The Jelly mystery

[FungiJohn]

I found much of this on my trip to Scotland last November.

BBC - Scotland Outdoors Articles - The 'jelly' mystery

Any comments?



John

[FungiJohn]

The frog theory would seem possible

[Lance Morgan]

Interesting nobody seems to be able to give a definitive answer

[The Woodman]

It'll always be slime mould to me.

Taken from another BBC article "When slime is not so thick"

"Slime mould is one of a group of single- to multi-celled organisms traditionally classified as fungi but having characteristics of both plants and animals.

They reproduce by spores, but their cells can move like an amoeba and they feed by taking in particles of food.

Some types of slime mould are the bane of gardeners, forming a jelly-like surface on grass."

Ironic that on one hand mystery is encouraged and the answer is given on the other by the same organisation. Perhaps it is "balanced" reporting.

[solus]

I asked about that one back in October, John!

Strange jelly - BBC Scotland

[NickCantle]

It's Ghost poo

[Fauna]

Pwdre ser....found some of this the other week, i had it down as aborted frog spawn. Was told it was in a sense, when an Heron eats a pregnant frog the frog jelly expands in the Herons stomach and it vomits it up???

The stuff i found was in an area where there is always an Heron, so who knows.

[nematode]

Star Jelly (or pwdre ser). I have seen this jelly a few times many years ago and wondered at the time what it was. I wondered so much that I looked into it and found the information about frogs, as stated in this forum. However, there has always been doubt and no hard evidence about the frog theory. So, I have always kept an eye out for it. A few times friends have mentioned that they seen it and also wondered. Only a few weeks ago, in the Lake District, a colleague saw it and mentioned it to everyone and was curious about its origins.

At the weekend I was wandering about in the Antrim Hills and found some. When I found it I was delighted (strange, I know).



But then one of my friends exclaimed, “and look , a dead frog!”. And not even 1 meter away was a frog, bloated and sad.



A dead frog is not a frequent sight at the best of times, but so close to the dirt of a star, it cannot be ignored. I have been pondering this and have some questions. Why do most reports of pwdre ser see only the jelly and no frog or frog parts? Why are all the examples mostly clear apart from a few that I have heard of being slightly red in colour (tinged with blood)? As I understand it (I could be wrong) birds like herons and ravens swallow their food whole and without chewing. Is it possible that a live frog empties itself (pee, poo, and egg packing material) inside the predator and causes the predator to vomit the frog and material? At this stage it is probably likely that the predator would then re-swallow the frog leaving no trace but the jelly unless it was spooked or disturbed after it had vomited.

[fairplay]

Nostoc (called Pwdre ser in Wales) is a cyanobacteria containing over a dozen species which occur naturally in areas where there is plenty of fresh water and often swell up after heavy rain.
Some species can form a mutualistic relationship with fungi, but most are quite happy being alone.

There is no connection at all with Herons, Frogs, Myxomycetes (Slime moulds), Ghost poo (Nick ) or Outer Space.

No doubt, other things can look similar, such as spawn or even part-eaten jellyfish dropped by a squabbling gull.

Neil.

[nematode]

I agree there is some confusion as to what people think is star jelly. I thought the lumps of clear jelly that my friends and I were finding were star jelly based on the pictures in the following web pages:

BBC - Autumnwatch Blog: Autumnwatch Unsprung: The great star jelly mystery

BBC - Scotland Outdoors Galleries - 'Jelly' mystery

Nature 1, Science 0 as finest minds fail to explain star jelly - Times Online

I also stumbled upon a microscope picture that looks like the same type of jelly I found. Star jelly under the microscope on Flickr - Photo Sharing!