Box Jellyfish

[intaglio]

In a recent issue of New Scientist there was an article on Box Jellyfish.

firstly it seems that there are far more species of them than originally thought

secondly undiscovered forms of them may be responsible for far more deaths than recorded

First see this article from News in Science, which rather oversimplifies things.

Then this from the University of Berkley website. On this site the usual suspect, Chironex fleckeri, is described as is the source of Irkandji syndrome, Carukia barnesi,

They are fascinating because, unlike true Jellyfish, they are active hunters (perhaps swimming at 2m per second, about 5 mph) and they have highly evolved eyes with lenses, corneas and retinas but they have no apparent brain!

 

[EnolaGaia]

A young swimmer in Australia died after being stung by a box jellyfish.

Teenager dies from box jellyfish sting at Eimeo Beach near Mackay

A North Queensland beach community is in shock after a teenage boy died from a box jellyfish sting on Saturday afternoon. ...

The picturesque Eimeo Beach, north of Mackay, is usually a hive of activity and joy, but it was a scene of distress as the 14-year-old staggered from the water.

It is understood the boy had several metres of tentacles wrapped around his legs and arms.

Surf lifesavers and critical care paramedics treated the boy at the scene, but he died in the Mackay Base Hospital a short time later.

A report is being prepared for the coroner. ...

Lisa-Anne Gershwin has been researching marine stingers for more than 30 years. She said Eimeo Beach was well known for box jellyfish. ...

Dr Gershwin said the toxin from the box jellyfish was rapidly fatal, with people dying in as little as two minutes after being stung.

She said once barbs deployed the venom it was incredibly painful, and that's when people faced the biggest threat. ...

"You instinctively jerk away from it and that spooks the animal, so they reel in their tentacles," she said.

"When you start struggling the jellyfish gets caught up in your legs and it starts panicking and accidentally wraps around your legs.

"Millions of barbs carry tiny payloads of very lethal toxin, which goes into the skin and rapidly travels to the heart.

"It actually locks the heart in a contracted state."

Health authorities advise people to treat any box jellyfish sting with vinegar to prevent more venom from being injected into the skin and call triple-0 immediately. ...

FULL STORY: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02...-jellyfish-sting-eimeo-beach-mackay/100865654

 

[Lord Lucan]

A young swimmer in Australia died after being stung by a box jellyfish.

FULL STORY: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02...-jellyfish-sting-eimeo-beach-mackay/100865654

Very unfortunate. Only 14 years old. People underestimate the sea and what's in it. In Australia, once you travel so far north, you simply don't swim in the sea. Whilst there are sharks, there are salt water crocodiles (far worse than fresh water ones), and stingers too of various sorts, the box jelly fish being one of the most deadly.
A very sad story.

 

[Solexman]

Another example of how EVERYTHING in Australia wants to kill you!