Don’t get the wrong idea about what this article might seem like – jellyfish aren’t crazy sea creatures hellbent on stinging you to death if you so much as encounter one out at sea or even at the beach. Jellyfish don’t even have brains! Yes, that means that they literally cannot even think of attacking you.
To be frank, jellyfish are almost always little more than a nuisance to most beachgoers. If they keep their distance, people might either run away from the water in fright (rightfully so) or stare at the tentacled blob pushing down on the water. But these little nuisances bite too. Or rather, they sting.
Normally, a jellyfish sting is nothing to really worry about. Most people who encounter a jellyfish and get stung end up with painful welts and throbbing pain on the part that got stung, but it only lasts for a certain period of time and eventually dissipates. In the grand scheme of things, it’s nothing more than an inconvenience that disappears at some point.
But there are some jellyfish out there that go beyond that. Their venom is much more powerful than most jellyfish, and they may even be fatal to the body, if not dealing severe internal damage to the person afflicted.
This article is here to tackle those kinds of jellyfish, the kind that you must always stay away from. But it can be a little difficult, when a good amount of them have transparent bodies or might even be way small. Nonetheless, it pays to have knowledge of what jellyfish you should watch out for…
Irukandji jellyfish
Do you want to fear the water for what you can’t see? The Irukandji jellyfish is here to help you with that.
Its most striking feature is its absolutely tiny body. How small are we talking? Think fingernail small. Yes, you heard that right, there exists a jellyfish that is as big as your own fingernail. Oh, but it gets worse. This jellyfish’s body is nearly transparent, so not only is it nearly impossible to see in the water thanks to how tiny it is, it’s also really good at blending in the water and making sure that it isn’t seen. Best of luck in trying to catch a glimpse of this tiny creature when you’re out at the beach…
When it stings you, you will absolutely feel it, and you will unlikely ever see where it came from. A sting from this jellyfish produces what is called the Irukandji Syndrome. What happens here is that the victim will experience severe pain that can last for 12 hours, nausea, burning sensations on the skin, painful stomach cramps, muscle cramps, dangerous cardiac problems, and finally, an insane psychological thought process where the victim feels impending doom and begs for death.
For how widespread this jellyfish is – people used to believe that it could only be found in Australian waters, but recent reports have shown that they appeared in Japan, Thailand, and even as far as Florida. There have also been reports in the British Isles, leading to a concern that this jellyfish might be spreading all over the world.
The one silver lining in all this is that being stung by an Irukandji doesn’t mean instant death. Assuming you can correctly identify that this was indeed the jellyfish that stung you, getting swift and proper medical treatment will ensure your survival.
Sea wasp
Ah, the dreaded sea wasp, we can’t have a venomous jellyfish list without including this thing.
The sea wasp is very well known its lethal poison as well as its ability to blend in the water due to being nearly transparent. Thankfully, its size is nowhere near as small as that of the Irukandji, but that doesn’t make this jellyfish any less dangerous.
For one, the venom of this jellyfish is the strongest of any species of jellyfish, being able to kill an adult man with a dose as small as a grain of salt. Even one tiny sting is enough to cause extreme pain and agonizing burning sensations. It can even cause cardiac arrest and lead to death if left untreated. In extreme cases, it can take as little as three minutes to kill an adult man with its venom.
Unlike the Irukandji, the places that the sea wasp can be found are more “limited”, as they primarily live in the coastal waters of Australia, and New Guinea, while also being found throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Sea wasps also prefer hunting during the day and in shallow waters, which makes them particularly dangerous, as encounters with these jellyfish are much more likely in the places where they can be found.
A sea wasp’s characteristics are that by its pale blue color, which can be well hidden by the water, as well as its bell-shaped head with four corners.
Four-handed box jellyfish
This jellyfish is like the sea wasp, albeit quite smaller.
But don’t be fooled, if the Irukandji has taught you anything, it’s that size doesn’t matter when it comes to the amount of venom that a jellyfish can spit out at those unlucky enough to come into contact with it.
As with the sea wasp, the venom of this jellyfish is extremely painful and can potentially be fatal. It has the ability to cause acute pulmonary edema, respiratory failure, or cardiac arrest.
Like the sea wasp, it has a “bell” shape, but it has hand-like appendages on all four sides of it.
These jellyfish can be found in the waters of the Western Atlantic Oceans and Indo-Pacific. Japan, more specifically Okinawa, is known to have encounters with these types of jellyfishes as well.