Infographic Box Jellyfish

Box Jellyfish is one of the deadliest sea animals. In fact, their venom is stronger than most snakes. They belong to the phylum Cnidaria. Learn some interesting and useful facts about them.









Box jellies are not true jellyfishes . A true jelly is a drifter but Box jellies are active swimmers.





All species of these sea animals are not so deadly. Most dangerous among these are three species Chironex fleckeri, Carukia barnesi and Malo kingi.









Due to their venomous stings, the Box jellies are popularly known as the “Sea Wasps “or “Marine Stingers”.





Box jellies have two forms in their life cycle – Polyp and Medusa. The baby jellyfish is called a Polyp. During this phase of its life, it remains attached to a main body. At that time of life, it cannot move one place to another. The mature phase is known as the Medusa which is well known to us.





Their body has a semi-transparent box shaped bell. The bell is the place where most of its organs are located. Its mouth can be found at the underside of the bell. The interior of the bell is known as “Gastrovascular Cavity”.













A bell has four corners from which bunch of tentacles hang. These tentacles are long, hollow, string like organs.





















Each of the tentacles of a Box Jellyfish is armed with about 5000 stinger shells. If any animal touches the tentacles, the stinger cells fire tiny poisonous stinger dirt which penetrates the victim’s cells due to its ultra high speed.













Jellyfishes do not have a brain. There bodily activity is controlled by a nervous system. Box jellyfishes have the most developed nervous system among them.













Box jellies have 8 gonads. These are all located in pairs in each of the four corners of the bell.





They are all eyes. Yes, a Box jellyfish has 24 eyes which give them an all-around view of the surroundings.













Actually, among all the 24 eyes of a Box jelly, only four are true eyes. Rest of the 20 eyes is just light detectors. Among all the jellyfishes, Boxes are unique for having complete “true” eyes.













Box Jellies can be 6 inches in size. Some of them can have tentacles as long as 10 ft.













These jellies have very short life spans. They are known to live for 60 to 90 days





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Unlike true jellies, Boxes are active hunters. They chase to kill fishes and other small sea animals for food.





A sting of a Box jellyfish can be so deadly that it can kill a healthy adult within 5 minutes. Sometimes deaths can occur due to their stings. In Australia, there are 60 deaths in 100 years due to them. In recent times, Thailand has seen some similar accidents.













Vinegar is a good first aid for Box stings. This acid prevents the rest of the stinger cells to enter the victim’s body cells. To suppress pain, some ice should be used over the sting site. After that, seek medical help as quickly as possible.













The Box Jellyfishes can be found mainly in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean . The Australian sea beaches and the Phuket beach of Thailand is notorious for their presence. One needs to be careful while bathing in such beaches. A full body swimming dress can be good for your safety.

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