Chironex fleckeri Southcott, 1956

Marine stinger, sea wasp

Species recognized by UNESCO-IOC Register of Marine Organisms external link, J van der Land (ed) in 
IUCN Red List Status: NOT EVALUATED external link Showing: scientific names

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Toxins protect from predators: jellyfish

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©2008-2009, The Biomimicry Institute. Some rights reserved external link
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Jellyfish deliver deadly toxins to enemies and prey via special stinging cells, called nematocysts.

         
  "Only coelenterates, such as jellyfish, know how to make certain special stinging cells, their nematocysts. Contact with a big coelenterate (the Portuguese man-of-war is especially vicious) is extremely unpleasant for a person and often fatal for a fish." (Vogel 1998:30)
  Learn more about this functional adaptation.
References
  • Vogel, S. 1998. Cats' Paws and Catapults: Mechanical Worlds of Nature and People. New York: WW Norton & Company.
"Chironex fleckeri Southcott, 1956". Encyclopedia of Life, available from "http://www.eol.org/pages/200766". Accessed 12 Mar 2010.