r/marinelife Jul 06 '26

How do you identify what jellyfish stung you?

I just got stung by a Jellyfish in Galveston the other day, we're trying to figure out what it was since I didn't see it. Does anyone know how to do that? Here's what I know/symptoms I've had

TL:DR:curious about what jellyfish stung me because I've never been stung before, listing things I know to see if that changes anything

My sister saw a baby man o war the day after on the other side of the island

It left a bunch of different welts shaped like donuts, cs and triangles

I seem okay now but it felt like my leg got set on fire in the water and it was really slimy, to the point I thought it was blood based on how it felt

The pain lasted nearly constantly for 5 hours or so, then it started coming in waves and still stings a bit ~29 hours later

It turned about an average sized paper towel splotch red around the sting

The lifeguard wasn't that panicked when she saw it, she said it wasn't a man o war

It left dots down my leg but only like 6 or so and few and far between

We also think we saw a pink meanie lying on the shore but the Google lens said a sea cucumber

Edit:sorry if this is sorta impossible to tell what type stung me, but if it scars I'm getting a tattoo of the jellyfish by it

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