A teen caught a jellyfish in an Iowa lake. How did the species native to China get here?

Oscar Schiferl wanted to catch a bass while fishing with his father at Russell Wildlife Area in New Sharon over the weekend. While he didn't reel in what he originally intended to get, he didn't leave empty-handed.

The freshman at Oskaloosa High School instead caught not one but 20 freshwater jellyfish, a species native to the Yangtze River in China.

"I saw the jellyfish swimming in the water, and my dad didn't believe me at first, so I caught one to show him," Schiferl said. "He was like, 'That's actually a jellyfish.'"

Are jellyfish normally found in Iowa?

Freshwater jellyfish , often referred to as peach blossom jellyfish or Craspedacusta sowerbii, are not usually found in Iowa but have been observed in North America for at least 100 years, and can be found in the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers in the U.S.

This is the second jellyfish sighting in Iowa in less than a month, according to the Iowa Department of Natural Resources. A freshwater jellyfish was recently found in a pond near Lake Panorama in Guthrie County.

"Even with these recent sightings, it's still a cool and unusual find," said Kim Bogenschutz, Aquatic Invasive Species Coordinator for the Iowa DNR.

Are freshwater jellyfish harmful to humans?

This species of jellyfish is harmless to humans and tends to feed on plankton. Freshwater jellyfish can grow to the size of a penny and have up to 500 tentacles, though their tentacles cannot penetrate human skin.

Schifer's excitement in discovering these creatures was shared with his classmates after he brought one of the jellyfish to school in a Mason jar.

"I knew no one would believe me unless they saw it," he said.

How did jellyfish native to China end up in an Iowa lake?

Bogenschutz theorizes that the jellyfish most likely arrived here through improper dumping of an aquarium or aquatic plants. She said that with colder temperatures on the horizon, the jellyfish in Iowa will likely disappear as they retreat to their podocysts for the winter.

"While they don't seem to have invasive qualities or pose a major threat to native species, it's crucial to prevent further spread," she said. "It's moments like these when students find something unexpected that remind us how important it is to stay curious and observant."

Cooper Worth is a service/trending reporter for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at cworth@gannett.com or follow him on X @CooperAWorth.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: A teen caught a jellyfish in an Iowa lake. How did the species native to China get here?