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Box Jellyfish are best known for the extremely powerful venom possessed by some of their species. The Chironex fleckeri and the Carukia barnesi (Irukandji) species are the most venomous creatures in the world.¹

Like other jellyfish, the box jellyfish have neither a head nor a central brain; but unlike other jellyfish, they have well-developed eyes and display visually guided behavior. Recent findings on their optics indicate that they are at an early phase of eye evolution, where excellent visual performance does not have the same meaning as it does in other animals.²

The box jellyfish’s sting attacks the heart, nervous system and skin cells. Stings are so powerful that victims have been known to go into shock and die of heart failure before they even have the chance to reach the shore.³

Adult box jellyfish spawn at mouths of rivers during late summer (keep in mind this is around March in the Southern Hemisphere). Fertilized jellyfish eggs stick to rocks, and eventually grow into little jellies which migrate downstream.⁴

The Box Jellyfish (also known as a Sea Wasp) is a very dangerous creature to inhabit Australian waters. The Jellyfish has extreme toxins present on its tentacles, which when in contact with a human, can stop cardio-respiratory functions in as little as three minutes.⁵

To help it perform these feats, a box jellyfish has a cluster of six eyes at each of its four corners. Dan-Eric Nilsson and colleagues at Sweden’s Lund University decided to investigate these eyes, in the Caribbean species Tripedalia cystophora, to see exactly how they perform.⁶