Early this week while snorkeling between Invisibles and Tori's Reef, I saw a peculiar single jelly--its most distinctive feature was its 4 or 5 yellow and black banded tentacles. Tish told me she thought this could be the fabled Bonairean Banded Box Jelly--which is highly toxic. I could tell because a blue tang approaching to nibble it quickly retreated. Has anyone seen such a jelly? Does anyone have a picture? What else is known about it?

Pauline, check out this thread. Bud is our resident expert, you should e-mail him with all your info.

Hi Pauline, We saw the (Bonairean Banded) Box Jelly last sunday afternoon at tori's reef just before sunset. I was very excited because Bud Gillan told me all about this jelly, and took us on a blue water snorkel last year just to find jellies. Fascinating animals! We didn't find the BBBJ then but i kept looking for it since. We did find some normal box jellies (sea wasp) this year but not a banded.....until last sunday. It was beautiful, the way it moves and the sun rays reflecting on its body and banded tentacles. How big was yours? this one was 8 inch long and had 3 complete tentacles and one very short one.

Any pictures for BT yet? Some were mentioned in the thread listed by Cecil.

(Message edited by glenr on August 12, 2006)

Bonaire Banded Box Jellies.

I received a call Sunday from my relatives on Bonaire that a BBBJ had washed up on Bachelor's Beach and asked about it for identification and speciation. In the past 5 years there have been over 10 documented sightings, several pics, and 2 video clips created. An earlier worldwide species search that lasted 2+ years concluded that this is a new, formally unnamed species of Cubozoan (box jelly). In order to do the science and taxonomy/classification we need to collect the specimen, photograph it, and most importantly capture some RNA/DNA for sequencing at the U of Hawaii for the worldwide Cnidarian database. There is a separate investigation process for speciation after this preliminary work is done.

Of course this pretty interesting stuff for jelly folks and ocean lovers. Finding a new species is a big deal.

I understand, unfortunately, that a person was seriously stung and is hospitalized Sunday as well. All box jellies are highly toxic and require immediate treatment. A related species, Carybdea alata (see Humann Deloach) is similar in look and structure, but without the wider, flattened, distinctive banding on the 4 tentacles.

Should you see such an animal, please send me the vitals for location, depth, time/date, size, and description, picture (if possible). I've sent photos to Jake, Jerry Ligon, and many of the dive managers over the past couple of years. I HIGHLY recommended extreme caution around this animal. With 3 separate sightings in the past week on Bonaire, they are surely around at this time. To date, only one sighting was at night. These jellies don't seem to follow the normal 8 -10 days after the full moon swarmings that other Carybdeans follow around the world.

Jake and Tish.
I hope you are able to capture/document this specimen. If you are able to get Ned and Anna Deloach, who will be there next month, to photograph it, that would be helpful.

Thanks from Florida.

Bud Gillan

Bud, thanks for the information! Very exciting (but scary as well). I hope the person that is hospitalized recovers quickly.

Question, when we were there the first 2 weeks in June, there were these "strings" of stingers. About 4-6 inches long hanging in the water column. They stung my husband on several dives. He had welts on his arms and legs when he got out, but by evening they were gone (not bad enough to make him wear a skin). Any idea what these are?

Thanks again for all your helpful info on jellies!

Bud - check your e-mail - I sent you photos last night. The specimen is in a jar of formalin here at my house awaiting your command :-)

Jake

Cool! When all is said and done, can the photos be shared here? Jake, did you find it at Bachelors?

As you can imagine, my heart is racing just reading this thread. Yes...please do share the pictures. Jake...any viewings possible if the specimen stays in your possession? I really need to be able to identify this critter.

My father and I had separate sightings at Andrea I yesterday. Mine was in about 2 feet of water right at the entrance, my father saw one (also in shallow water) about 50 yards to the south. This was about 2:00 PM Sunday. Take care everyone!

Okay - after much twiddling with my blogging software and the built in photo gallery, please see:

http://blog.richterscale.org/index.php/gallery_blog/category/C3/

for images of the box jelly from yesterday.

Tish called me about it at 5:30pm and then delivered it to my house a short while later, and Pauline Kayes assisted Tish with a suitable vessel for transport (a 2 liter plastic Coke bottle with the top hewn off).

Viewing appointments can be arranged, but visually it's not very impressive when dead in a biological fixative solution (which is what formalin is).

Jake

(Message edited by jake on August 14, 2006)

Jake, Tish and the Jelly Team,

Thx.
I look forward to seeing the pics and getting some RNA.
Interesting to hear around the multiple sightings.

Grasshopper.
You were probably stung by siphonophores, which carry a wake up call, but don't last long. Any jelly sting can carry the potential of systemic problems and allergic reactions. The BBBJ we are talking about carries a real sting!!!!!!

Bud

Bud, thanks

Jake, thanks for the pics. How big is this specimen?

In one of the images you can see Linda's finger in a rubber glove holding the jellyfish in place so I could take a better picture. Should give you an idea of relative size. Oh, if any of you got an error about access exceeded, that should be fixed now.

Jake

Thanks for posting the pictures so we can all be aware of what that jellyfish looks like. Very interesting.

Thanks Jake, I was wondering what that was. I thought it was a rubber tube...lol!

Just a correction on a few of the facts of gathering the specimen at Batchelor's Beach on Sunday at 5 p.m. My friend Siomara Albertus and I were having a final swim before I left for Chicago this a.m. and we noticed a 13 -15 year old girl screaming and rubbing her leg. We surmised it was a jelly but did not see it. When we got out of the water, Siomara interpreted in Spanish my inquiries to the girl and her family. When I saw the size of the welt I knew it was toxic. Then the father pointed to a rock where he had placed the jelly after plucking it by the "bell"? When I waded over to check it out, I knew it was the same Banded Box Jelly I had seen on Monday at the Invisibles. Siomara told the family it was urgent to get their daughter to the hospital, which at first they were reluctant to do. But we convinced them since the girl was becoming more agitated and in pain.

Remembering what Tish had said about needing a specimen, we ran back to my house in Belnem and tried to find a container to place it in as well as some tools to slip it into the bottle so we would not get stung. It was still living and the family was still there, deciding what to do. Again I warned them that the jelly could cause death. I wrote down the name for them to take to the hospital so emergency folks would know this was a very toxic jelly.

Siomara and I took the stick and the top of the Coke bottle and retrieved it into the bottle and drove it over to Tish, who was quite frankly amazed. But since I had to leave, I knew she would get it to the right people to examine, photograph, etc., which obviously been done. No word on the girl though.

And Jake could you please send me your photos directly to my e-mail--pkayes@diversityworksinc.net

Thanks! What a day! what a final swim!

Pauline, thank goodness you were there and told the family what to do. If they didn't take her to the hospital, very scary what might have happened. Good work on ID'ing and getting everyone involved to properly ID it

Photos are on their way Pauline.

Hi Grasshopper Oma,

Here is a photo of a paired bell siphophore taken a few years ago at the South Pier. That's me in the distance.
The photo has been enhanced so you can see the critter.



Mare

Yesterday we saw two box jelly around the Divi flamingo,but we didn`t know how toxic they are.now we now how toxic they are:a fast trip to the hospital.