Ken Gargett Posted August 8, 2014 Posted August 8, 2014 they say that the tiny tiny irukandji jellyfish are even more deadly than the box jellyfish. this one should be fun! New jellyfish discovered: giant venomous species found off Australia WA specimen of new Irukandji jellyfish sparks particular scientific interest because it has no tentacles Friday 8 August 2014 10.57 An example of the Keesingia gigas jellyfish. Photograph: John Totterdell/MIRG Australia A giant and extremely venomous jellyfish found off Western Australia’s north-west coast has researchers stumped because it appears to have no tentacles. Keesingia gigas is one of two new species of Irukandji jellyfish recently discovered by the director of Marine Stinger Advisory Services, Lisa-ann Gershwin. While Irukandji jellyfish are normally only the size of a fingernail, Keesingia gigas is the length of an arm and believed to cause the potentially deadly Irukandji syndrome. The condition can cause pain, nausea, vomiting and in extreme cases, stroke and heart failure. Gershwin said Keesingia gigas was first photographed in the 1980s, but a specimen was not captured until 2013, near Shark Bay by the marine scientist John Keesing, after whom the jellyfish is named. Gershwin said in all of the photos the jellyfish did not appear to have tentacles and that the specimen was also captured without them. “Jellyfish always have tentacles ... that’s how they catch their food,” she said. “The tentacles are where they concentrate their stinging cells. “Some of the people working with it through the years actually got stung by it and experienced rather distressing Irukandji syndrome.” Gershwin said the species could shed its tentacles as a means of defence, like some bioluminescent jellyfish that drop their glowing tentacles in order to distract predators, but there was no evidence that any Irukandji had that capability. “I think more probably it does have tentacles but by random chance the specimens that we photographed and obtained don’t have them any more,” she said. “I think it’s probably a fairly tame explanation – I just don’t know what it is.” Irukandji jellyfish have been found as far north as Wales in the northern hemisphere and as far south as Melbourne and Cape Town. Sixteen species are believed to cause Irukandji syndrome, four of which are found in West Australia 1
MIKA27 Posted August 8, 2014 Posted August 8, 2014 ..Had me worried mate, it's in W.A so I'm safe Edit: Oops... noted (After reading the whole article they're in Melbourne too...) 1
Coolio Posted August 9, 2014 Posted August 9, 2014 Ken I love how here in Brisbane on the ABC news we get Jenny Woodward presenting the weather, and then giving Irukandji warnings. You've gotta love this country!
Dozerhead Posted August 9, 2014 Posted August 9, 2014 Man, you guys down under sure have a lot of crap that will kill you...on land or sea!
kuma Posted August 9, 2014 Posted August 9, 2014 Well at least you can see what is going to kill you in OZ unlike Africa where small microbes can do you in and you won't see it coming!
Ken Gargett Posted August 10, 2014 Author Posted August 10, 2014 Well at least you can see what is going to kill you in OZ unlike Africa where small microbes can do you in and you won't see it coming! actually the problem with box jellyfish and also the irukandji (possibly not this large one, though as they have only just been discovered, i suspect also them) is that you cannot see them. in the water, they are near as possible to invisible. and the irukandji is so tiny, you have no chance. just apparently incredible pain and every chance of death. the irukandji.
bigharpoon Posted August 10, 2014 Posted August 10, 2014 How do you guys even make it to your mailbox and back alive? Seriously, 9 out of 10 of the world's most dangerous everything lives in Australia. I'm happy to live in Maine where my biggest fears are freezing to death and getting over-powered by the wife. 4
Hugomarink Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 Giant huntsmen spiders (not deadly, but the heart attack they may cause you when you find one in your house can certainly kill you), poisonous redback spiders lurking everywhere, deadly snakes, and the entire continent is surrounded by great white sharks and tiny killer jelly fish. Did I miss anything?
PapaDisco Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 Criminy! I say we quarantine Australia and only let the cigars out!
Ken Gargett Posted August 11, 2014 Author Posted August 11, 2014 Giant huntsmen spiders (not deadly, but the heart attack they may cause you when you find one in your house can certainly kill you), poisonous redback spiders lurking everywhere, deadly snakes, and the entire continent is surrounded by great white sharks and tiny killer jelly fish. Did I miss anything? the huntsman is fine. the redbacks are nowhere near as poisonous as the funnel webs - they really are the nasty ones. brother in law got bitten by a redback. and yes, just as the song says, on the toilet seat. not pleasant but not fatal. great whites are not so common, though i do remember seeing one from a plane as i came in to land in adelaide a few years back. in the surf as we flew over and into the airport. massive. mentioned it to a friend and he said that they were aware that a big one had been hanging around for a few weeks. christ, it was big. in fairness, our scorpions are a bit wishy washy. might make you crook but unlikely to kill. and i was going to say that at least none of our lizards are venomous but thought i better check. whoops. turns out several are. have a venom very similar to rattlesnakes. but not in large quantities and won't kill humans. so okay there. 1
GraByaGaR Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 White tails are **** coz they're just too common in your home and can cause gangrene! But as a passionate scuba diver I can honestly and obviously say land is safer but the underwater world is well worth the risks!
