Irukandji Jellyfish, The Most Deadly Jellyfish, Tiny And Fatal

The Irukandji Jellyfish is really tiny but fatally venomous - it is just one cubic centimeter. It is found in the marine waters around Australia. There are two kinds of Irukandji Jellyfish - Malo Kingi and Carukia Barnesi. Hugo Flecker first documented the symptoms in 1952 - named after the Irukandji folk who inhabited the coastal strip tat lies north of Cairns in Queensland. Carukia Barnesi was the first species to be identified by Dr. Jack Barnes in 1964. Dr. Barnes, wanting to prove that this jellyfish had caused these symptoms, got himself to be stung by it, along with his son and a life guard.

The Irukandji Jellyfish has four tentacles, covered with clumps of stingers reaching 2 - 35 centimeters. The stingers look like rings composed of red dots around them as well as the bell, or main body, of the Jellyfish. One of the distinctive features of the Irukandji Jellyfish is the stings attached to it's bell. Being small and fragile to keep and breed in a lab, has be the subject of very little research. The venom is one hundred times more potent then a cobras venom and more then one thousand times more power then the venom of a tarantula and can catch and disable small prey incredibly quickly.

The Irukandji is cover in millions of microscopic singers, responsible for the venom release. To understand how these stingers work, you can imagine a long inside out sock, coiled along the lines of a spring. Someone unlucky enough to come in contact by touch will cause an uncoiling of the spring latching the stingers into the skin like barbs. When the victim pulls away the stingers are ripped from the Jellyfish's body and remain embedded in the victim. He has the unique ability to 'fire' the stingers from it's tips and inject the venom, a unique phenomenon.

Symptoms of Irukandji Syndrome can including burning sensation at the area of contact, nausea, headaches, vomiting, drop in blood pressure and heart rate, sweating , intense and severely painful muscle cramps in the legs and arms as well as pain in the back and kidneys. Divers beware, the Irukandji Jellyfish!

An individual recently stung by the Irukandji will notice symptoms within 4 - 30 hours which may take up to 2 weeks to completely be resolved. Pain management is the only treatment for the Irukandji sting as there is no known anti-venom. Patients have been known to experience pain so intensely that they beg the doctor for death. The best way to avoid the sting is to avoid him. Be mindful of the conditions, seasons and areas you are swimming or diving.

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