'Cauliflower' That Stings: Super-Rare Jellyfish Caught on Camera Off Italy's Coast

The elusive jellyfish was first observed by a German naturalist back in the 19th century, and has only since been encountered twice - once in 1945 and then again in 2014.
Sputnik

A peculiar-looking pink species of jellyfish known as Drymonema dalmatinum, which the Daily Star claims has only been previously spotted three times in history, was recently sighted in the Gulf of Trieste, off the coast of Italy.

The aquatic creature, also known as the "Stinging Cauliflower", was reportedly filmed by divers on 10 June, with a spokesman for the Miramare Biosphere Reserve describing the encounter as "truly exceptional".

"Drymonema was first seen off the coast of Dalmatia in 1880 by German naturalist Ernst Haeckel and it was also seen in 1945", he said. "Then, it was spotted in the Gulf of Trieste by one of our researchers in 2014."

The jellyfish encountered by the divers appeared to be between 45 and 50 centimeters long.

As one researcher remarked, while a person who encounters such a creature should consider themselves “very privileged”, they also should "move away" with all due haste.

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