Box Jellyfish

Name: Box JellyFish

Scientific Name: Carukira Barnesi
FAQ:

• Carukia barnesi is a small and extremely venomous jellyfish found near Australia. Stings can result in Irukandji syndrome, and thus this species is commonly known as Irukandji jellyfish, although this name does not distinguish it from other Irukandji jellyfish such as Malo kingi.
• SIZE: A mature C. barnesi's bell is only 12 mm by 30 mm in height. It has four contractile tentacles, one extending from each bottom "corner" of its bell, ranging in length from 50mm to 500mm. The jellyfish was discovered by, and named after, Jack Barnes

Portuguese man o' war

Name: Portuguese man o' war 
Scientific Name: Physalia physalis
FAQ:

• The Portuguese man o' war (Physalia physalis), also known as the Portuguese man-of-war, man-of-war, or bluebottle, is a jelly-like marine invertebrate of the family Physaliidae. The name "man-of-war" is borrowed from the man-of-war, an 16th century English armed sailing ship.
• Despite its outward appearance, the man-of-war is not a true jellyfish but a siphonophore, which differ from jellyfish in that they are not actually a single creature, but a colonial organism made up of many minute individuals called zooids. Each of these zooids is highly-specialized and, although structurally similar to other solitary animals, are attached to each other and physiologically integrated to the extent that they are incapable of independent survival.
• The man-of-war is found in warm water seas floating on the surface of open ocean, its air bladder keeping it afloat and acting as a sail while the rest of the organism hangs below the surface. It has no means of self-propulsion and is entirely dependent on winds, currents, and tides. It is most common in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, but can drift outside of this range on warm currents such as the Atlantic Gulf Stream.
• The Portuguese Man o' War lives at the surface of the ocean, with its float above the water, serving as a sail, and the rest of the organism hanging below the surface. It has no means of propulsion, but is moved by a combination of winds, currents, and tides.
• It is found in open ocean in all of the world's warm water seas but most commonly in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, and the northern Atlantic Gulf Stream. Strong onshore winds may drive them into bays or on beaches. It is rare for only a single Portuguese Man o' War to be found; the discovery of one usually indicates the presence of many as they are usually congregated by currents and winds into groups of thousands.
• The Portuguese Man o' War is responsible for up to 10,000 human stings in Australia each summer, particularly on the east coast, with some others occurring off the coast of South Australia and Western Australia.
• The stinging venom-filled nematocysts in the tentacles of the Portuguese Man o' War can paralyze small fish and other prey. Detached tentacles and dead specimens (including those that wash up on shore) can sting just as painfully as the live creature in the water, and may remain potent for hours or even days after the death of the creature or the detachment of the tentacle.
• Stings usually cause severe pain to humans, leaving whip-like, red welts on the skin that normally last 2 or 3 days after the initial sting, though the pain should subside after about an hour. However, the venom can travel to the lymph nodes and may cause, depending on the amount of venom, a more intense pain. A sting may lead to an allergic reaction. There can also be serious effects, including fever, shock, and interference with heart and lung action. Stings may also cause death, although this is rare. Medical attention may be necessary, especially where pain persists or is intense, if there is an extreme reaction, the rash worsens, a feeling of overall illness develops, a red streak develops between swollen lymph nodes and the sting, or if either area becomes red, warm and tender.

Blue Ring Octopus

Name: blue-ringed octopuses
Scientific Name: genus Hapalochlaena
FAQ:

• The blue-ringed octopuses (genus Hapalochlaena) are three (or perhaps four) octopus species that live in tide pools in the Pacific Ocean, from Japan to Australia. Despite their small size and relatively docile nature, they are currently recognized as one of the world's most venomous animals .
• They can be recognized by their characteristic blue and black rings and yellowish skin. When the octopus is agitated, the brown patches darken dramatically, and iridescent blue rings or clumps of rings appear and pulsate within the maculae. Typically 50-60 blue rings cover the dorsal and lateral surfaces of the mantle. 
• DIET: They hunt small crabs, hermit crabs, and shrimp, and may bite attackers, including humans, if provoked.
• Their diet typically consists of small crab and shrimp, but they may also feed on fish if they can catch them. They pounce on their prey, paralyze them with venom and use their beaks to tear off pieces. They then suck out the flesh from the crustacean's exoskeleton.
• SIZE: The blue-ringed octopus is 12 to 20 cm (5 to 8 inches), but its venom is powerful enough to kill humans. There is no blue-ringed octopus antivenom available.
• The octopus produces venom that contains tetrodotoxin, 5-hydroxytryptamine, hyaluronidase, tyramine, histamine, tryptamine, octopamine, taurine, acetylcholine, and dopamine. 
• The major neurotoxin component of blue-ringed octopus venom was originally known as maculotoxin but was later found to be identical to tetrodotoxin, a neurotoxin which is also found in pufferfish and cone snails. Tetrodotoxin blocks sodium channels, causing motor paralysis and respiratory arrest within minutes of exposure, leading to cardiac arrest due to a lack of oxygen. 
• The toxin is created by bacteria in the salivary glands of the octopus

