Almost invisible, extraordinarily venomous, and almost entirely unknown\u2026\u00a0 and now, scientists have confirmed that they exist in a greater variety of species than we first realised. Yes, this is the box jellyfish, And yes, an entirely new species has just been discovered.<\/span><\/p>\n The discovery was made by researchers at Tohoku University and the National University of Singapore who identified the new species of box jellyfish in the coastal waters off Sentosa Island, Singapore.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n It has been named <\/span>Chironex blakangmati<\/span><\/i> after the island\u2019s historical Malay name \u2013 <\/span>Pulau Blakang Mati<\/span><\/i>, meaning \u201cIsland of Death Behind\u201d \u2013 and its discovery adds a fourth member to the <\/span>Chironex<\/span><\/i> genus, a group of jellyfish whose stings can kill a human being within minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n The find was not immediately obvious. To the untrained eye, <\/span>C. blakangmati<\/span><\/i> bears a striking resemblance to <\/span>Chironex yamaguchii<\/span><\/i>, a species first documented in Okinawan waters. For years, the two were assumed to be one and the same.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c<\/span>C. blakangmati<\/span><\/i> looks remarkably like <\/span>Chironex yamaguchii<\/span><\/i> \u2013 a jellyfish species I first discovered in Okinawa while doing my master\u2019s degree there,\u201d says lead researcher Cheryl Ames of Tohoku University. \u201cBut we realised they were completely distinct. I actually went back to dust off an old sample of <\/span>C. yamaguchii<\/span><\/i> I still had in storage in Okinawa to help with the comparisons.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Genetic analysis resolved the case of mistaken identity, and a detailed morphological examination sealed it. The key distinguishing feature lies in the jellyfish\u2019s perradial lappets \u2013 a structural element found at the base of the bell that reinforces the muscular flap it uses to actively propel itself through the water.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In all three previously known species, pointed canals extend from the tips of these lappets. In <\/span>C. blakangmati<\/span><\/i>, those canals are absent entirely.<\/span><\/p>\n
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