Jellyfish, Australian

Many jellyfish inhabit the tropical and temperate waters of Australia. The majority of stings by these jellyfish result only in local pain, skin welts and erythema. Nausea, vomiting and headaches may also occur sometimes. First aid consists of local application of ice packs or iced water, and supportive care such as analgesia as required.

Nematocysts, or stinging cells, are used by jellyfish to deliver toxins into their prey. The stinging apparatus consists of a "harpoon" on a thread coiled inside the stinging cell and is attached to a reservoir containing venom. On contact with the victim, the stinging cell discharges its harpoon into the skin and injects venom. Each tentacle may be covered with millions of stinging cells, resulting in a large amount of venom being injected over a wide area.

The class Scyphozoa is comprised of four orders of jellyfish: Stauromedusae, Coronatae, Semaeostomae, Rhizostomae. A closely related class is the Cubozoa which contains the box jellyfish or sea wasp. These creatures are genrally found only in Australian and Philippene waters, and their stings can be deadly.