All over the world, jellyfish are regarded as one of the “safer” creatures of the deep, despite packing a nasty sting that can leave a horrible burn on those unlucky enough to touch its stingers.
This is because despite having the ability to sting and release poison to humans, jellyfish are never the aggressors. Jellyfish are much too simple-minded to even consider being aggressive to humans. They don’t even have a brain! Indeed, this means that jellyfish stings come from human carelessness or accidents. After all, a good amount of stinging jellyfish are really good at hiding themselves in the water, as their colors just naturally blend it. It doesn’t help that some of them are really small too.
But then you have the jellyfish with stings that can disrupt nervous systems, cause cardiac arrests, and even lead to death. Much worse than a simple welt or burn on your hand, no?
Enter the box jellyfish. Known for its deadly stings and transparent body, box jellyfishes are your worst nightmare in the ocean, especially when you consider that they are known as one of the most (if not the most venomous creatures in the world.)
Or are they?
The reputation
The box jellyfish may very well be reputed as one of the most (if not the most) dangerous jellyfish out there.
Their name comes from their body shape, where their bell is shaped like a cube. Box jellyfish are also separated from most other types of jellyfish because of their ability to swim.
Sure, other jellyfish ‘swim’ but in reality, they mostly float about and get taken where the currents drag them. Box jellyfish can actually swim for up to a maximum of four knots.
As for their method of attack, box jellyfish are covered on all sides by tentacles, up to a maximum of 15. These tentacles are loaded with powerful venom, in which the toxins attack the heart, nervous system, and skin cells when injected into a human body.
Such intense pain is so overwhelming that human victims have been reported to go into shock and drown or experience cardiac arrest and die before reaching shore, much less medical attention.
For those who survive, they experience significant pain for weeks on the afflicted site, and their skin are highly likely to scar in places where they were touched by the tentacles of a box jellyfish.
The truth
Now, the question is, how much of the above is true?
Most of it actually is. The venom of the box jellyfish is not something that is highly exaggerated, they are very much real, and they are very much dangerous.
But here’s something that might change things a bit.
The thing about the box jellyfish is… there isn’t a single species of box jellyfish. As in, the box jellyfish only encompasses the jellyfish that are similar to it, in the same way that referring to fish talks about the finned underwater creatures or birds talks about the creatures with wings above us.
So, what about the box jellyfish then?
There are at least 51 known and documented species’ of box jellyfish all around the world as of 2018. But despite its reputation, only a few of such jellyfish have actively been involved in human deaths. For the rest of the species of box jellyfish, they don’t pose a serious threat to human life at all.
Danger or not?
After all the information presented here, what this actually says about the box jellyfish is that they are indeed dangerous. Some species of the box jellyfish can bring death nearly instantly because of how potent their venom is.
For instance, one species of box jellyfish, the Australian box jellyfish (scientifically named Chironex fleckeri) is the largest of all box jellyfish. They are quite big too: their body size can reach up to one foot in terms of diameter. Meanwhile, their own tentacles can stretch as far as 10 feet in terms of length. It also doesn’t help that they are also considered the most venomous marine animal.
But these species are far-and few in between. As mentioned earlier, the majority of box jellyfish are relatively harmless or at the very least, not life-threatening.
Still, their dangers are very real. Not just box jellyfish, but jellyfish in general. Even if they may not kill you with their stings instantly like the Australian box jellyfish, the stings of any jellyfish can cause excruciating pain for any person that gets stung by one.
Wrapping up
The existence and presence of box jellyfish in the seas does not automatically mean that you should avoid the beach for life. You would be sorely missing out on such an amazing and exciting experience if you were to simply avoid beaches for your entire life just because of a jellyfish.
Yes, they are dangerous, and yes, their stings are quite potent and painful, but a lot of people still swim on the ocean despite such risks.
To add on to that, jellyfish aren’t aggressive, and they’re not trying to chase you as prey. They don’t really have a brain to think with, so they’re mostly really just floating around. At the very least, a jellyfish won’t try to sting you on purpose.