Discover the first individual Caribbean jellyfish in Australia

Australian media reported on December 3 that a box jellyfish from Jamaica (Caribbean) was first discovered in Australia in a land-based canal on the Gold Coast, Queensland.

Jellyfish box.(Photo: ABC)

Tripedalia cystophora , often called a Caribbean box jellyfish , is a small box jellyfish of the Tripedaliidae family. It has been found in many parts of the world such as the Philippines, Ecuador, Japan, Puerto Rico, Brazil, Indonesia and Florida (USA). Australia is currently the farthest location in the South to discover this species.

The box jellyfish from the Caribbean was discovered on January 27 at a canal on the Gold Coast, about 17 km from the sea and about 1.5 km from the nearest mangrove forest. People saw the jellyfish and mistook it for floating plastic garbage, until one put it in an empty glass and realized it was a box jellyfish. This exciting discovery until recently has just been published.

Dr. Merrick Ekins of the Queensland Museum said the jellyfish is much smaller than other Australian jellyfish and is not lethal. This species has become extinct in Jamaica during development but it has appeared in many parts of Indonesia. Dr. Ekins predicts that jellyfish can come to Australia in ballast water.