Irukandji - a jellyfish: description, habitat and danger to humans

Jellyfish attract us with their unusual form, something reminding the aliens from another universe. Partly so it is. After all, their homeland is a world very different from ours - a bottomless and boundless ocean. And looking at these dome-shaped creatures, you involuntarily forget that many of them represent a real threat to man.

For example, irukandji is a jellyfish, capable of killing a person with just a touch. And this despite the fact that she rarely grows more nails on the index finger of a man. Agree, this is a very dangerous neighbor in the swim. So let's learn a little more about it, because this knowledge can save someone's life.

A new kind of jellyfish

At the beginning of the 20th century, Australian doctors faced an unusual problem. Aborigines often addressed them, complaining of strange burning pains and nausea. After examining the patients, the doctors came to the conclusion that the fault was due to an unknown animal toxin, which got into the blood through the skin. The scars on the victims' body pushed them to this answer. Just what kind of creature could have left them?

A little later the doctors guessed that the jellyfish were all the faults, hitherto unknown to science. The first to find the "criminal" was promised by Academician Hugo Fleker in 1952. Indeed, he soon introduced the world to a new species - irukandji. Medusa, by the way, was named after the same tribe of Australian aborigines, whose representatives turned to doctors. This name has very quickly taken hold, and even today the scientific community uses it.

Habitat

Half a century ago this species of jellyfish could be found only off the coast of Australia. This is due to the fact that these little beasts badly tolerate cold water, and therefore never crossed the niche allocated to them. However, global warming has brought many changes to the marine life. Now dangerous predators have spread far further than before. This led to the emergence of many myths about Irukandji. "Jellyfish in the Red Sea stings people," - such headlines were at one time flashed in tourist forums. But the truth is that this jellyfish has not reached so far. After all, in fact it moves at a speed of 4 km / h and is simply unable to sail away from its native coasts without hitting the cold currents of the ocean.

Appearance

Irukandji is a jellyfish, the description of which should begin with its size. After all, against the background of its brethren, it is primarily allocated to tiny proportions. Thus, the diameter of the dome of the jellyfish ranges from 1.5 to 2.5 cm. Only occasionally mature individuals can grow up to 3 cm in width.

Also all irukandji have four tentacles. At the same time, their length can reach impressive sizes. For example, scientists found jellyfish, whose tentacles were over one meter in length. True, such giants are a great rarity.

And yet, even short "paws" of Irukandji are capable of inflicting a mortal wound on the enemy. And all because they are located on the stinging cells, which contain the main weapon of jellyfish - paralyzing toxins. For example: the poison of this sea beast is 100 times stronger than the cobra venom.

Habits of a dangerous marine

Irukandji is a jellyfish, accustomed to leading a calm lifestyle. Most of the day she spends, drifting along the sea currents. This helps her to save the forces that she will later allow for the assimilation of food. It feeds exclusively on plankton, since the rest of the inhabitants of the ocean are simply too tough for it.

It is noteworthy that the jellyfish have rudiments of the eyes. This helps her to navigate in space and, perhaps, vaguely to distinguish the surrounding objects (the vision of the jellyfish is poorly understood, and therefore it is only hypothetical to judge it). Yet the ability to see dark and light areas of the ocean is a vital function. Indeed, thanks to this jellyfish can remain at its optimum depth.

The brave experimenter Jack Barnes

For a long time the bite of this animal remained unexplored, as the scientists were simply afraid of Irukandji. The jellyfish was a white spot in the world of science, until Dr. Jack Barnes took it. It was he who in 1964 conducted a bold experiment that discovered the whole truth about the effect of toxin.

Barnes allowed the jellyfish to sting itself. Despite the terrible pain, he consistently described all the sensations obtained after the bite. Thanks to this, doctors finally learned the speed of the spread of the poison by blood and how it manifests itself in the body of the victim.

Symptoms of bite

The ingestion of a toxin into the human blood leads to the excitation of the nervous system. First of all, the area affected by irukandji begins to hurt. Then, headaches, nausea, muscle spasms and burning sensation in the lower back may occur. If the effect of poison is not suppressed, then hypertension, vomiting and even pulmonary edema are possible.

It is because of such consequences that Irukandji is dangerous. Medusa (photo it is in the article) causes fear among many tourists. On the beaches of Australia there are posters with its description. This is necessary so that vacationers know their enemy in person and avoid contact with him. After all, there are several cases when the bite of this sea animal led to the death of a person.