Kingdom Animalia Family Carybdeidae Genus Carybdeidae Order Carybdeida | Class Cubozoa Phylum Cnidaria Rank Species | |
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Similar Carybdea marsupialis, Carybdea, Carybdeida, Carybdeidae, Chiropsalmus quadrumanus | ||
The South African box jellyfish, Carybdea branchi, is a venomous species of cnidarian, in the small family Carybdeidae within the class Cubozoa.
Contents
Description
This small box jellyfish grows up to 7cm across and may have tentacles of up to 2m in total length. It has a transparent box-shaped bell with a very long tentacle trailing from each corner.
Distribution
This jellyfish is found from the north of Namibia and around the South African coast to Port Elizabeth from the surface to a depth of at least 35m underwater.
Ecology
This jellyfish is often seen in swarms. The tentacles have a painful sting, although the sting is not known to be fatal. It is eaten by the sunfishes, Mola mola and Mola ramsayi, as well as the slender sunfish, Ranzania laevis.
References
Carybdea branchi Wikipedia(Text) CC BY-SA