Allen Collins, curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and Evan Orellana of the Gumbo Limbo Nature Center in Boca Raton, reported that the dreaded and extraordinarily venomous box jellyfish has started to appear in Florida in much greater numbers. "We’re seeing this happening everywhere all over the planet.
According to the various sources and knowledgeable individuals, some of the most venomous creatures in the world live in the oceans. It can be very scary...and deadly. The Environmental Graffiti ranks the box jellyfish as #1 on the world's most venomous animal list, followed by the Brazilian wandering spider, Inland Taipan (snake), blue-ringed octopus, and
Author John Steinbeck could have been writing about the experiences of modern-day open water swimmers when he wrote his non-fiction book about a marine-collecting expedition called The Log From the Sea of Cortez in 1951. Paul Lundgren, Diana Nyad, Penny Palfrey and a great number of open water swimmers from Australia to Florida when he wrote, "An ocean
Dr. Angel Yanagihara of the Pacific Cnidaria Research Lab and the Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center in Honolulu, Hawaii shared her extensive knowledge of some of the most venomous creatures in the world: Box jellies have chemo-, mechano- and neutrally activated stinging cells firing apparati. If the animal hunts
Dr. Angel Yanagihara of the Pacific Cnidaria Research Lab and the Békésy Laboratory of Neurobiology in the Pacific Biosciences Research Center in Honolulu, Hawaii shared her extensive knowledge of some of the most venomous creatures in the world: There are over 40 species of box jellyfish or cubozoans. These are divided into the Carybdeidae and the
Especially if there are box jellyfish. Their stings are excruciatingly painful and potentially life-threatening. The data and forecasts used in 808jellyfish are the estimated dates of arrivals based on historical data. However, box jellyfish can also arrive on "off-cycle" days. Check out their nightly schedule, if you are in Hawaii, here at
Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. Diana Nyad is back at it. Tom Sims writes about Diana's planned fourth attempt of the Florida Strait from Cuba to Florida in the New York Times (see here). The distance of 103 miles (168K) is not the primary obstacle. Sharks, she can handle and has the right people to keep her safe (see below). The heat
WESTERN AUSTRALIA. As the swimsuit controversy continues to swirl in both the pool and open water swimming worlds, it is interesting to note how the Rottnest Channel Swim reasonably handles its particular circumstances in Western Australia vis-a-vis the venomous stingers that populate the Australian waters. In 2010, the Rottnest Channel Swim Association
"CUBA. Stings from Portuguese man o war tend to be erratic in shape," explains marine expert Dr. Gail Grabowsky of Honolulu, Hawaii. "The man o war tentacles stick to the skin. Then, the swimmers touches them or gets further entangled and they end up with some really zig-zag scars." The box jellyfish have very straight tentacles and, in contrast to the
Dangerous Creatures For Open Water Swimmers Courtesy of WOWSA, Huntington Beach, California. During his completion of the 5 Oceans (a solo marathon swim in each of five oceans of the world: Atlantic, Arctic, Southern, Indian and Pacific), Lewis Pugh had to study and prepare for creatures that could be of potential harm. He came up with these Big 7 in
