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While swimming near Trefin Beach in Pembrokeshire, Morgan encountered an extraordinary sight beneath the water’s surface: tentacles of a massive jellyfish. At first, he noticed only a few, but the number rapidly increased from three to ten, and then to twenty, seemingly continuing without end. The sheer size of the creature was astonishing, with tentacles extending well beyond visible range.
Morgan initially believed the jellyfish to be a compass jellyfish, a species commonly found in UK waters. However, he quickly realized that this jellyfish was much larger than usual. “It must have been the length of a bus or small train. I couldn’t believe how big it was,” he remarked, emphasizing the sheer magnitude of the animal.
According to the Wildlife Trusts, this particular jellyfish is a lion’s mane jellyfish, named for its strikingly long tentacles that are reminiscent of a lion’s mane, combining both beauty and a dangerous edge. The lion’s mane jellyfish can reach lengths of up to 3 meters (9 feet 8 inches), but its tentacles can stretch impressively far—between 30 and 36.5 meters (98 to nearly 120 feet)—ranking it among the longest animals known.
Dr. Cathy Lucas, a marine biologist at the University of Southampton, commented on the video captured by Morgan, highlighting the remarkable length of the jellyfish’s tentacles. She noted that these tentacles are so slender and extended they often go unnoticed. Recalling her fieldwork in Scotland, she explained that divers would occasionally come into contact with detached tentacle fragments in the water, which still had the capacity to sting. While the sting of the lion’s mane jellyfish is reputed to be the most painful among UK species, Dr. Lucas assured that it is not considered dangerous
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