Species Gerongia rifkinae Gershwin & Alderslade, 2005

Museums

Regional Maps

• Gerongia rifkinae Gershwin, L. & Alderslade, P. 2005. A new genus and species of box jellyfish (Cubozoa: Carybdeida) from tropical Australian waters. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 21: 27–36 [27].

  Type data:

   Holotype NTM C11183 (at surface, coll. P. Alderslade, 23 April 1992), Shoal Bay, about 1 km east of the mouth of Buffalo Creek, Port Darwin, NT.
  Paratype(s) (heaps of paratypes).

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Queensland

IBRA and IMCRA regions

IMCRA

Northern Shelf Province (25)

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, marine, nectonic, pelagic.

Diagnosis

As for the genus: Tamoyidae with gastric phacellae absent; rhopalial horns short, broad, curved inward; adaxial pedalial keels broadly rounded, overhanging; upward pointing, blind-ending thorn-shaped pocket at bend of pedalial canal; base of tentacles greatly flared; large, ballooned stomach attached to subumbrellar walls by moderately well-developed perradial mesenteries; two parallel rows of low, rounded, nematocyst warts on the perradial lappets of the velarium.

Diagnosis References

Gershwin, L. & Alderslade, P. 2005. A new genus and species of box jellyfish (Cubozoa: Carybdeida) from tropical Australian waters. The Beagle, Records of the Museums and Art Galleries of the Northern Territory 21: 27–36 [31]

Sting

At this time, very little is known about the stinging power of Gerongia rifkinae. However, it does not appear to be a severe health threat to humans. Two stingings are confirmed from the retained specimens; both involved only localized pain, without any systemic symptoms; one is discussed in detail by Williamson et al. (1996). Additional stings are correlated based on nematocysts taken from the skin of the victims (O’Reilly et al. 2001), some with Irukandji syndrome overlap, but specimens were unavailable for positive identifi cation. A single known experimental sting produced mild Irukandji syndrome symptoms (B. Currie pers. comm., March 2004). While it seems convincing that G. rifkinae can produce only mild Irukandji syndrome, it should nonetheless be handled with care, with the caution that specimen maturity, venom load, or personal sensitivity may conceivably produce a more severe reaction.

General References

Williamson, J., Fenner, P., Burnett, J. & Rifkin, J. (eds) 1996. Venomous and Poisonous Marine Animals: a medical and biological handbook. Sydney, Australia : NSW University Press 800 pp.

History of changes