older draft's WoRMS taxonomy link did not establish a 37-m 1870 specimen measurement.
This is a historic specimen account, not a modern independently replicated measurement. Retain the reported 36.5-m precision rather than rounding upward to 37.0 m. The exact landing beach and coordinates remain unverified.
Current Entry identifies the current entry in this archive; it does not establish that the record is still held today.
The record value on this page is organized from the public sources above. Measurement methods may differ; JiLuDB follows the unified method described for each entry.
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