4ft jellyfish found on British beach

4ft jellyfish found on British beach

www.telegraph.co.uk

Experts say the 4ft (1.21m) Rootmouth Jellyfish - nicknamed the Dustbin lid or Sea Mushroom - can cause a painful rash on human skin if in contact with tentacles.

The jellyfish was caught on camera by photographer Peter Stapleton who is keeping the exact location secret to avoid panic.

"A woman came up to me and said there was a huge jellyfish over on the other side of the beach," he said.

"It was the biggest I've seen, about 4ft long with a large body and tentacles.

"As well as people there was other wildlife around it, including herons, but they seemed as puzzled as the rest of us and left it alone."

The species - also known as moon jelly, common jellyfish or saucer jelly - have no bones or brain, and their colourful bodies are 95 per cent water.

They usually grow to around 12 inches (30cm). Jellyfish can swim slowly but are largely at the mercy of the tides and currents.

(visit the link for the full news article)



[edit on 11-5-2009 by grover]

This floored me. In my time in the Coast Guard I saw a lot of jellyfish and the biggest I ever encountered was when we were tied up at dock in Maine... it was about 2 feet across... usually they are rarely more than a foot as this article points out...

But 4 feet across?

I am no biologist but jellyfish are pretty fundamental creatures... 95% water, a membrane and seemingly little else... oh and yes they produce some of the deadliest toxins around... but I would think a specimen that size would start having a hard time functioning... it would become too big for its rudimentary nervous system to handle...

perhaps that is why it washed up on shore.

www.telegraph.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

Looks more like a see through weather balloon.

I keep trying to shake the jitters of watching Jaws, to try to swim in the ocean again, but I hear about 4 foot jelly fish, deadly or not, thatd be alot of urine to try to stop the pain!

I grew up on the Great South Bay in Long Island and have lived near the water the rest of my life here in Florida by the ocean and have never seen a jellyfish that big before!

That thing is HUGE!

Thought I'd add the picture of the beast on here.



Runaway! Runaway!

[edit on 5/11/2009 by Keyhole]

Would not want to be swimming with that thing in the ocean! I enjoy swimming in the sea but its creatures like that which put me off

reply to post by Keyhole


Thanks for adding the pic. Never have figured out how to do that... have a hard enough time keeping Grover on the couch with the new media portal

Jellyfish stings can be extremely painful. I know I stepped on one when I was a kid.

But their toxins can be especially nasty... Portuguese Man of War's toxins simultaneously paralyse and begin digesting you.

keeping the exact location secret to avoid panic.

er....... so in case i #panic# i can't know which bit of the sea may contain giant poison sacks? WHAT?!? Jellyfish float on the tide and are only marginally able to direct their motion, thus they float around in massive groups - meaning if one has washed up it means the sea might be full of them in that area! this isn't the sort of thing you keep secret.

Also i presume that this washed up on a north Cornish beach due to the gulf stream, this time of year those waters are FULL of people surfing, swimming, etc -- don't we have a right to know if something dangerous washed up? of course it could have washed up anywhere, the exact location is vital to people who understand tides and currents i.e. those most likely to be in the sea... certainly in the south / west coast a few miles round a headland can make all the difference in where tides pull - for example when the big load of goods was dumped in the sea and started washing up my friends who surf the area were able to predict the near exact location and time that other loads would get distributed.

we've already got panickers!!!!

OH GOD RUN!!

seriously though, I'd want to know if I was going to the beach, and could get eaten by a monster jelly.

tell the people if you actually know...

Cooooool! This is huge.. I remember being little at the beach, scooping up moon jellies in my hands when paddling, (upside down, so there's no stinginess), but never anything this massive, would have been bigger than me!
Only thing I can compare it to that I've seen would be a big Lion's Mane Jellyfish I saw in France, but that must have only been 2.5 feet tops. Nice.
I'm off to the coast!

Edit to say: Just read that a Lion's Mane Jelly has been recorded at 7ft 6! Big Jelly

Jellyfish really are pretty in their own way...

[edit on 11/5/2009 by purehughness]

Ive seen bigger in the west coast of scotland...still,big ass jellyfish!

reply to post by Solomons


Yeah! That's where we used to go, as I just mentioned above! Familiar with Mellon Udrigle beach? Happy memories. Was full of jellies after a storm one day. Didn't go swimming that day...

reply to post by Solomons


Really? Bigger?

The reason I posted this is that I find something that basic could get that big.

Still the largest bacteria, which is even more basic, was found in a tidal pool in Nambia... it was the size of this . You could actually see it with your naked eye.

Originally posted by Republican08
Looks more like a see through weather balloon.

I keep trying to shake the jitters of watching Jaws, to try to swim in the ocean again, but I hear about 4 foot jelly fish, deadly or not, thatd be alot of urine to try to stop the pain!

One of the deadliest jellyfish species is only 2.5 centimeters long.

Irukandji Jellyfish



Size doesn't always convey deadliness. Scorpions are the same way.

What a beauty!

Biggest I've encountered in the UK is 1ft.

Thanks for posting.

reply to post by grover


Yes i have seen far bigger either washed up on the beach or in the sea.....both.I think the killer jellyfish types make it to the west coast of Scotland so maybe that is why i have seen bigger.I have seen jellyfish atleast three times larger than that on the beach here.

reply to post by Ferris.Bueller.II

Originally posted by Ferris.Bueller.II
One of the deadliest jellyfish species is only 2.5 centimeters long.

Irukandji Jellyfish



Size doesn't always convey deadliness. Scorpions are the same way.

Right on! Those things are about the size of the finger nail on your pinkie, and are extremely toxic. And the serum is in very short supply.

I saw a special on the History Channel. Two marine biologists were stung by one of these. They were in intense agony in the hospital for weeks.

I'd rather come up against one of those huge jellys...at least you'd stand a fair chance of spotting them.

reply to post by Solomons


That would be a 12 foot across jellyfish. That thing could digest you.

I grew up on the FL coast and have seen jelly fish many many times wash up and I have NEVER seen one this big! That thing is huge! I was at the beach Friday and there were a few small ones washed up as usual. If I saw something this big I would probably scream I personally dont go in the ocean for fear of sharks, jelly fish and other things I cant see that bite! I wonder why it got so big if it's only meant to be at most 12inches.

4 ft? what is so newsworthy about 4 ft.