Does anyone know what the white, transparent jellyfish are called?

Question

This jellyfish is rather small and not very developed. It looks like a clear sandwich bag floating in the ocean. Or to me, it looked as though it was mucus floating in the ocean. I saw it while snorkeling at Las Caletas (near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico). I wasn't sure if it was a jellyfish or not and was, at most, two feet away from it when I noticed it. I didn't feel anything while in the ocean but noticed a large red patch on my shoulder when I got out of the ocean. It was a firey, burning sensation whenever anything touched it.. The whole process of the mark seemed like a curling iron burn, bright red, turned to a brownish red and blistering to a brownish scab. I didn't bump into the reef at all and don't know what else it could have been from. Any suggestions on what it might be from and what it was that I saw in the ocean?

Answer 1

There are many different types of jellyfish and it would be hard to tell which one you saw, however, the description given by you makes me wonder if it was a Box Jellygish otherwise known as Sea Wasp Jellyfish. They are white and transparent. The only problem is that if you were stung by the jellyfish, it is highly unlikely that it was the Sea Wasp, because a person could die within 4 minutes after getting stung by one. They are the most deadly jellyfish around!

Answer 2

There are lots of different species of jellyfish and unless you had a picture, it's hard to say what kind it was. However, Moon Jellyfish are completly transparent and can deliver a painful sting although their sting is less harmful than some other species. Did you have the sting checked out by a doctor? It's a good idea to do so just to make sure there aren't more serious complications like infection.

Answer 3

There are many, many different types of jellyfish and a lot of them look very similar. Only a few have them venom that is life threatening, and they tend to live around the Southern Pacific Isles. Most of the time it is just like a stinging sensation and a lot of redness and inflammation on the skin, looks a lot like a bad rash. Sometimes rubbing wet sand on it while you are still at the beach will help relieve the stinging a little.

http://www.emedicinehealth.com/jellyfish_stings/article_em.htm