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CSIRO scientists are working to classify a new species of giant jellyfish after one washed
up on a beach in southern Tasmania. The 1.5 metre jellyfish was found by a family walking
on a beach at Howden, south of Hobart, last month. There have been several reported in
waters off the state and the research body has also captured specimens. CSIRO scientist
Lisa-ann Gershwin told ABC Local Radio while the species has been seen before, it is technically
unclassified and new to science. "It's a whopper. We do get large jellyfish and this one just
happened to be this absolutely enormous specimen," she said. "I do hear from time to time people
tell me 'we found this one that was really big', but this one really is, really big.
"[We] finally got specimens this year of it, so it's new to science, but it's not a brand
new thing completely out of left field. "It's one of these things that really makes us come
face-to-face with the fact that there are things we don't know about out there in nature,
particularly in the ocean." "I love that is was found by kids that they stumbled upon
on this thing." Twelve-year-old Xavier Lim was with his family when it was spotted. "We
were at the beach looking for shells and dad was like 'Whoa! Look at that'...I kind of
touched it.. it was pretty cool," he said. Dr Gershwin has been working on jellyfish
for 20 years and says it is probably the biggest the state's ever seen, and could rival interstate
finds. "Generally the jellyfish tend to be bigger in the temperate regions rather than
in the tropics, so certainly tropical jellyfish would tend to be smaller." "I've been in Tassie
working with jellyfish for a long time here and I've seen a lot of big jellyfish but this
one's really big." The jellyfish is not dangerous, but can sting. "If you touched it or whacked
into when you were swimming it is very painful," Dr Gershwin said. "It's not life-threatening,
but it will sting you, it will wake you up." Ice can be used to relieve pain from stings.
Dr Gershwin says she has chosen a name for the species and is working to have it classified.
CSIRO scientists are working to classify a new species of giant jellyfish after one washed
up on a beach in southern Tasmania. The 1.5 metre jellyfish was found by a family walking
on a beach at Howden, south of Hobart, last month. There have been several reported in
waters off the state and the research body has also captured specimens. CSIRO scientist
Lisa-ann Gershwin told ABC Local Radio while the species has been seen before, it is technically
unclassified and new to science. "It's a whopper. We do get large jellyfish and this one just
happened to be this absolutely enormous specimen," she said. "I do hear from time to time people
tell me 'we found this one that was really big', but this one really is, really big.
"[We] finally got specimens this year of it, so it's new to science, but it's not a brand
new thing completely out of left field. "It's one of these things that really makes us come
face-to-face with the fact that there are things we don't know about out there in nature,
particularly in the ocean." "I love that is was found by kids that they stumbled upon
on this thing." Twelve-year-old Xavier Lim was with his family when it was spotted. "We
were at the beach looking for shells and dad was like 'Whoa! Look at that'...I kind of
working with jellyfish for a long time here and I've seen a lot of big jellyfish but this
but it will sting you, it will wake you up." Ice can be used to relieve pain from stings.
Dr Gershwin says she has chosen a name for the species and is working to have it classified.