A PURPLE jellyfish has made waves at Coolum Beach today.
The royal-hued ball of blubber was found just above the high tide mark this morning and has been collected by UnderWater World Sea Life Mooloolaba for further examination.
An expert has suggested that it could be a new species of thysantostoma.
“It could be something new to science. The reason my antenna go up is it’s such a different colour from what we normally see, so it could also be different in other ways,” Dr Lisa-Ann Gershwin told News Corp.
“It’s not just a little purple – this sucker is seriously purple.
“We don’t know what kind of sting its gives. The lifeguards were right to take it (away) from the water. I applaud them because we might actually have discovered a new species, and they might have prevented someone from being stung.”
She also said the colour of the jellyfish could mean its sting could be extremely potent.
“The colour just screams ‘Don’t mess with me’.”
Agencies/Canadajournal