Fuzz Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 Whilst great whites, crocs, the inland taipan, box jellyfish/irukandji, blue-ring octopi, and funnel web spiders get all the publicity as Australia's deadliest creatures, there are quite a few more that have the potential to kill you... European Honey Bee (you'd be surprised how many people die each year from bee stings) Bull shark (these buggers have been known to swin up freshwater estuaries and even the Cook River! I never thought anything could live in that cesspool of a river) Cone shells (one sting has enough venom to kill 15 people; more than 1000x stronger than morphine) Reef stonefish (the spines can easily pierce the rubber soles of your shoe) Yellow-bellied sea snake (5th deadliest venom of all snakes on the LD50 ranking) Australian Paralysis Tick (anaphylactic shock) Mulga snake (have been known to chew when biting to deliver up to 150mg of venom) Mouse spiders (their venom is closely related to the Sydney Funnel Web) 1
Ken Gargett Posted August 11, 2014 Author Posted August 11, 2014 Whilst great whites, crocs, the inland taipan, box jellyfish/irukandji, blue-ring octopi, and funnel web spiders get all the publicity as Australia's deadliest creatures, there are quite a few more that have the potential to kill you... European Honey Bee (you'd be surprised how many people die each year from bee stings) Bull shark (these buggers have been known to swin up freshwater estuaries and even the Cook River! I never thought anything could live in that cesspool of a river) Cone shells (one sting has enough venom to kill 15 people; more than 1000x stronger than morphine) Reef stonefish (the spines can easily pierce the rubber soles of your shoe) Yellow-bellied sea snake (5th deadliest venom of all snakes on the LD50 ranking) Australian Paralysis Tick (anaphylactic shock) Mulga snake (have been known to chew when biting to deliver up to 150mg of venom) Mouse spiders (their venom is closely related to the Sydney Funnel Web) fuzz, the list goes on and on. as for bull sharks, they are bastards. was watching an english doco on them and it started with shots on a river. was trying to work out where, as i knew i'd seen it before. then it dawned. the brizzy river outside my mate's place. there is a 'colony' that actually live about 80 k's up the brizzy river as they got trapped in a flood and when the water went down, they could not get back. apparently the two worst places on the planet for bull sharks - brizzy and cuba. few years back, went fishing at christmas island and one of the guys on the trip ran the qld shark program. the stories!!! he does not go swimming. and bull sharks the worst by far. much more likely to get you than a great white. the problem for morons in govt (yes you WA) is that killing great whites removes a predator from the system that feeds on bulls and oceanic white tips etc.
Coolio Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 How do you guys even make it to your mailbox and back alive? Seriously, 9 out of 10 of the world's most dangerous everything lives in Australia. I'm happy to live in Maine where my biggest fears are freezing to death and getting over-powered by the wife. And even if you make it too your mailbox, you might find a Redback spider in there waiting for you. Like Ken said though, their bites are not normally fatal. And it's good practice to always tip your gumboots upside down before inserting your smelly feet. A Brown snake fell out of mine once when i did this.
Ken Gargett Posted August 11, 2014 Author Posted August 11, 2014 Reef stonefish (the spines can easily pierce the rubber soles of your shoe) fuzz, not just on the reef. i found one once on the beach at fraser, way up on the edge of the dunes. must have been washed in by a massive tide or more likely a storm. still alive. biggest stonefish any of us had ever seen. if you ever get the chance, take a close look at a stonefish. hideous creature but they have the most amazing eyes. just go forever. one of the girls at uni was nicknamed stonefish because she had the most truly amazing eyes. inexplicably, she took it badly.
Fuzz Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 Most of the shark attacks in Sydney are attributed to bull sharks. A lot of the kayakers in Canada Bay near Five Dock see them all the time. Some of the buggers even nudge and rasp against their kayaks. one of the girls at uni was nicknamed stonefish because she had the most truly amazing eyes. inexplicably, she took it badly. I wonder why!
Ken Gargett Posted August 11, 2014 Author Posted August 11, 2014 Most of the shark attacks in Sydney are attributed to bull sharks. A lot of the kayakers in Canada Bay near Five Dock see them all the time. Some of the buggers even nudge and rasp against their kayaks. I wonder why! things were not improved years later when i ran into her in the city, having heard she was pregnant. heavily so, it appeared. i asked when due, as one does. apparently a month earlier. 4
sengjc Posted August 11, 2014 Posted August 11, 2014 Giant huntsmen spiders (not deadly, but the heart attack they may cause you when you find one in your house can certainly kill you), poisonous redback spiders lurking everywhere, deadly snakes, and the entire continent is surrounded by great white sharks and tiny killer jelly fish. Did I miss anything? Nature's intent is to keep people out of Australia but successive governments appear to struggle with this. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
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