| Carybdea murrayana | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Cubozoa |
| Order: | Carybdeida |
| Family: | Carybdeidae |
| Genus: | Carybdea |
| Species: | C. murrayana |
| Binomial name | |
| Carybdea murrayana Haeckel, 1880 | |
| Synonyms | |
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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 7 cm (2.8 in) across and may have tentacles of up to 2 m (6.6 ft) 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 35 m (115 ft) 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.
References
- Collins, Allen G. (2014). "Carybdea branchi Gershwin & Gibbons, 2009". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2015-01-03.
- Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa. ISBN 978-1-77007-772-0.
- Acevedo et al. 2019. Revision of the genus Carybdea (Cnidaria: Cubozoa: Carybdeidae): clarifying the identity of its type species Carybdea marsupialis. Zootaxa.
- Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Carybdea branchi | |