UKC

http://www.ispot.org.uk/node/238276?nav=latest_obs_thumbnail_grid Any ideas please?

In reply to Mark Kemball:

This goes someway to explaining...or not

http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/outdoors/articles/jelly/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_jelly

In reply to toad: Interesting, but I'm no wiser!

In reply to Mark Kemball: I found a load of this while walking around Tryfan the other month. Looks like a trolls ejaculate. Strange stuff.

In reply to Mark Kemball:

There's a clue in this picture, and no, I didn't stand on it!

http://www.scomuir.com/scoweb/pictures/images/culMor_021011_11.JPG

In reply to Mark Kemball: It's fairly common, this was my latest find:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikepeacock/6248938551/in/photostream

In reply to Mike Peacock:

Probably some Scots delicacy - porridge with too much water?

In reply to Scomuir:

Was going to say - is that a half digested frog on the left of your boot?

After seeing Mike's link i'd say it is the inside of somethings stomach?

In reply to mike_uk82: So trolls do dogging too? Cool.

In reply to OwenF:


That's the clue...

In reply to Scomuir: I'm not convinced by the "bird vommit / owl pellet" theory.

In reply to Mark Kemball: This discussion has been ongoing for ages. It is supposidly a type of blue green alga . (they arnt necessarily blue or green) or nostic a cyanobacteria, they have the property of forming gelatinous strings , bead like which emerge from the soil. If the term star jelly is googled
,eventually after various misleading and weird suggestions this one sems to be reasonable The trouble is no lab tests have been done as the subject disappear or "melt" away when removed and as bacteria have noneucleus(I think) there is nothing to see. They have swelled and popped!!!!

In reply to joan cooper: PS cyanobacteria and bluegreen algae are known to be poisonous to animals ...re the deaths of dogs after drinking water contaminated with it, so perhaps the frog had been having a bit of a taster then died?

In reply to joan cooper: I tend to think there may be different 'varieties' of the stuff. The star jelly in my link above was on a stile, and on a lower rung was an owl pellet. Seems too good to be coincidence to me!

In reply to Mike Peacock:
And in my picture, the stuff is on a rock, with the remains of a frog nearby. So, could it be:

a. The frog spontaneously exploded, and this is the result
b. Something tried to eat the frog, didn't like it, and this is the result.
c. The frog ate something that wasn't pleasant, and the something that ate the frog reacted to the thing that the the frog ate!
d. Something ate the frog, but something other than the frog, or what the frog ate, caused it to regurgitate it's legs and the "star jelly".
e. The presence of the frogs legs is purely coincidental.
f. none of the above...

The presence of the frogs legs seems like too much of a coincidence to me as well.

In reply to Mike Peacock: I think what is needed is someone who has the time,money, facilities and interest to do a propper scientific study of lots of samples from different places . then we migh get near the truth. Or perhaps its better left as an interesting discusion .

In reply to Mike Peacock: PS mike if you study bogs etc you might find time to study the goo you never know there may be a nobel prize for science in it!!!!!

In reply to Mike Peacock:

I've never seen it in conjunction with frog remains.

In reply to joan cooper: It would certainly be interesting, but alas I don't really do much microbial stuff!

Perhaps we shall all have to be content to never know for sure...