Lion’s Mane Jellyfish vs Blue Whale: What are the Differences?

As you can probably tell, the lion’s male jellyfish and the blue whale are both aquatic animals that reside strictly in water. Both animals have a reputation for being extremely long and, as a result, have had questions raised about which of them is the longer animal. In this article, we will be comparing the size as well as other characteristics of these two animals. Let’s roll. 

Comparing Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Vs Blue Whale

Key Differences Between The Lion”s Mane Jellyfish And The Blue Whale

While they are both aquatic, there are differences between the lion’s mane jellyfish and the blue whale, with the key ones being appearance and lifespan. Let’s get a bit more explicit, shall we?

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Vs Blue Whale: Size

For a long time, the blue whale has been regarded as the largest animal in the world, and in truth, there is a lot of merit to that claim. However, In terms of length, some individuals of the lion’s mane jellyfish species have been noted to grow as long as 120ft, which is a bit longer than the 100ft maximum of the blue whale.

Weight-wise, the lion’s mane jellyfish is no match for the blue whale. Blue whales weigh more with an estimated weight of 200,000-300,000 pounds while lion’s mane jellyfish weigh just about 200 pounds on average. 

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Vs Blue Whale: Appearance

The lion’s mane jellyfish and the blue whale also differ greatly in terms of appearance, in that they look nothing alike. Lion’s mane jellyfish have an unusual appearance with a bell-shaped body and tentacles drooping from their undersides. The bells have eight lobes with each lobe having between 70-150 tentacles apiece. The young come out with light orange to tan color and they grow up with an orange or reddish color which can also come with shades of pink, purple, and violet. 

Blue whales look exactly how you would expect a whale to look like. They boast extremely long and narrow bodies that make it easy for them to swim fast. Their bodies are also hairless and their skins are grayish-blue in tandem with the ocean’s color. They are baleen whales, which means instead of teeth, they have baleen plates hanging from their jaws and these plates help them filter food from the water. 

Basically, the lion’s mane jellyfish and the blue whale do not look alike at all, and telling them apart is one of the least difficult things. 

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Vs Blue Whale: Location And Habitat

Blue whales live in every single ocean across the world including the Arctic. They are also more commonly found in the Southern Hemisphere and spend most of their summers in the polar waters where they feed abundantly. Blue whales have three subspecies grouped majorly by their habitats.

The northern blue whales live in the North Atlantic and the Pacific Ocean, while the southern blue whales inhabit the Southern Hemisphere. The pygmy blue whales also live in the Southern Hemisphere but they have been noted to prefer the South Pacific and the Southern Indian Ocean. 

Lion’s mane jellyfish, on the other hand, typically live in the frigid parts of the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. They sometimes live in the Baltic and the North Sea and they usually do not swim in waters with depths beyond 66ft. 

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Vs Blue Whale: Diet

The lion’s mane jellyfish and the blue whale are both carnivores that feed on smaller aquatic animals. Blue whales prefer krill and it forms the core of their diets. Experts claim that they can consume up to 12,000 pounds worth of krill per day and we would expect nothing less from an animal that weighs up to 200,000 pounds. They seldom explore other foods like zooplankton and other small crustaceans. 

Lion’s mane jellyfish have a diet with a limited variety of food options including zooplankton, moon jellies, smaller jellyfish, and ctenophores. 

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Vs Blue Whale: Lifespan

The lion’s mane jellyfish and the blue whale have overwhelmingly different lifespans. Lion’s mane jellyfish only live for about a year and while that is short, it makes their length even more impressive. Imagine growing up to 100ft within a year. Wild!

Blue whales, on the other hand, can have a massive lifespan of around 80 to 90 years in the wild. What this means is blue whales live at least eighty times longer than lion’s mane jellyfishes. 

Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Vs Blue Whale: Conservation Status

As far as conversation status goes, the lion’s mane jellyfish has never been a source of concern for conservationists. While there is no precise population figure, experts consider them an abundant species and they currently are not in danger of extinction. Blue whales, on the other hand, have been declining in population for several decades now. Experts say the blue whale population has declined by 98% and there are currently less than 20,000 blue whales in existence today. That pretty much explains why blue whales have been listed as “Endangered” since the 1970s. 

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/Nikolay Tsuguliev