No. 1084 of 1,402
Mangrove box jellyfish
Tripedalia cystophora
Jellyfish & sea stingers🪼 Stinging tentacles
Danger to people: MildLike a bee sting or less. Basically harmless to people.Mangrove box jellyfish belongs to the group: Jellyfish & sea stingers. It lives in: The oceans.1
Venom power
Stinging tentacles
Thousands of tiny stinging cells fire when something touches them.
How dangerous is it to people?
Danger to people: MildLike a bee sting or less. Basically harmless to people.🚑 If it bites or stings
- Get out of the water and pick off any tentacles (with gloves or a cloth).
- For tropical box jellyfish: pour vinegar on the stings for at least 30 seconds, call for help and be ready to do CPR. For bluebottles and most others: rinse with seawater, then hot water for the pain.
Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics
⛑️ Stay safe
- Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
- Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
- If one bites or stings you: stay calm, keep still, call your emergency number (112, 000, 911) or get to a hospital fast. Remember what it looked like, a photo helps.
It is not out to get you. It uses its venom to catch food or to protect itself, and it would much rather hide. More about staying safe
Where in the world?
How big is it?
How long is it?
💅small enough to sit on your fingernail🏊could swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 36 seconds
How big is Mangrove box jellyfish compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A person walking about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Mangrove box jellyfish about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
A kid on a bike about 12 km/h (7.5 mph)
A galloping horse about 65 km/h (40 mph)
For venom experts
- Scientific name
- Tripedalia cystophora
- Group
- Jellyfish & sea stingers
- Continents
- The oceans
- Danger to people
- 1 / 5: Mild1
Where the facts come from
- Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.
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