Page banner image
mail  facebook  Tumbler  X (formerly Twitter) 
Home > Safety > Jellyfish > Box Jellyfish

Box Jellyfish / Sea Wasp

Chironex fleckeri, commonly known as sea wasp, is an infamous lethally venomous species of Box jellyfish living in northern Australia's coastal waters.

It is considered the most lethal jellyfish in the world because of the numerous incidents resulting in injury or death to humans.

The amount of venom in one animal is enough to kill 60 adult humans, about 70 children, or 87 babies.

Notorious for its dangerous sting, C. fleckeri has tentacles up to 3 metres (10 ft) long which are covered in thousands upon thousands of nematocysts which, on contact, release microscopic darts, each delivering an extremely powerful venom.

Being stung invariably results in excruciating pain, and if the sting area is significant, an untreated victim may die in as little as 3 minutes.

First Aid Sting Treatment

First aid consists of washing the sting area with vinegar. DO NOT use alcohol, alcohol-based lotions, or methylated spirits.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) may be required as the venom shuts down the heart. Medical help should be sought as soon as possible.

Find out more:

youtube.com/watch?v=PIliP15WVdo
youtube.com/watch?v=NbOGxEro064
youtube.com/watch?v=7aT2lXIb7aw

wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_Jellyfish
wikipedia.org/wiki/Chironex_fleckeri

 Safety   Beach   Boats   Hiking   Jobs   Pool   Travel