Monster or fish? Medusa Rhizostoma is actually a jellyfish. It has several more common names, including barrel jellyfish, dustbin-lid jellyfish and frilly-mouthed jellyfish. They tend to prefer the colder waters of the northeast Atlantic.
This is one big fat scary jellyfish. It typically measures 16 inches in diameter but can grown into a real monster 35 inches across. Some specimens have weighed as much as 77 pounds. It is the largest jellyfish found off the coast Great Britain. It is considered a common jellyfish in the Irish Sea.
The good news, as this jellyfish drawing shows, is that the Medusa Rhizostoma doesn’t have tentacles. One site described it as having cauliflower like “arms”.
Leatherback turtles are one of the few natural predators of this jellyfish.
So, if you are looking for a big, scary-looking jellyfish drawing, this one just might fit the bill. It was included in De Wereld vóór de schepping van den mensch (in the original Dutch) or “The World for the Creation of Man.” It was published in 1886 without identifying the illustrator or engraver.
This image is copyright free and in the public domain anywhere that extends copyrights 70 years after death or at least 120 years after publication when the original illustrator is unknown.
