Theories have been flying online over a strange discovery located at a popular Welsh beach
The creature was found on Broughton Bay in the Gower
Visitors to a popular Welsh beach have been left baffled after an alien-looking creature washed up on its shores. During a recent trip to Broughton Bay on the Gower Peninsula one beachgoer stumbled across the strange find and turned to social media for help identifying it.
The animal appeared almost like a large translucent bag of water, prompting a wave of speculation online. Many suggested it could be a type of jellyfish with several pointing specifically to a comb jelly – a species rarely seen on UK beaches.
According to the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) comb jellies are not actually jellyfish and they do not sting. Around 150 species have been identified worldwide ranging from just 0.1mm to nearly 1.5m in size.
Comb jellies are found in oceans across the globe, from tropical seas to icy polar waters, including those around the UK. According to MCS they move through the water using rows of tiny hair-like structures called cilia, which resemble combs. These cilia can scatter light to produce a rainbow-like shimmer thanks to their bioluminescence.
While it’s not confirmed that the creature spotted in the Gower is a comb jelly its translucent gelatinous body matches the description provided by the Aquarium of the Pacific.
READ MORE: Extraordinary, huge creature washes up on Welsh beach
Another theory put forward was that the mystery creature could be a salp – a barrel-shaped marine invertebrate that moves by pumping water through its soft gelatinous body.
The Australian Museum states that salps are not jellyfish but belong to a group of animals called tunicates or “sea squirts”. They are semi-transparent and often resemble jellyfish when washed ashore though they are completely harmless and do not sting.
Several visitors noted that similar creatures have been appearing along the Welsh coast in recent weeks. One person wrote: “This was on Rhossili, loads of them, a few weeks ago.”
Another commented: “Loads in Tenby like a squashed plastic bottle, on closer inspection, three jelly-like sections weird.” Never miss a Swansea story by signing up to our newsletter here
A third added: “I saw lots of these at Burry Port last week. I’ve never seen them before in 20 years of walking there.”
The unusual sighting comes after a series of remarkable marine discoveries on Welsh beaches. Just last week beachgoers at Cefn Sidan Sands in Pembrey, Carmarthenshire were stunned to find the carcass of a 70ft fin whale, one of the largest animals on earth.
Marine Environmental Monitoring (MEM) confirmed the whale was female and had been dead for some time leaving it in a “bad state of decomposition” by the time it was discovered.