A new species of giant jellyfish washed up on an Australian beach, prompting scientists on Thursday to work on classifying the creature and describing it as a "whopper" that took their breath away, Agence France-Presse reported.
The 1.5-metre (4 foot 11 inch) specimen was found by a family in the southern state of Tasmania, who contacted a local marine biologist.
"There's the excitement, that it's a new species and then there's the 'Oh my God factor' that it happens to be the size of a Smart car," Lisa Gershwin, a scientist at the government's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), told Reuters. "It's like Disneyland for marine biologists."
Gershwin said the type of jellyfish had been seen in the past, but never one so big and not one that became beached.
"We know about this specimen but it hasn't been classified yet, it hasn't been named," she told AFP, adding that there had been a massive jellyfish bloom in Tasmanian waters over the past month.
According to AFP, the new species was related to the lion's mane jellyfish, the largest known species of the marine animal in the world, she said.
"It is so big it took our breath away," added Gershwin, who has been working with jellyfish for 20 years.
"It's a whopper of an animal but it's not life-threatening, although it does sting."
A proper analysis to classify and name the creature has begun as CSIRO scientists now have enough pictures and samples.
Despite this, much remains unknown, including how it eats and breeds, and its habitat, AFP reported.
"It's so big but we know nothing about it," said Gershwin. "It highlights again how much we still have to learn about the ocean."
The jellyfish was found by the Lim family on a beach south of the Tasmanian capital Hobart with mother Josie saying "it blew our minds away".
"It's not really jellyfish territory here and all we could do was stand back and admire it," she told AFP.
