The fried egg jellyfish

Personally we think it's more like a poached egg, but either way, behold, the ultimate whipping boy of the high seas.

This is the fried egg jellyfish, known by men in white coats as phacellophora camtschatica. An entire batch of the unusual creatures - which are normally found in the Mediterranean - have been born at Basel Zoo in Switzerland and are set to lead a life of pure misery.

Not only is their value as food to bigger predators highlighted by the fact that they look like a cooked egg, but they're pansies too. Feeding mostly on smaller jellyfish, their sting is so weak many small crustaceans regularly ride on their bells (the head area) and even steal food from their oral arms and tentacles. Probably mocking it as they go while waving an imaginary cowboy hat. Sob.

The egg can measure up to two foot in length and the entire ugly sucker can stretch to 20ft long.

Main image: Caters