Box jellyfish are called so because they have a boxy shape! While not technically "true" jellyfish, these animals look a lot like true jellyfish, come with potent stingers, and have a lifecycle quite like true jellyfish. Some box jellyfish are considered the most venomous animals in the ocean, however, not all species are able to fatally harm a human. Some aren't even dangerous to people at all! It just depends on the species, of which there are currently more than 50 classified. Box jellyfish live in tropical and temperate waters throughout the world, though they're generally found living closer to coastlines. Not only can these animals more readily navigate the water as they're much more agile swimmers than true jellyfish, box jellyfish have eyes!

Scientific Name: Class Cubozoa
Range: tropical and temperate oceans
Size: bell up to 12 inches (30cm); tentacles reaching 10 feet (3m)
Diet: fish, crustaceans, worms, etc.
Lifespan: 1 year

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Image and Video Credits:
Allen Collins    • USNM 1204759  
Videodiver Kiril Ivanov    • КУБОМЕДУЗА И ФРИДАЙВЕР BOX JELLYFISH ...  
Jim Zandlo    • Bonaire Banded Box Jelly #70 2013   ;    • Bonaire Banded Box Jelly 2013 Feb 13  


Rickard Zerpe https://www.flickr.com/photos/krokodi... ; https://flickr.com/photos/krokodiver/...
gautsch. https://flickr.com/photos/of_guido/12...


Peter Southwood https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... ; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... ; https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Jan Bielecki, Alexander K. Zaharoff, Nicole Y. Leung, Anders Garm, Todd H. Oakley https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
TydeNet https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ma...
Seasacpeza https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Ventus55 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Sho Toshino https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...
Allen Collins, Arjen van Dorsten, Cheryl Lewis Ames, Johan van Blerk and Stephanie Colwell https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi...



Jan Bielecki, Alexander K. Zaharoff, Nicole Y. Leung, Anders Garm, Todd H. Oakley https://journals.plos.org/plosone/art...


Research Credits:
https://academic.oup.com/icb/article/...
http://www.mesa.edu.au/cnidaria/cnida...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/...
https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/cnidaria/cu...
https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/cnidaria/cu...
https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/cnidaria/cu...
https://www.thoughtco.com/boxjellyfi...
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/...
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/an...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_jel...