The rare pink meanie jellyfish gives Texas beachgoers a once-in

Visitors to Padre Island and Port Aransas recently got to see more than just a beautiful Texas coastline.

Some experienced a rare sight to see: pink meanie jellyfish.

“They’re not very common at all. We only see them in the warmer months, they don’t like cold at all,” Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Coastal Fisheries Division science director Mark Fisher said.

Fisher said the pink meanie sightings is a special event that many may not even realize.

The species they are seeing in Texas waters was first discovered back in the early 2000’s.

“It was originally thought to be one of the cousins from the Mediterranean,” Fisher said. “But further genetic analysis that was published in 2011 determined: no, it’s a whole new species that’s native to the Gulf.”

With the species’ existence com