Barrel Jellyfish

A large jellyfish of the northeast Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and Sea of Azov, also found off the western coast of South Africa and into False Bay, and the largest jellyfish species in British and Irish waters. It has a rounded, frilly-mouthed bell that is typically up to 40 centimeters across but can exceptionally reach 150 centimeters, with adults weighing as much as 25 kilograms. Populations bloom in late summer and early autumn when warm temperatures and favorable winds trigger sharp increases in numbers, and the species is especially common in the Irish Sea and around British coasts during these blooms.