Duck Bill Platypus

Name: Duck Bill Platypus

Scientific Name: Ornithorhynchus anatinus
FAQ:

• The platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record.
• The bizarre appearance of this egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud. 
• It is one of the few venomous mammals; the male platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unique features of the platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia; 
• SIZE: Weight varies considerably from 0.7 to 2.4 kg (1.5 to 5.3 lb), with males being larger than females: males average 50 cm (20 in) in total length while females average 43 cm (17 in). There is substantial variation in average size from one region to another, and this pattern does not seem to follow any particular climatic rule and may be due to other environmental factors such as predation and human encroachment
• While both male and female platypuses are born with ankle spurs, only the male has spurs which produce a cocktail of venom, composed largely of defensin-like proteins (DLPs), three of which are unique to the platypus. The defensin proteins are produced by the immune system of the platypus. 
• Although powerful enough to kill smaller animals such as dogs, the venom is not lethal to humans, but is so excruciating that the victim may be incapacitated. Oedema rapidly develops around the wound and gradually spreads throughout the affected limb. 
• Information obtained from case histories and anecdotal evidence indicates that the pain develops into a long-lasting hyperalgesia (a heightened sensitivity to pain) that persists for days or even months. Venom is produced in the crural glands of the male, which are kidney-shaped alveolar glands connected by a thin-walled duct to a calcaneus spur on each hind limb. The female platypus, in common with echidnas, has rudimentary spur buds which do not develop (dropping off before the end of their first year) and lack functional crural glands.
• The venom appears to have a different function from those produced by non-mammalian species: its effects are not life-threatening but nevertheless powerful enough to seriously impair the victim. Since only males produce venom and production rises during the breeding season, it is theorised that it is used as an offensive weapon to assert dominance during this period.

LionFish

Name: Lionfish
Scientific Name: Pterois volitans
FAQ:

• The red lionfish  is a venomous coral reef fish in the family Scorpaenidae in the order Scorpaeniformes.
• GROWTH: Red lionfish are clad in white stripes alternated with red, maroon, or brown. Adults can grow as large as 17 inches (43 cm) in length while juveniles may be shorter than 1 inch (2.5 cm). It has fleshy tentacles which protrude from both above the eyes and below the mouth. The pectoral fin is present in a distinctive fan-like shape, and dorsal spines are long and separated.
• Lionfish have venomous dorsal spines that are used purely for defense. When threatened, the fish often faces its attacker in an upside down posture which brings its spines to bear. 
• If a human is envenomed, that person will experience extreme pain, and possibly headaches, vomiting, and breathing difficulties. A common treatment is soaking the afflicted area in hot water, as very few hospitals carry specific treatments.However, immediate emergency medical treatment is still advised, as some people are more susceptible to the venom than others.
• NOAA encourages everyone (divers and fishers) to be extremely cautious and avoid contact with the venomous spines of the lionfish. 
• Usually, lionfish are not aggressive toward humans and will almost always keep their distance when given the opportunity, so they pose a relatively low risk. In addition, their stings are not deadly, but they are very painful.
• Lionfish are voracious predators. They do not use their spines to capture prey; only for protection from their own predators. When hunting, they corner prey using their large fins and then use their quick reflexes to swallow the prey whole. They hunt primarily from late afternoon to dawn.
• The red lionfish eat live prey and do not eat fish flakes and other processed food. However, with some effort, they can learn to accept frozen food

Stingray

Name: Stingray
Scientific Name: Dasyatis americana
FAQ:

