Creature 12: Nemopilema nomurai

The largest jellyfish in the world?

Description:
There is some confusion  as to which jellyfish is the larges in the world the two candidates being Nemopilema nomurai or Nomura's jellyfish and Cyanea capitata or the Lion's mane jellyfish. Nomura's jellyfish has a larger mass, while the lion's mane jellyfish is longer. Of these two features I would be more inclined to give the award to Nomura's jellyfish. It can group up to 2m in diameter and can weight up to 200kg.

 The jellyfish tend to swarm every few years due to factors that we don't fully understand. These swarms can be so large that other fisheries in the Yellow sea and the East China sea suffer severe reduction in catch numbers. Fortunately Nomura's jellyfish is also eaten, and can be a substitute form of revenue, even if it is not as profitable.

Distribution:
Nemopilema nomurai lives in the west pacific.

Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Schyphozoa
Order: Semaeostomeae
Family: Rhizostomatidae
Genus: Nemopilema
Species: nomurai 

Image Links:
http://environmental.lilithezine.com/Jellyfish-Swarms.html
http://mostlyopenocean.blogspot.com.au/2013/02/attack-of-jellyfish-swarm.html