Carybdea murrayana

Carybdea murrayana, the South African box jellyfish, is a venomous species of cnidarian, in the small family Carybdeidae within the class Cubozoa.

Description

This small box jellyfish grows up to across and may have tentacles of up to in total length. It has a transparent box-shaped bell with a very long tentacle trailing from each corner.
The animal is described as being robust and having a well sculpted in particular, single rooted with multiple stems, velarial canals 2 per octant, pedalia knee bend upwards turned volcano shaped. Also known to have a brownish pigmentation of the phacellae and pedalia.

Distribution

This jellyfish is found from the north of Namibia around the South African coast to Port Elizabeth from the surface to a depth of at least 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.