''Chirodectes'' is a very rare, monospecific genus of

box jellyfish Box jellyfish (class Cubozoa) are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their box-like (i.e., cube-shaped) body. Some species of box jellyfish produce potent venom delivered by contact with their tentacles. Stings from some species, including ' ...

in the family

Chirodropidae Chirodropidae is a family of Venom (poison), venomous box jellyfish within the class Cubozoa. Like other members of the order Chirodropida, they have branched pedalia (muscular bases at the corners of their cubic umbrella), in contrast to the unb ...

. The first and only scientifically studied specimen was captured from the outer edge of the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

– about off the coast of northeast

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

– on 2 May 1997. It was found within of the surface, and the researchers who first described it speculated that it may have been relocated to the area by Cyclone Justin. Its

bell A bell /ˈbɛl/ () is a directly struck idiophone percussion instrument. Most bells have the shape of a hollow cup that when struck vibrates in a single strong strike tone, with its sides forming an efficient resonator. The strike may be m ...

measured approximately in height, and it could only be observed for several hours in an examination lab due to how delicate it was. There are no recorded cases of a human

sting Stimulator of interferon genes (STING), also known as transmembrane protein 173 (TMEM173) and MPYS/MITA/ERIS is a regulator protein that in humans is encoded by the STING1 gene. STING plays an important role in innate immunity. STING induces typ ...

from ''Chirodectes'' as it "failed either to sting, or adhere to, the hand and forearm of an incautious volunteer" during the examination, but it is assumed – due to its relatively large size and to the extremely venomous nature of some chirodropids – that ''Chirodectes'' is itself venomous. A video of the ''Chirodectes'' was recorded underwater before it was collected. Four photos captured from the original 1997 video were published in the scholarly journal ''Memoirs of the Queensland Museum'' in 2005. In December 2021, a jellyfish was filmed by a scuba diver off the coast of

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, which prompted Lisa-ann Gershwin, the marine biologist who first described the genus ''Chirodectes'', to examine the video. A frame-by-frame comparison between the 1997 and 2021 videos convinced Gershwin that the latter likely depicts a new species; however, as of , it has yet to be formally classified, and a paper has not been submitted for peer review.

Taxonomy

''Chirodectes'' was created in 2006 from ''C. maculatus'', a species originally in the genus ''

Chiropsalmus } ''Chiropsalmus'' is a genus of box jellyfish in the family Chiropsalmidae. Species The following species are recognized in the genus ''Chiropsalmus'': *''Chiropsalmus alipes'' Gershwin, 2006 *''Chiropsalmus quadrumanus ''Chiropsalmus quadr ...

''.

Species

The following species are in this genus: *''Chirodectes maculatus'' (Cornelius, Fenner & Hore, 2005)

References

External links

* *
Original video of second sighting
– via

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Chirodropidae Medusozoa genera Taxa described in 2006 {{cubozoa-stub