It may seem deceptive because of its diminutive size, but the irukandji jellyfish It is one of the most dangerous animals that inhabit the oceans . Its rare name is due to the people of the Australian coast where it was discovered. Its head or body, measuring only 1.5 centimeters and its tentacles can reach 80 centimeters in length. It lives in the waters of northern Australia and is one of the most poisonous animals we can find along the oceans. His symptoms were discovered before finding his own jellyfish .
There are two varieties of this species, both equally dangerous, one is the Barnesi carukia and the other is the bad kingi. Its bite is extremely painful and causes the part of the body that has come into contact with the animal to become infected and become necrotic . In addition, it can cause paralysis, cerebral hemorrhage and a sense of imminent death. All these horrible symptoms are known as irukandji syndrome. If you want to discover some curiosities about this deadly animal, you just have to continue reading this article. Join us!
Irukandji Medusa | Curiosities of the most poisonous jellyfish
1. Impossible to see in the water
Precisely, one of the characteristics that makes this jellyfish more dangerous is its size. Being so tiny and transparent, it is impossible to see it in the water and get away from it in case of threat . In fact, and to prevent the irukandji jellyfish from doing theirs, swimmers are advised to protect themselves before entering the water, since as soon as they step foot into the sea, the risk of the bite of the irukandji jellyfish is tremendously high because of the impossibility of locating it. The downside of these suits is that they are not a sure guarantee, since they do not cover the face or the hands or the feet, so directly the authorities usually advise against bathing in those beaches. Because of its invisibility, it took many years to discover it and people could not explain the symptoms when bathing in that area of Australia .
2. High concentration of poison
To give you an idea of the severity of the beating of the irukandji jellyfish, l the toxicity of its poison is a hundred times higher than that of a cobra and a thousand times more powerful than that of the tarantula . Its danger increases, since this species of jellyfish can sting both from the area of the bell and from the tentacles. Due to this, it is one of the animals that causes the most pain to the human being. Faced with such a concentration of poison, there is no known antidote, so the danger of this animal still increases more.
To this day, the exact composition of summer is not known, but the release of a large amount of catecholamines to the blood explains all the symptoms. This poison neurotoxic, has left many fatalities throughout history, one of the most recent cases was that of a 44-year-old American tourist who could not overcome the brain hemorrhage that caused the irukandji jellyfish. If by some casual you travel to Australia, We strongly recommend that you take the utmost precautions against the poison of this jellyfish species, which can be deadly .
3. Irukandji syndrome
With this name, we know the picture of painful symptoms that we can come to feel with the bite of the irukandji jellyfish. The sting of this jellyfish begins to feel thirty minutes after it occurs and we can even suffer it after days or weeks.
The Irukandji syndrome was documented for the first time in 1952 by Hugo Flecker . This doctor and toxicologist had to treat many people every year during the months of October to May. The bathers suffered sudden muscle contractions, headaches, lack of oxygen, vomiting, diarrhea, tachycardia and sometimes extreme pulmonary edema or stroke. . The worst, besides these horrible pains, is the psychological sensation of sudden death. Most of Dr. Flecker's survivors had no physical consequences, but a terrible fear of getting back into the sea. All these symptoms named by Dr. Hugo Flecker had senses once discovered the jellyfish that caused them.
4. A dangerous but fragile animal
The irukandji jellyfish, despite having such a lethal poison, is a very delicate creature. Its diminutive size and body fragility mean that, for example, a sudden and powerful enough blow or force can kill it instantly. This implies that it is impossible to breed in normal aquariums.
The first irukandji jellyfish raised in captivity was born in a water tank, in 2004, in facilities in Townsville (Australia). This would allow scientists to calmly study the poison of this animal and investigate an antidote that prevents suffering to those who suffer from its toxic "attack".
As you may have seen after reading this article, the irukandji jellyfish It is one of the most deadly threats of all that you can check in the ocean. Unfortunately, there is no effective treatment against the sting of this jellyfish, so the only guarantee of safety is not to bathe in the waters they inhabit. Now we want to know your opinion about the irukandji jellyfish. Did you know this so poisonous species? What do you think about the symptoms that your bites can cause? Did you think that such a tiny animal can be so dangerous for humans? Tell us your comments, we are looking forward to reading you!