THE BOX JELLY FISH a.k.a THE SEA WASP
Jeffrey Ortiz
I. If you do not know what a box jelly fish is, you will soon after this report because this report will “Tangle” you in its tentacles. The box jellyfish or sea wasps are in the phylum cnidarians and are in the class of cubazoans. The box jelly fish are actually quite different than other jelly fish because other jelly fish are in the class scyphozoa but since the box jelly fish has a cube-like structure it is in the class with the cubazoans. The box jelly fish are marine invertebrates and are known as the most deadliest creatures in the world. The sea wasps have about 500,000 cnidocytes that inject venom into their prey.
II. Box jelly fish are visibly and physically different from scyphozoan jelly fish because the umbrellas of the sea wasps are cube-like rather than dome shaped. With the umbrella comes a flap that help the sea wasps concentrate and increase the flow of water. Having said this, this allows the sea wasp to travel at a faster and more efficient way.
The nervous system of the sea wasp is more developed than other jelly fish. The sea wasp actually has true eyes with retinas and all.
III. The box jelly fish hunts zooplankton and other small fish as well. Rather than drifting like other jelly fish the sea wasp is capable of reaching speeds up to 1.8 meters per second due to the flap that the wasp has on its umbrella. The way that the sea wasps feeds and digest is the opening of the mouth that opens into the gastrovascular cavity which communicates with cavities in the tentacles. Prey organisms are drawn into the gastrovascular cavity into which gland cells discharge enzymes that initiate extravascular digestion. Then Ameboid cells can carry undigested particles to the gastrovascular cavity where they are eventually tossed out with other indigestible matter. As I have said before the sea wasps have over 500,000 stinging cells that they use to either protect themselves or kill to eat. They are not the deadliest animal in the world for nothing, these jellies are dangerous.
The box jelly fish are medusa, which is the adult stage of the jelly fish, and they sexually reproduce by releasing sperm and eggs into the water which forms a planula. In the larval stage of the planula hooks on to the bottom of a smooth rock or other structure and grows into another stage of a jelly fish.
IV. The impact that the sea wasps have on the world other than being the most deadliest is pretty great. If you come into contact with these animals and live to tell the tale, you are considered a very lucky man. In some parts of the world it is estimated that 20 to 40 people die annually from sea wasp stings. Plus do to the climate change there has been an explosion in the population of the sea wasps.
V. The article that I acquired was very informational about the lens and eyes of the sea wasp. It was said that the eyes has been seen and described over 100 years ago but there has not been any tests done to see their responses to the light. The lower and the upper lens are the two kinds of layers that the box jelly fish has. There was tests done recently and they found that the two lenses actually have similar spectral sensitivities.
www.jellyfishfacts.net/boxjellyfish
www.jeb.biologists.org/cgi/content/abstract/209/19/3758
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jellyfish
www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=how-do-jellyfish-reproduce
Animal Diversity biology textbook chp. 7
