Carybdea branchi, pictured right here, is a relative of the Australian field jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), which is taken into account probably the most venomous marine animal. (Picture courtesy of Brent Viljoen)
They might not look harmful, however the sting from a field jellyfish might be sufficient to ship you to Davy Jones’s locker-a watery grave, that’s.
Field jellyfish, named for his or her physique form, have tentacles lined in organic booby traps referred to as nematocysts – tiny darts loaded with poison. Folks and animals unlucky sufficient to be injected with this poison could expertise paralysis, cardiac arrest, and even dying, all inside a couple of minutes of being stung. However don’t select the mountains over the ocean simply but. Of the 50 or so species of field jellyfish, additionally known as sea wasps, only some have venom that may be deadly to people.
Whereas field jellyfish are present in heat coastal waters world wide, the deadly varieties are discovered primarily within the Indo-Pacific area and northern Australia. This consists of the Australian field jellyfish (Chironex fleckeri), thought of probably the most venomous marine animal. Chironex fleckeri is the biggest of the field jellyfish, with physique sizes reaching as much as one foot in diameter and thick, bootlace-like tentacles as much as 10 ft lengthy.
Field jellyfish have traits that set them other than different jellyfish. Most notably, field jellyfish can swim—at most speeds approaching 4 knots—whereas most species of jellyfish float wherever the present takes them, with little management over their path. Field jellyfish may also see. They’ve clusters of eyes on both sides of the field. A few of these eyes are surprisingly subtle, with a lens and cornea, an iris that may contract in brilliant gentle, and a retina.
Their pace and imaginative and prescient leads some researchers to imagine that field jellyfish actively hunt their prey, primarily shrimp and small fish.