Stinger - Blue Blubber Jelly

by KJ Swan

Title

Stinger - Blue Blubber Jelly

Artist

KJ Swan

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Photograph

Description

Eight tentacles are covered with nematocysts (stinging cells) to rapidly pump poison into prey - or into an unlucky swimmer.

Nematocysts on the Blue Blubber Jelly are extremely small, about 0.001 mm in diameter. Poison is pumped up through multiple tiny tubules, injecting a cocktail of toxins within 700 nano-seconds and with enough pressure to pierce the shell of a crustacean.

Not to worry because even with hypnotoxin (paralyzes the central nervous system) and congestin (paralyzes the circulatory and respiratory systems) and thalaxin (causes allergic inflammation) humans usually survive with only minor inflammation and itchy skin at the sting site.

Blue Blubber jellies (Catostylus mosaicus) are native to the lagoons of eastern Australia. This one was photographed at the Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California.

Uploaded

June 3rd, 2020

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