Mikado comb jelly
Amazing fact
Mikado comb jellies appear frequently along the Shonai coast from summer to autumn, sometimes in huge numbers.
鶴岡市立加茂水族館
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Mikado comb jellies appear frequently along the Shonai coast from summer to autumn, sometimes in huge numbers.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Mikado comb jelly
- Scientific name
- Bolinopsis mikado
- Japanese name
- カブトクラゲ
- Group
- Ocean animals
- Class
- Tentaculata
- Order
- Lobata
- Family
- Bolinopsidae
- Genus
- Bolinopsis
Where the name “Mikado comb jelly” comes from
The scientific name mikado is said to come from its resemblance to a helmet worn by the Emperor.
鶴岡市立加茂水族館Although its name includes kurage (jellyfish), it is a comb jelly (ctenophore).
Its body is colorless and transparent, and it has no venom. Its name comes from its shape, which looks like a kabuto (samurai helmet).
Rows of comb plates run along its sides, and they reflect light and shimmer beautifully.
It swims by beating its comb rows one after another, like a line of falling dominoes.
Basic data
- Range
- Southern Japan
Where the Mikado comb jelly has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- カブトクラゲ
- 한국어
- 감투빗해파리
- Français
- Cténophore japonaise
- Deutsch
- Mikado Rippenqualle
- Português (Brasil)
- Carambola-do-mar-mikado
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 鳥羽水族館 — カブトクラゲChecked: 2026-11-03
- 鶴岡市立加茂水族館 — カブトクラゲChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
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