Massive, Human-Size Jellyfish Stuns Divers Off the Coast of England

The barrel jellyfish is the biggest types of jelly discovered in UK waters, often growing longer than 5 feet (1.5 meters).

Credit: Dan Abbott/ Wild Ocean Week

A set of scuba divers swimming off the southwestern pointer of England struck the jelly prize recently after crossing courses with a hulking barrel jellyfish( Rhizostoma pulmo)– a seldom seen types that can grow about as big as a mature human. Thankfully, they shot the entire thing.

The scuba divers– biologist Lizzie Daly and undersea cinematographer Dan Abbott– shared the encounter in a Facebook video published Saturday (July 13) as part of the Wild Ocean Week project– a series of videos showcasing the curiosity of the deep to assist raise loan for the UK’s Marine Preservation Society

Daly and Abbott were diving off the coast of Cornwall, U.K., when they saw the huge jelly emerge from the dirty water. Likewise called the dustbin-lid jellyfish, the types is defined by 8 puffy arms topped by stinging arms and a big, globular head that provides the animal its unglamorous label. Barrel jellyfish often clean up on the coast, Daly informed Vice, however it’s unusual for a scuba diver to swim face-to-faceless-head with among the huge blobs. [Marine Marvels: Spectacular Photos of Sea Creatures]

While the barrel jellyfish is the biggest types of jelly discovered in U.K. waters, it’s a simple shrimp when compared to the lion’s hair jellyfish( Cyanea capillata), the biggest recognized types on the planet. This coldwater jelly is understood for its galaxy of 1,200 long, routing arms, which can bring a specific animal’s overall body length to approximately 120 feet(365 meters)– which is longer than the typical blue whale.

This tangle of arms is so huge that a single lion’s hair jelly might have the ability to sting 50 to 100 individuals in simply a couple of minutes if currents bring the jelly too near to an inhabited coast– an enjoyable truth that a group of unfortunate New Hampshire beachgoers discovered the difficult method in 2010.

Initially released on Live Science