Lion's mane jellyfish thought to be world’s longest animal found on Anglesey beach

The world’s longest animal has been found on a Welsh beach.

A walker came across the Lion's mane jellyfish on Traeth Lligwy, a popular beach near Moelfre on Anglesey.

The Lion's mane jellyfish packs a powerful sting that is rarely fatal but can cause skin complaints that feel like a bad nettle rash.

North Wales Wildlife Trust (NWWT) advises a trip to the doctors if symptoms become severe.

The jellyfish gets its name from its red-orange cluster of tentacles that can reach enormous lengths.

It is often cited as the world’s longest animal, with one found off the coast of Massachusetts in the USA, having tentacles measuring 36.6 metres long.

Richard Lee, a on holiday on the island from Lincolnshire, said the ones he saw on Lligwy beach were much smaller, as is typical in the Irish Sea.

Mr Lee said: “I came across this bad boy on my last day on the island. There were a few others on the beach.

"As the summer school break has just started, I thought visitors should be warned before some poor kid gets hurt.”

Lion’s manes are usually found in waters to the north of Scotland, although there have been sightings around the Welsh coast.

In 2016, endurance athlete Liane Llewellyn-Hickling was forced to abandon an attempt to become the first woman to swim around Ynys Môn in one go after she was stung more than five times by a Lion’s mane jellyfish.

Their tentacles are packed with stinging cells that are used to catch fish and smaller jellyfish.

On its website, NWWT warned: “Fragments of its tentacles will sting you even if they’re no longer attached to the jellyfish. They will still sting long after they’ve been on the shore.”

In 2010, some 150 beachgoers were stung by Lion’s mane remains in New Hampshire, USA. Given their considerable size, it is possible that all 150 were stung by a single jellyfish.They can grow to be longer than Blue Whales, the world’s largest mammal. However Lion’s manes have a rival for the title of world’s longest animal.In 1864, a bootlace worm was found washed up on the coast near St Andrews, Scotland, that measured 55 metres (180ft) long.

The finding has since been disputed: while bootlace worms can grow to over 30 metres, they can also stretch to several times their natural length.