Irukandje jellyfish

Presenting in 2016 Science on Broome Coast series. Dr Lisa Gershwin named the two species of Irukandje in Broome’s waters. © Kevin Smith

Australian Geographic ran a good story on the almost invisible Irukandji jellyfish…

WE MAY SOON have a warning system to predict up to a week in advance when there’s a high risk of being stung by the tiny and almost invisible irukandji jellyfish.

One of the world’s most venomous family of creatures, irukandji jellyfish are a concern across northern Australia where they periodically appear off beaches during summer.

The stings of these tropical visitors have been known to cause fatal brain haemorrhagesm typically sending between 50-100 people into hospital each year.

Until now the movements of irukandji have been difficult to predict, other than a general time of year – summer – when they’re more prevalent.

The family of jellies sport bells upto three centimetres long, but it’s stings from their sometimes metre-long wispy tentacles (typically used to incapacitate prey) that can cause serious reactions and sometimes fatalities.