Box Jellyfish

ID points

• Bell shaped like a cube, with four sharply defined corners
• A bunch of tentacles hangs from each of the four corners, over twenty in all
• True image-forming eyes on the bell margin let it steer around obstacles

Basics

Family

Cubozoa

Length

15–30 cm

Depth

0-20 m

Regions

Indo-Pacific reefs

Distribution

Tropical and subtropical waters of the Indo-Pacific

Habitat

Warm shallow coastal waters

Diet

Small fish, shrimp

Easily confused with

Moon JellyfishBell almost transparent, with four horseshoe-shaped gonads in the centreNautilusCoiled hard shell with brown and white flame-like stripesStriped DolphinSeveral fine dark blue stripes run from the eye to the vent

Fun fact

The Box Jellyfish has 24 eyes, set in clusters of 6 on each of the four faces of its cube-shaped bell, and some of them can form real images. It is reckoned one of the most venomous animals on earth, with venom that can stop a human heart within minutes.