A local fisherman discovered the body of a mysterious sea creature on Coolum Beach on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Immediately, this fisherman informed the two rescue workers on duty, Jamie Smith and Mick Daly.
Smith said: “It was a pure purple jellyfish. How exciting! We have been patrolling this beach for the past 20 years and this is the first time we have seen such a strange creature.”
The animal’s tentacles are about a meter long and its body is the size of a large plate.
Dr. Lisa Gershwin from the CSIRO Center for Atmospheric and Marine Research believes this may be a new species of jellyfish. It is likely that this jellyfish belongs to the genus Thysanostoma because it has long tentacles. However, Dr. Gershwin also added that jellyfish of the Thysanostoma family are not common in marine areas in Australia. Normally, the body size of jellyfish of this genus is only the size of an adult’s fist and has a beige-brown color.
She and a jellyfish expert from Sea Life Mooloolaba also examined the properties of this jellyfish that same afternoon, and confirmed that its beautiful purple color is a natural color, not discolored by food. or stained by dyes.
Determining whether this jellyfish is a new species or not still requires continued research, but this new discovery could really open up a new opportunity for scientists.
