Divers Spot Massive Jellyfish As Big As A Human Just Off The British Coast

Jul 18, 2019 by apost team

Can you imagine getting stung by a jellyfish this big? 

A gigantic barrel jellyfish (Rhizostoma Pulmo) made the news all over the world on July 14, 2019, when it was photographed off the British Cornwall coast by divers who ended up swimming with it reports ABC News. Because it was the size of a human and so strange looking, it was a shocking sight. So far in 2019, thousands have washed up onto beaches in Cornwall and Devon says The Express.

apost.com

Actually, these jellyfish are common in the United Kingdom in the Atlantic Ocean just off the West and South Coasts when they swarm in the warm summers and in the autumn to the warm and shallow water of the coasts to enjoy the large plankton blooms that give them a plentiful food supply. In the colder months, they return to deeper waters.

Rupert Kirkwood, a marine enthusiast “The Lone Kayaker,” wrote in his blog that there had been more barrel jellyfish around the Southwest England coast than he had ever seen in more than 15 years of kayaking. He reported seeing 91 on Tuesday, more than 120 on Wednesday, and more than 40 on Thursday.

These barrel jellyfish, with the other common name of dustbin-lid jellyfish, are ancient, having been in our oceans for more than 500 million years according to Bug Life. They are gentle giants that possess soft bodies that are more than 90% water and have eight thick arms that are covered in frilly tissue and end in paddles. The frills are small tentacles around hundreds of mouths that catch and eat their prey.

If you or anyone to whom you tell this story happen to see jellyfish in United Kingdom waters, please report them to the Jellyfish Survey of the Marine Conservation Society where they record their distribution and numbers.