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Post by Deleted on May 20, 2009 7:01:03 GMT
It is a sight to make even the bravest of beachgoers feel a little wobbly. But this 4ft jellyfish washed up on the North Devon coast should not put anyone off dipping a toe in the water.
Despite its size, the Rootmouth Jellyfish - also known as the Dustbin-lid - is more or less harmless, with a 'very mild' sting.
The scientific name of the species is Rhizostoma octopus, because of its eight major tentacles. It is fairly common off Britain and often becomes stranded ashore by currents and winds.  It was spotted by a woman at a popular beauty spot on the coast of north Devon.
She then found photographer Peter Stapleton who captured this image. But he is keeping the exact location secret - to avoid spreading panic.
The jellyfish - real name Aurelia aurita - can cause a painful rash on human skin if it comes into contact with tentacles.
Mr Stapleton said: 'A woman came up to me and said there was a huge jellyfish over on the other side of the beach.
'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 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).from www.dailymail.co.uk
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Post by hwinpp on May 21, 2009 4:27:42 GMT
I actively don't like jellyfish, even if they have no sting at all.
When I lived in Perth we used to go swimming in the Swan River even though it was full of jellyfish.
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Post by pookie on May 21, 2009 13:02:42 GMT
You lived here HW ?
I wouldn't swim in the Swan river any more , I did as a child when it was cleaner , we often have bans on parts of the river now because of algae bloom .
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Post by bixaorellana on May 21, 2009 16:12:51 GMT
I so wish I had all my photos here with me!
In the early 90s we pulled into Rockport, Texas in the boat. The entire approach to the town and the whole marina was literally filled with round jellyfish. Seriously, you couldn't see down into the water because they were so closely packed. It was like an explosion at the Spalding factory.
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Post by auntieannie on May 21, 2009 20:36:24 GMT
Poor jellyfish!
bixa, hihi!
pookie, the answer to algae invasion is removing phosphates in things such as washing powder, etc... algae invasion takes all the oxygen available in the river and so doesn't allow for fish, etc to be there. Another way is to encourage "animals that eat algae" (for want of a better word) in the area.
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Post by Deleted on May 21, 2009 23:41:26 GMT
 I belly flopped waterskiing onto one of these in Peconic Bay,N.Y. when I was a teenager. A Portugese Man of War. Unbelievable sting. |
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Post by hwinpp on May 22, 2009 3:40:25 GMT
You lived here HW ? I wouldn't swim in the Swan river any more , I did as a child when it was cleaner , we often have bans on parts of the river now because of algae bloom . Yes, a long time ago. My father decided we wanted to immigrate to Australia, he and I were the advance team. It took a couple of months for him to find a job (we ended up in Derby) and I remember how things went from bad to worse... We ended up in a men's boarding house on Williams Street. But things got much better in Derby, I enjoyed my time there. Three things I remember about Perth were the debate about the national anthem, Waltzing Mathilda or Advance Australia Fair, swimming in the Swan River with all those jellyfish and free concerts in a park in town. |
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Post by hwinpp on May 22, 2009 3:51:18 GMT
I belly flopped waterskiing onto one of these in Peconic Bay,N.Y. when I was a teenager. A Portugese Man of War. Unbelievable sting. And you lived to tell the tale? Thankfully I've never come accross any dangerous marine dwellers in my life. |
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Post by pookie on May 22, 2009 4:12:00 GMT
You wouldn't recognize William St now then. A lot of redevelopment has been going on , railway line even goes under the City southbound to Mandurah. I plan on going on walk around city and surrounds including Kings Park so I can post pic's of my home town , won't be for about six weeks because going O/S soon . What on earth were you doing in Derby , that has to be the arse end of the earth  A bit of a shock weather wise coming from outside AUS and there is nothing there. Pity it was there you had to go for work. Things have changed workwise here in the last 10 yrs .Everything in this state has been booming. There are still free concerts on in the Supreme Court gardens. |
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welle
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om sweet om
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Post by welle on Jun 8, 2009 9:51:33 GMT
WOW on that big jellyfish. I'd be worried if I saw one of those in the water.
