Tourist discovers ‘extinct’ jellyfish while rock-pooling in Outer Hebrides

For nearly 50 years, there has been no trace of Depastrum cyathiforme, a stalked jellyfish that resembles a thistle flower.

The distinctive jellyfish was feared globally extinct after being last spotted in Roscoff, northern France, in 1976.

But a holidaymaker who was rock-pooling on South Uist in the Outer Hebrides found four of the creatures, which attach themselves to rocks rather like anemones, and took what turned out to be the first ever photographs of the species, previously only known from historic drawings and paintings.

Its rediscovery, revealed by British Wildlife magazine, has been confirmed by a follow-up search that successfully located another individual Depastrum cyathiforme, offering hope that there is a stable population present on the Scottish island.

In the 19th century, the stalked jellyfish was rare but regularly recorded in south-western British waters by naturalists including the legendary marine biologist Philip Henry Gosse, who named it the “goblet lucernaria”. But in the mid-20th century it vanished from British seashores, having been last found on Lundy, Devon, in 1954.

The jellyfish was discovered by Neil Roberts, who was rock-pooling on South Uist. Photograph: British Wildlife

Neil Roberts, who made the original rediscovery after turning over a rock and examining some interesting-looking anemones and stalked jellyfish, described his “niggle of doubt” when he searched online and found his photos only matched some historic pen drawings and watercolours of the species. But he said he was “well chuffed” when his photos were confirmed by experts to be the vanished jellyfish.

Depastrum cyathiforme was recorded again by Guy Freeman, the editor of British Wildlife magazine, who travelled to South Uist to conduct a follow-up search this summer.

“When Neil first shared the photos it was like seeing a ghost,” said Freeman. “This thing that had only ever existed in old drawings was suddenly there, in the flesh. It is really encouraging that the jellyfish was still there this summer, two years after Neil’s find, but now we need to widen the search and work out whether it survives anywhere else.”

There are 50 stalked jellyfish known to science, with 10 found in British and Irish waters. A relative of the true jellyfish, sea anemones and corals, the stalked jellyfish is usually less than 5cm (2in) in height and uses a sucker to attach to rocks or seaweed.

Allen Collins, a global expert on stalked jellyfish based at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, said: “This is really a remarkable find, and I was so happy to learn about it. We can now be certain that this rarely encountered species persists. I am hoping that more individuals will soon be found.”

Christine Johnson, from Outer Hebrides Biological Recording, said: “We are always excited when a species new to our islands is reported, but it is not every day that it is confirmed that it is one which was once feared to be extinct. This is a wonderful example of the contribution made to our knowledge of the biodiversity of the Outer Hebrides and the United Kingdom by local naturalists.”