Red Lion Mane Jellyfish

  It was very warm yesterday morning around 9:00 while I did a 2 mile walk along a rocky and sandy beach on the island.  The tide was low to enable me to have fun browsing and collecting sea objects to take home for sketching then returning the selected items back to the shore.  But, this sea life animal I spotted lying on top of the small rocks, I could not bring home with me to sketch and I didn’t bring my sketching tools with me so I shot a photo of it to sketch at home.   It drew my attention because of all the texture and color of the rocks, sand and smooth shiny surface that reflected much of the light plus the transparency of the fish; like a watercolor wash. This sea animal is called the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish or Hair Jelly; it is definitely one of the largest jellyfish (this one was over 12 inches diameter)  that inhabits the northern seas of the universe.   The fish has long red colored tentacles to catch their prey.  A sting from these tentacles can be painful causing a red rash and known not to be fatal but medical attention should be recommended after such a sting.  Very few people get stung by these animals in our Puget Sound waters probably because the water is too cold for pleasure swimming.   But, when I was much, much younger and able to tolerate the cold salt waters, I did get stung one summer by a young small Lions Mane and it did sting similar to being stung by a nettle plant.