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Cartoon of Atlantic banded box jellyfish
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Atlantic banded box jellyfish

Tamoya haplonema
Jellyfish & sea stingers๐Ÿชผ Stinging tentacles
Danger to people: SeriousA bite or sting needs a doctor. Deaths are very rare.

Atlantic banded box jellyfish belongs to the group: Jellyfish & sea stingers. It lives in: The oceans.2

Lives in
The oceans2
Length
9 cm (3.5 in)2
typical adult size
Top speed
about 5 km/h (3.1 mph)
Swimming, rough guess

Venom power

Stinging tentacles

Thousands of tiny stinging cells fire when something touches them.

How dangerous is it to people?

Danger to people: SeriousA bite or sting needs a doctor. Deaths are very rare.

๐Ÿš‘ If it bites or stings

  • Get out of the water and pick off any tentacles (with gloves or a cloth).
  • For tropical box jellyfish: pour vinegar on the stings for at least 30 seconds, call for help and be ready to do CPR. For bluebottles and most others: rinse with seawater, then hot water for the pain.

Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics

โ›‘๏ธ Stay safe

  • Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
  • Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
  • If one bites or stings you: stay calm, keep still, call your emergency number (112, 000, 911) or get to a hospital fast. Remember what it looked like, a photo helps.

It is not out to get you. It uses its venom to catch food or to protect itself, and it would much rather hide. More about staying safe

How big is it?

How long is it?

Atlantic banded box jellyfish about 9 cm long (3.5 in)๐ŸšA grain of rice about 7 mm (0.3 in)๐Ÿ“ŽA paper clip about 3 cm (1.2 in)๐ŸŒA banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
as long as 3 toy building bricks in a rowcould swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 36 seconds

How big is Atlantic banded box jellyfish compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

For venom experts

Scientific name
Tamoya haplonema
Group
Jellyfish & sea stingers
Family
Tamoyidae1
Order
Carybdeida
Continents
The oceans
Danger to people
3 / 5: Serious2

Where the facts come from

  1. Tamoya haplonema (iNaturalist): names and classification.
  2. Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are animal fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Jellyfish & sea stingers

Also lives in: The oceans

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