Did you know that there are over 2,000 known types of jellyfish? Scientists estimate that there could be over 300,000 different species yet to be discovered. There is still so much we do not understand about our awesome planet. But even of the 2,000 that are known, only about 70 of them can be harmful to humans. Sometimes we get a ton of jellyfish on the beach at South Padre Island, and most people steer clear of all of them, which is probably wise. Unless you know that a specific type can sting you, just give them all plenty of room.
We have 8-10 types (at least) of jellyfish in the waters around South Padre Island. The worst perhaps is the very painful Portugese Man of War.
We recently had a surge of blue button jellyfish, not quite as painful as the Man of War.
Another one to really avoid is the four-handed box jellyfish.
Below is an interesting video on the cabbagehead jellyfish put together by Texas A&M Corpus Christi's Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies. Beachcoming with Jace Tunnell.
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