World's Deadliest Animal Is Scared Of The Color Red Scientists Find

[matcom]

<snip>

IN a breakthrough that could bring a new defence against the world's deadliest animal, Queensland scientists have discovered that the box jellyfish flees from the colour red.

While a colour often associated with passion, red is a complete turnoff for the dreaded jellyfish, which in the warmer months inhabits tropical waters in northern Australia and has killed 70 people.
In tests done with Chironex fleckeri jellyfish bred in captivity for the first time, James Cook University Cairns researcher Jamie Seymour found that when a red object was placed before the animal, it would turn around and swim in the opposite direction.

The discovery means protecting beachgoers and swimmers could be as simple as changing the colour of stinger suits and swimming nets on beaches.

Dr Seymour said the find came during trials of coloured plastic with jellyfish in specially made 50,000-litre breeding tanks. "The jellyfish actively swam in the opposite direction from the red. When you put a red tube in the water they actively swim away from it, but if it's a black one, they will swim around it."

He said further research would investigate why box jellyfish were deterred by red and whether other colours could have the same effect.

The box jellyfish inhabit waters from Exmouth in Western Australia to Gladstone in Queensland from November to May.

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,15772897-13762,00.html

[rasputin1952]

1. I recently read an article on these little monsters...they have eyes,

and unlike other jellyfish, they sleep and apparently 'think' to some degree, with the 4 'brains' they have. If it can discern colors...those eyes are pretty sophisticated.

From what this article depicted, during an experiment on the stinging of this thing...one of the volunteers receiving a minor sting from one, was in such pain, he almost tried suicide to get away from the pain on his arm! This from just a few stinging cells.

[matcom]

2. woah

suicide? :wow:

[BiggJawn]

3. Yeah, it's pretty painful.

Leaves horrible scars, too.

[rasputin1952]

5. Yeah...an Australian Dr got his son to volunteer to be stung...

as well as a worker, and then he stung himself. This was in the 50's...morphine didn't help much...and the worker was screaming about the pain, and seriously thinking suicide. The pain was intense for 48 hrs, and lingered for some 5 days. The kid hallucinated because the pain was so intense. It also appears the toxin affects the heart directly, and it physically sets off the "fight/flight" adrenaline rush, and dumps massive quantities into the bloodstream...hence the 'intense feeling of doom'...:scared:

This from a "few" stinging cells compared to the hundreds of thousands to millions if you really get tangled up in the tentacles.
The author of the article was diving and looking for the monsters, and was stung, "slightly" on the only exposed part of his body, his lip! He had to get out of the water ASAP, because he was afraid he'd panic and drown.

Many of the beaches have bottled vinegar in marked boxes near the shore, as it detoxifies the stinging cells still on the skin...but does nothing for the stuff already in the system.

Smithsonian June 2005 has an article: "Killers in Paradise"...
<www.smithsonianmag.com>

Link to Article:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smithsonian/issues05/jun05/jellyfish.html
Lot's of other stuff if you Google "box jellyfish" ....These are nasty little bastards...and apparently, some forms are showing up in Atlantic waters as well....:scared:

[Deja Q]

4. OMG. 70 people. Time to commit jellycide...

Or get people to wear more red underwater... :D

[gardenista]

6. "All Stings Considered"

Wow, I had never heard of the box jellyfish, so I googled it up, and here's what I found. There are lots of lesser stingers around, too:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=&imgrefurl=http://www.aloha.com/%7Elifeguards/portugue.html&h=361&w=360&sz=36&tbnid=01f0DL70ZrcJ:&tbnh=116&tbnw=116&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbox%2Bjellyfish%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D&oi=imagesr&start=1

[Shell Beau]

7. Interesting! I have heard about these dreaded tiny jellies.

[displacedtexan]

8. Red attracts sharks.

With the sweet comes the sour.

[rasputin1952]

10. So does yellow, apparently...makes one feel kind of defenseless

while swimming about the briny shores....:(

One behemoth box jelly has a bell the size of a human head, and tentacles that can be up to 180 YARDS in length.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't. But at least you might see a shark coming, not that that idea is pleasant either.

[aden_nak]

9. Just further proof that the box jellyfish is an intelligent creature.

[dhinojosa]

11. Hey I thought we were the deadliest animal.....

Does red scare off other humans?