Giant Killer Jellyfish on Monster Quest

kidflash2008 · 05-28-2009, 10:54 AM

The deadly box jellyfish was featured on last night's Monster Quest. It seems the creatures are growing much bigger and are reproducing at a much higher rate than usual. Global warming is the culprit as starfish are seen off the coast of Japan.

Not much is known about jellyfish, like how the reproduce and how they see. It seems they do not possess a brain to process sight. The box jellyfish also follows prey and knows when to attack, which indicates intelligence.

The main problem is their sting is deadly to most people, and extremely painful to the survivors. The only known threat to the species is less salty seawater.

It is also not known how big they can get, but an incident with a ship a few decades ago indicates they can grow to several tons in weight. A creature that size could make a human being its snack. A very interesting episode on a highly enigmatic creature.

kissbang · 05-29-2009, 05:48 AM

Box jellyfish or sea wasp, is considered the most venomous sea creature known to man. It kills more people than stonefish, sharks and crocodile's combined.

[QUOTEThe body of a sea wasp can weight as much as 2 kg. The tentacles are armed with up to 5,000 nematocysts, or stinging cells. Certain chemicals on the surface of fish, shellfish and humans activate these. Contact with only 3 m of tentacles may be fatal for an adult. There are many (about 70) reported deaths that have occurred in northern Australia between November and April.
Almost invisible in seawater

According to recent discoveries, the box jellyfish is able to see through four eyes, one at the center of each side of the bell. It is not known how the animal processes the visual information without a brain. However, it avoids even the tiniest objects. Box jellyfish probably try to avoid humans as well; stings usually occur when people bump into them. An interesting fact is that turtles are not affected by their sting and eat them.

http://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/2_1box.htm

kidflash2008 · 05-29-2009, 10:41 AM

Thank you for the reference on the box jellyfish. It seems that they are growing much bigger than the 2kg mentioned. Add to that their intelligence, and that spells trouble for divers and swimmers.

05-28-2009, 10:54 AM	#1
kidflash2008 Senior Investigator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,699	Giant Killer Jellyfish on Monster Quest The deadly box jellyfish was featured on last night's Monster Quest. It seems the creatures are growing much bigger and are reproducing at a much higher rate than usual. Global warming is the culprit as starfish are seen off the coast of Japan. Not much is known about jellyfish, like how the reproduce and how they see. It seems they do not possess a brain to process sight. The box jellyfish also follows prey and knows when to attack, which indicates intelligence. The main problem is their sting is deadly to most people, and extremely painful to the survivors. The only known threat to the species is less salty seawater. It is also not known how big they can get, but an incident with a ship a few decades ago indicates they can grow to several tons in weight. A creature that size could make a human being its snack. A very interesting episode on a highly enigmatic creature.

05-29-2009, 05:48 AM	#2
kissbang Junior Investigator Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 86	Box jellyfish or sea wasp, is considered the most venomous sea creature known to man. It kills more people than stonefish, sharks and crocodile's combined. [QUOTEThe body of a sea wasp can weight as much as 2 kg. The tentacles are armed with up to 5,000 nematocysts, or stinging cells. Certain chemicals on the surface of fish, shellfish and humans activate these. Contact with only 3 m of tentacles may be fatal for an adult. There are many (about 70) reported deaths that have occurred in northern Australia between November and April. Almost invisible in seawater According to recent discoveries, the box jellyfish is able to see through four eyes, one at the center of each side of the bell. It is not known how the animal processes the visual information without a brain. However, it avoids even the tiniest objects. Box jellyfish probably try to avoid humans as well; stings usually occur when people bump into them. An interesting fact is that turtles are not affected by their sting and eat them. http://library.thinkquest.org/C007974/2_1box.htm __________________ "Destiny come's to those who listen, and fate finds the rest" Last edited by kissbang; 05-29-2009 at 05:54 AM.

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05-29-2009, 10:41 AM	#3
kidflash2008 Senior Investigator Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 1,699	Thank you for the reference on the box jellyfish. It seems that they are growing much bigger than the 2kg mentioned. Add to that their intelligence, and that spells trouble for divers and swimmers.