Attack of the blob! Family find giant ‘alien’ jellyfish
IT may look like a giant inverted trifle wobbling gently on a beach – but this strange creation has a sting in its tail.
Adam Dickinson, 31, who found the 3ft blob on the seashore with his family, said it was undulating gently, making it look like an ‘alien’.
It left Mr Dickinson, from Liverpool, baffled. But scientists identified it as a lion’s mane – the world’s largest jellyfish. Under water, it can trail more than 100ft, making it longer than a blue whale. Its sting is rarely fatal, however the large number of tentacles can make it dangerous.
Mr Dickinson made the find in New Zealand with his wife Eve, 34, and children Lucas, four, and Sofia, two. He added: ‘There was up to 100 jellyfish on the beach. This one looked alien-like and was slowly moving. It’s an amazing thing.’ Although its habitat includes the English Channel, this specimen washed up in in north-eastern New Zealand, where the Dickinsons now live.