This year, jellyfish have made big news. The 5-foot-wide lion’s mane jelly spotted near South Portland’s Willard Beach certainly drew plenty of attention. While this particular one was surprisingly large, this is not unusual for lion’s manes. They are one of the biggest species of jellyfish around and happen to be one that is found commonly in the Gulf of Maine. Lion’s mane jellyfish (Cyanea capillata) have been around here for awhile, but their numbers this year seem to be shockingly high. In addition to them being more numerous, they have also persisted for longer into the season than is typical. Usually, they show up in the spring during the typical spring plankton bloom, being a plankton species themselves, albeit a very large one. There are many thoughts about why this is the case, including changes in water temperature that are causing shifts in ocean ecosystems like what lives where and when.

One concern about lion’s mane jellies is that they sting. This is unlike the more innocuous moon jelly which is also commonly found along our coast. However, on a recent ocean swim, I happened to swim a little too close to a few of the tentacles of a lion’s mane and found myself with a tingling sensation on my shoulder and chin. I have to admit that I’m grateful for the experience to know that, at least for me, the sting didn’t amount to much and quickly subsided.

Even though I had recounted this story to my girls, when we were on a recent trip to a Maine beach and saw many gelatinous reddish blobs washed up on the beach, there was greatly dampened enthusiasm for going in the water. We poked and prodded these blobs on the sand to sort out what they actually were, looking for the radiating patterns that typically mark the underside of the bell of a lion’s mane or any sign of the tentacles that would typically stream underneath while in the water. Neither of these could be found and instead, the blobs, when spread out, seemed to be comprised of a series of lobes with a variety of bits of color.

I did a little digging and have yet to land on a secure answer. But here is my best guess — with the caveat that I welcome ideas from readers on what else these blobs might be. They could, of course, be odd pieces of lion’s manes that have gotten mangled by the waves and by rolling around in the sand. But another possibility I found was that they could be another gelatinous sea creature: a nudibranch. Nudibranchs are actually snails, although they don’t have shells. Their name tells their story — “nudus” is Greek for naked and “branch” for gills. So, they aren’t closely related to jellyfish even though they share the same type of exposed soft body. Instead of having a bell like a jelly, nudibranchs have a series of flaps. And instead of tentacles, they have a series of little bumps called cerata that contain sensors that help them to assess a variety of environmental conditions. But perhaps the most important difference here is that these nudibranchs aren’t known for stinging humans. They can acquire stinging cells from their prey (including jellyfish), but most species don’t have potent enough stings to harm a human. This is why I was most interested in finding out what they were — to assuage the concerns about swimming off the beach where we found so many of these blobs washed ashore.

There are several species of nudibranchs that are common to the Gulf of Maine, including one that’s even called a lion’s mane (Aeolidia papillosa) that seems like a likely candidate. Nudibranchs, like many other gelatinous species including jellyfish, have been on the increase in Maine waters in recent years. Numbers are on the rise as well as new species that are appearing here that haven’t been seen before. However, Aeolidia papillosa is not considered an invasive species in Maine and is common on both sides of the Atlantic. While not new to Maine, this seaside blob was new to me, and I’m hopeful that I’ve discovered that the beach is safe for swimming.

Susan Olcott is the director of strategic partnerships at Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.