This jellyfish is so big it took our breath away. It’s a whopper of an animal but it’s not life-threatening, although it does sting.
Scientists were on Thursday working to classify a new species of giant jellyfish that washed up on an Australian beach, describing it as a “whopper” that took their breath away.
The 1.5-metre (4 foot 11 inch) specimen was found by a family in the southern state of Tasmania, who contacted a local marine biologist.
Lisa Gershwin, a scientist with the government’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), said the type of jellyfish had been seen in the past, but never one so big and not one that became beached.
“We know about this specimen but it hasn’t been classified yet, it hasn’t been named,” she told AFP, adding that there had been a massive jellyfish bloom in Tasmanian waters over the past month.
She said the new species was related to the lion’s mane jellyfish, the largest known species of the marine animal in the world.
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