A purple jewel washed ashore at St Lucia Main Beach last week! Think of it as the “amethyst of the sea,” as one local photographer, Carl Myhill, perfectly captured its stunning purple hues just in time before it vanished.
St Lucia, South Africa (19 June 2025) – Mother Nature never ceases to amaze us with its marvels and magnificent gems that remind us of the beauty all around us.
Beachgoers at St Lucia Main Beach on the KwaZulu-Natal North Coast were in for a treat upon discovering a rare sighting of a crown jellyfish (also known as a cauliflower jellyfish) that had washed ashore last week.
Scientifically known as the Cephea cephea, this remarkable creature is a species of jellyfish in the family Cepheidae.
It occurs in the tropical waters of the western Indo-Pacific to Northern Australia. Notably, far from familiar waters, a local photographer, Carl Myhill, was lucky enough to spot and capture the purple beaut from his lens, which he has since shared with nature enthusiasts who have praised the jellyfish as the “amethyst of the sea”.
The purple crown jellyfish is 95% water and, like other jellyfish, has no heart, brain, blood or gills!
Even though it looks like a beautiful, pulsating flower, this venomous creature is a cunning carnivore, feasting on plankton and shrimp with its over 100 white stinging tentacles.
Once on the shore, jellyfish will disappear very quickly as the water that makes up their body evaporates. Thankfully, for our skilled photographer’s perfect timing, we all get to marvel at this magnificent, short-lived marvel that reminds us of the endless beauty in our oceans.
Check out some of the images shared on the What’s on St Lucia SA Facebook group:
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Sources: What’s on St Lucia SA
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