• The stingrays are a family-Dasyatidae-of rays, cartilaginous fishes related to sharks. They are common in coastal tropical and subtropical marine waters throughout the world, but the family also includes species found in warmer temperate oceans.
• They are named after the barbed stinger (actually a modified dermal denticle) on their tail, which is used exclusively in self-defense. The stinger may reach a length of approximately 35 cm, and its underside has two grooves with venom glands.The stinger is covered with a thin layer of skin, the integumentary sheath, in which the venom is concentrated
• The flattened bodies of stingrays allow them to effectively conceal themselves in their environment. Stingrays do this by agitating the sand and hiding beneath it. Because their eyes are on top of their bodies and their mouths on the undersides.
• Stingrays cannot see their prey; instead, they use smell and electro-receptors (ampullae of Lorenzini) similar to those of sharks. 
• DIET: Stingrays feed primarily on molluscs, crustaceans, and occasionally on small fish. Some stingrays' mouths contain two powerful, shell-crushing plates, while other species only have sucking mouthparts. Stingrays settle on the bottom while feeding, often leaving only their eyes and tail visible. Coral reefs are favorite feeding grounds and are usually shared with sharks during high tide.
• Stingrays do not aggressively attack humans, though stings do normally occur if a ray is accidentally stepped on. 
• To avoid stepping on a stingray in shallow water, the water should be waded through with a shuffle.Contact with the stinger causes local trauma (from the cut itself), pain, swelling, muscle cramps from the venom, and later possibly even infection from bacteria. The injury is very painful, but seldom life-threatening unless the stinger pierces a vital area.The barb usually breaks off in the wound, and surgery may be required to remove the fragments.
• A notable fatality is that of wildlife adventurer and television personality Steve Irwin from Australia, who died after being pierced through the chest by a stingray barb while filming The Great Barrier Reef in 2006.
• Alternatively, before wading, stones can be thrown into the water to scare stingrays away.

Stonefish

 
Name: Stonefish
Scientific Name: Synanceia verrucosa
FAQ:

• Synanceia is a genus of fish of the family Synanceiidae, the Stonefishes, whose members are venomous, dangerous, and even fatal to humans. 
• It is the most venomous fish in the world. 
• They are found in the coastal regions of Indo-Pacific oceans. They are primarily marine, though some species are known to live in rivers. 
• Its species have potent neurotoxins secreted from glands at the base of their needle-like dorsal fin spines which stick up when disturbed or threatened.
• The vernacular name of the species, the stonefish, derives from being able to camouflage and transform itself to a grey and mottled color similar to the color of a stone. Divers have sometimes stepped on them, thinking they are stones.
• Recommended treatments include using heat to the affected area and antivenom. Using hot water at a temperature no lower than 45 °C (113 °F), applied to the injured area has been found to destroy stonefish venom, and causes minimal discomfort to the victim. For more extreme cases, antivenom is to be used .

Puffer Fish

Name : Puffer Fish

Scientific Name: Sphoeroides maculatus

FAQ:

• Size: typically small to medium in size, although a few species can reach lengths of greater than 100 centimeters (39 in)
• Puffer fish are generally believed to be the second–most poisonous vertebrate in the world, after the Golden Poison Frog. Certain internal organs, such as liver, and sometimes their skin are highly toxic to most animals when eaten, but nevertheless the meat of some species is considered a delicacy in Japan
• . Their back up defense mechanism, used if they are successfully pursued, is to fill their extremely elastic stomachs with water (or air when outside the water) until they are much larger and almost spherical in shape. Even if they are not visible when the puffer is not inflated, all puffers have pointed spines, so a hungry predator may suddenly find itself facing an unpalatable pointy ball rather than a slow, tasty fish. Predators which don't heed this warning (or who are "lucky" enough to catch the puffer suddenly, before or during inflation) may die from choking, and predators that do manage to swallow the puffer may find their stomachs full of tetrodotoxin, making puffers an unpleasant, possibly lethal, choice of prey. This neural-toxin is found primarily in the ovaries and liver, although smaller amounts exist in the intestines and skin, as well as trace amounts in muscle. It does not always have a lethal effect on large predators, such as sharks, but it can kill humans.
• Diet: feeds primarily on shellfish, and occasionally on fin fish. Using its beak-like mouth it can extract shellfish from their shells and sometimes break the shells to obtain a meal.

DANGER RATING: 4/5