The Portugese Man of War looks very pretty. And scary.
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Post by welle on Jun 8, 2009 9:55:33 GMT
Another type of sailing jellyfish, but completely harmless:  We get these some years in San Francisco by the thousands. You're surrounded when you surf. Very pretty. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 8, 2009 16:41:01 GMT
Awwww -- the pic's not showing, Welle. That is interesting about the harmless jellyfish, because I thought they all would sting. Do you have to wear a wetsuit to surf in San Francisco? The water must be pretty cold!
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welle
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Post by welle on Jun 9, 2009 6:56:46 GMT
Ok, trying this again...  The water in San Francisco is really cold, especially in spring. A wetsuit is a must. Interesting thing about these particular jellyfish: Apparently some have the sail in a way they sail to the left, some to the right. So they spread out over the oceans. |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jun 9, 2009 7:02:51 GMT
That's like something from outer space! It's really beautiful in its own way. The one-way-or-the-other sails are a fascinating adaptation.
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welle
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Post by welle on Jun 9, 2009 7:13:16 GMT
That's like something from outer space! From now on they'll be 'flying saucer jellyfish' in my mind.  |
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Post by rich on Jul 11, 2011 11:28:03 GMT
yesterday my friends and i saw a "giant" jellyfish. it was BIGGER than 4ft ! it swam against a footing on a pier which was 3ft in diameter... the jellyfish was CONSIDERABLY MORE THAN 15 INCHES bigger than the footing. Even a local angler was completely amazed by it's size! It was huge and people who saw it thought it was a tonne bulk bag at first. yes, that big!!! do we want to know which pier ?  |
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 11, 2011 19:41:53 GMT
;D It would be a public service to tell people where this was, Rich, so everyone could avoid that area.
Were you in the water or on the pier when you saw it?
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Post by rich on Jul 12, 2011 13:50:21 GMT
ok. the reason i hesitated was because other forums have similar events but the authors keep the location a secret. i wondered if the same was expected of me here. so this was LLandudno Pier.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 12, 2011 14:35:46 GMT
Really? A secret? I wonder why. Wow -- I googled LLandudno Pier jellyfish & found a picture of a Lion's Mane jellyfish. There was also an angler's account of the fishing being ruined because the water around that pier was full of hundreds of Lion's Mane jellyfish. The photo is dated June 16, 2010, & the fishing report June 30, 2010. Maybe this is some kind of summer phenomenon? Anyway, here's the photo: www.flickr.com/photos/25752063@N03/4716234637/in/photostream/Is that the kind you saw, Rich? You must have seen a really huge one. Did any of you get a photo? |
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Post by rikita on Jul 12, 2011 19:44:59 GMT
bixa - the link doesn't work...
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2011 20:16:55 GMT
I have never seen a giant jellyfish. The ones we had were completely inoffensive, totally transparent, and could fit in the palm of my hand. They had the most wondeful phosphorescent glow in the dark, like some of the spaceships in Close Encounters of the 3rd Kind. Unfortunately, kids are horrible, and my favorite occupation was to get as many of them as I could up onto the pier and watch them melt into nothingness on the hot planks under the sun.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 13, 2011 7:18:57 GMT
Thanx, Rikita -- I fixed it.
Kerouac, your story reminded me of something my brother & I did by accident. My parents had scored a house in Torremolinos one summer. My brother & I got up early, at low tide, & went & collected a bucket of mussels as a nice surprise for the grown-ups. We put the bucket on a marble-topped table on the terrace, went off to play & forgot about them. My parents came out to the terrace later with friends only to be greeted with the smell & unpleasant sight of mussels stuck to the table, drying in the sun.When the sun hit that part of the terrace, the poor mussels had climbed out of the bucket to escape the heat, only to get welded to the hot marble.
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Post by rikita on Jul 13, 2011 20:55:20 GMT
ah... cool jellyfish. they do look quite fascinating... btw, i never knew jellyfish sting until quite late in life. i saw some when at the baltic sea as a kid, but either they didn't sting, or at least never stung me nor anyone i knew...
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