It is a fact that Australia is home to a wide variety of marine animals which are both exotic and deadly. Forget about Great White Sharks and Saltwater Crocodiles, we will be focusing on the infamous Box Jellyfish in this documentary video. Notorious worldwide for its venom-laced, lethal sting and eyes that are as numerous as 24, it is no surprise that the box jellyfish is the most venomous animal on earth. Without quick and correct application of antivenom, it can cause the death of a full-grown human within just four minutes of being stung! What makes it all the more notorious is that it is often found in locations where human contact is sometimes inevitable.

The specific kind of jellyfish we will be considering in this video is the Box Jellyfish which is so named due to its unmistakable box shaped body from which dangles long inverted tentacles of which each may contain 5,000 venom-laden stingers. It is an invertebrate not considered a true jellyfish but as a cnidarian invertebrate which has a dome-like appearance. All identified 51 species belong to a class called Cubozoa so named due to their cube-like shape.

However, contrary to popular opinion, not all of these Box Jellyfish species are poisonous. The most lethal species are the Australian Box Jellyfish scientifically known as Chironex fleckeri and nicknamed “Sea Wasp”. Next on the list is the Irukandji Jellyfish scientifically known as Carukia barnesi. Box Jellyfishes are often pale blue in color and very transparent. As a result, they blend in easily with coastal waters making them not so easy to spot.

Since there are as many as 51 species, there are consequently, differences in size and weight. The largest Box Jellyfish measures 20 centimeters (about 8 inches) wide along each side of the box and 30 centimeters (or 12 inches) in diameter. It has about 15 tentacles dangling from each of the four corners of the box shaped bell. Each of the 60 boot-lace like tentacles could measure as along 10 feet (or 3 meters) in length! With regard to weight, the largest species of Box Jellyfishes measure only about 5 pounds (a little bit more 2 kilograms)!

Box Jellyfishes are often found in warm, tropical and subtropical waters of the world with a wide range of distribution. Their range covers as far north as Japan and California and as far down south as New Zealand and South Africa. As such they can be found in the Atlantic Ocean, eastern part of the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In these habitats, they prefer estuaries and coastal waters where nearly all the species tend to stick to shallow waters.

The most venomous of these Box Jellyfishes are predominantly found in Indo-Pacific Oceans especially in waters close to Australia, Indonesia and other islands located within these regions. For instance, the Australian Box Jellyfish nicknamed by natives as “Sea Wasp” happens to be the largest of all Box Jellyfish species and equally the most venomous. It can be found predominantly in the northern waters of Australia but also extends in range to New Guinea, the Philippines and as far as Vietnam.

This particular species lives in creeks, mangroves and even fresh waters where it can avoid rapid wave movements (turbulence). Hence, it often makes its abode in estuary systems, offshore waters, and sheltered bays. Interestingly, the Box Jellyfish is one of the oldest surviving animals on earth! Did you know that researchers estimate that the Box Jellyfish is as old as 500 million years old?

You certainly couldn’t have thought that these sea jellies could be that old. Despite the fact that they have been on earth for so long, they however, do not have long lifespan as a Box Jellyfish often do not live longer than twelve months.

Within the span of one year in which the Box Jellyfish live, it eats two things primarily; small fishes and shrimps. Their menu however, also consists of arrow worms, prawns, crustaceans, krill, annelid worms, plankton, fish eggs, crayfish, and larvae of other jellyfish species.

For Box Jellyfishes that live in estuaries, they tend to travel farther distances at night than during the day unlike coastal dwelling Box Jellyfishes that travel the same distance both day and night.

Despite the fact that Box Jellyfishes have no brain, they display an amazing level of expertise in hunting their prey. During daytime which is their preferable hunting time, they ambush prey like fishermen using fishing lines. They stretch out their long tentacles while evenly spacing their harpoon-like venom-loaded sting structures along their stretched out tentacles. With as many as 60 tentacles and each tentacle containing as many as 5,000 sting cells, they immobilize their prey by delivering venom into the body of the target prey through the use of these sting cells. Once immobilized, they swallow their prey whole.

Narrator: Larry G. Jones

свернуть