Dangerous compass jellyfish have been sighted along Devon's southern coast as the area's waters warm up in the summer weather.
The marine animals are a seasonal visitor to the region, and form part of a swarm of different jellyfish species present in the area at this time of year.
Local explorer and wildlife expert Darren Murray recently observed the creatures in the waters off of Brixham, a fishing town, while out paddling in his kayak.
"It's a definite bloom of jellyfish," Mr Murray told local news website Devon Live.
"There are different types and thousands of them but they drift in and out so I was quite lucky to drift in amongst them."
Named after their distinctive brown markings, compass jellyfish can give a nasty sting and so swimmers and water sports enthusiasts are warned to keep their distance from the creatures.
As with all jellyfish, the animals can often leave the tentacle behind once they have stung something and can continue to sting using it even when not to connected to their body, according to the Wildlife Trusts.
The charity's website says compass jellyfish typically feed on small fish, crabs and even other jellyfish.
The sighting of the animals comes after hundreds of harmless 'moon jellyfish' were spotted around the Devon coast last month, Devon Live reported.
The two species are among the most commonly found types of jellyfish in British waters, along with lion's mane jellyfish, dustbin-lid jellyfish, blue jellyfish and mauve stinger jellyfish.
