About Box Jellyfish
Box Jellies, more specifically the Cubozoa ( in Greek this means cube ) family of Cnidarians, varies from the normally thought of jellyfish. The difference is primarily their shape and structure, but a small difference occurs during the developement stages.
Cubozoans have a flat, or cubical body shape. Their tenticles extend from these flat edges, as opposed to true jellyfish whose tenticles extend from the entire underside.
These Cnidarians have to most complex sensory structure. Within them they have a mechanism that aids in balance ( called the statocyst ) and a very primative eye ( called the ocellus ) that helps with orientation towards light.
The Box Jellies are specific to marine enviroments, and are found only in tropical or warm water.
The the class Cubozoa occurs widely from Queensland Australia northward to Malaya. These forms are dangerously venomous. A moderate sting can cause death within a few minutes. Seek immediate medical attention !
Midwater Systems has developed a custom acrylic jellyfish tank, called the Jelliquarium, and is working on holding systems used to keep these midwater collections and gelatinous organisms in suspension.
