box jellyfish
- Also called:
- sea wasp or cubozoan
- Related Topics:
- cnidarian
- Irukandji jellyfish
- Chironex
- sea wasp
- Chiropsalmus
box jellyfish, (class Cubozoa), any cnidarian (or coelenterate) belonging to the class Cubozoa. The class is made up of approximately 50 species, which are known for their semitransparent box-shaped bell and the toxic venom produced by some species. Box jellyfish live in warm coastal marine waters around the world, and species with toxic venom are generally found in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, between Thailand and the Philippines and off the coast of northern Australia. The deadliest species, as well as the largest species, is Chironex fleckeri, the Australian box jellyfish, which is found in the waters along Australia’s northern coast.
Natural history
The bodies of all box jellyfish in their adult, or free-swimming medusa, form resemble a box-shaped bell, with clusters of tentacles trailing from each corner of the bell. Depending upon the species, the bell’s diameter can range in size from 1–30 cm (0.4–11.8 inches), and the tentacles can extend up to 3 metres (9.8 feet) in length. The tentacles contain nematocysts, which are capsules with tiny barbed hooks that are filled with poison and can be fired into the bodies of prey.
All adult box jellyfish possess a feature unique among cnidarians: each individual has 24 eyes that are arranged in clusters around the bell. There are different types of eyes with varying visual capabilities: some are simple pigment-filled structures that can discern between light and dark, whereas others qualify as “true eyes” (each possessing a lens, a cornea, an iris, and a retina) similar to those present in higher animals. Box jellyfish can use their vision for navigation and to avoid stationary structures. Rather than simply drifting with a current, they are strong enough to swim against it to pursue and capture prey. The mangrove jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora), for example, has been shown to use visual cues produced by the mangrove forest’s canopy to swim around and through mangrove roots and toward copepods (tiny crustaceans that range from about 0.5 to 2 mm [0.02 to 0.08 inch] long) that gather in lighted areas near the water’s surface.
Box jellyfish capture their prey—which include fishes and worms, as well as copepods, shrimp, and other crustaceans—by touching their victims with their long tentacles and stinging them with their nematocysts before swallowing them. The jellyfish also use their nematocysts to protect themselves from predators, which include sharks, barreleyes, and green and leatherback sea turtles.
Box jellyfish in the medusa phase can mate using internal fertilization. After males deposit sperm packets inside a female’s bell, fertilized eggs develop as planulae (free-swimming egg-shaped larvae) either inside or outside the female, depending on the species, before they develop into polyps, and, later, into adult free-swimming medusae. Box jellyfish rarely live past nine months of age, and both males and females become sexually mature at two months.
Venom and toxicity
A sting by a highly toxic box jellyfish, such as the Australian box jellyfish, will cause a person to feel extreme pain and may cause paralysis, cardiac arrest, and death. These effects can appear in just five minutes. For other species with weaker toxins, such as the Caribbean box jellyfish (Tripedalia cystophora), the sting may cause days of pain but not death. In some cases, a box jellyfish sting can cause Irukandji syndrome—which presents as muscle cramps, vomiting, agitation, and even heart failure—whose symptoms may begin about a half hour after being stung. For all box jellyfish stings, the severity largely depends upon how much skin comes into contact with the tentacles.
The venom of a toxic box jellyfish is made up of several proteins. Scientists studying the venom’s effects on various animal cells (such as cells in frogs, mice, and human beings) have not reached a clear consensus on how, at the microbiological level, the venom affects its victims. In addition, there is little agreement on how to treat envenomation. Some scientists have found that the venom contains proteins, called porins, that rip cells open, which releases enough potassium to cause heart failure, whereas others note that proteins in the venom may directly attack heart muscle. Still other researchers have found evidence showing that proteins in the venom interact with cholesterol to enter and destroy cells, noting that cholesterol-lowering medications may have an effect in reducing the venom’s toxicity.
Because the box jellyfish sting is so serious, many governments post warnings when box jellyfish are found to be common along a beach or other swimming destination. Estimates of annual fatalities from box jellyfish stings range from 40 to more than 100 worldwide; however, these estimates are likely extremely low considering that some countries plagued by toxic box jellyfish, such as the Philippines, do not have official reporting systems.