World's largest jellyfish measuring over 100 feet captured in stunning video

A mesmerising video of the world's largest, longest, and heaviest known jellyfish species has been captured by an underwater videographer. John Roney shared the footage of a lion’s mane jellyfish that he filmed in the Salish Sea. He wrote in his Instagram post that he was out hoping to merely get some videos of squids and jellyfish. A few minutes into the dive, he came across a long, thin tentacle trailing overhead. He could not see its end and so started following it. He went on for over a minute and then came across a giant Lion’s Mane Jellyfish. These sea creatures are monstrous in size. The largest one recorded to date had a bell with a diameter of 7 feet and tentacles extending up to 120 feet, Roney shared.

The video shows the vivid colours of the jellyfish, leaving viewers stunned with its sheer size and appearance. You can see the jellyfish's pale, translucent bell flowing in the waters, with orange and purple colours below it. The close-up shots show the tentacles in detail, offering an incredible insight into the movement of the lion’s mane jellyfish.

About lion's mane jellyfish

The Salish Sea is an inland sea on North America’s west coast, connected to the Pacific Ocean. The footage was taken after sunset. Roney explained how these creatures use their tentacles to trap other jellyfish and fish for food. "They use their stinging tentacles to ensnare, pull in, and eat prey such as fish, zooplankton, and other jellyfish,” Roney added. “They also have these deep, vibrant orange, purple and crimson colours that I love to film," he wrote. "But fair warning—this is a jellyfish you definitely don’t want to touch."

As Roney said in his post, the largest lion's mane jellyfish specimen measures 120 feet long, according to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History. According to a report by the Guinness World Records they weigh an estimated 1 tonne or more.