Jellyfish are incredible creatures and come in many different forms throughout the world. Some of them are tiny, and others can be absolutely massive.

If you happened to be off the coast of Texas in October-November of 2025, you may have witnessed an incredible sight. The superbloom of the pink meanie jellyfish.

As you might guess from the name, this species of jelly is pink, and they are easy to spot. In a YouTube video (see below), Jace Tunnell, the director of community engagement at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi’s Harte Research Institute, said:

“I’m excited today to talk to you about something I’ve been looking for for a year and that’s called the pink meanie. It’s a jellyfish that can get huge. I mean tentacles to 70 feet [21 meters] long and the thing can be 50 pounds [23 kilograms].”

Scientifically speaking, the pink meanie is called the Drymonema Iarsoni, and it was only relatively recently that it was even identified as a unique species.

They were first named by the Smithsonian Institute Museum of Natural History’s Keith Bayha. Talking to the Dauphin Island Sea Lab in 2022, Bayha discussed when they were first identified:

“Pink meanies first started showing up in the northern Gulf of Mexico in the early 2000s and were recorded by Dr Monty Graham at DISL. Dr. Graham sent me samples for DNA analysis when I was a graduate student at the University of Delaware.

I tried to use them for a study I was doing on the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, whose family the pink meanie previously belonged to, but they were too different. In that study, it became clear that Drymonema was a brand new family and very distinct from the Lion’s Mane Jellyfish.”

The paper he referenced was a 2010 study that identified them as their own species of jelly.

While they are not usually seen in such great numbers, this year was different. This is because one of the main foods for the pink meanie is the much smaller moon jellyfish. Since the moon jellies were so abundant this year, the pink meanies were able to thrive and reproduce very successfully, resulting in a superbloom.

As the seasons change to winter and the water temperatures drop, the pink meanies will move along.

If you ever see one of these beautiful jellyfish, remember that they got their name for a reason. They are indeed pink, but they can also be mean, and their sting can be very painful, so it is best to view them from the safety of a boat.

If you thought that was interesting, you might like to read about why we should be worried about the leak in the bottom of the ocean.