Nadia Gloag

Period 1/3
11/28/18

How Nematocysts Affect Jellyfish Sting Severities

Jellyfish (cnidarians) are well-known marine animals found worldwide. Although many

species are harmless, there are also multiple species whose stings are very painful and can be

fatal. The severity of jellyfish stings mainly has to do with nematocyst tubules. Nematocyst

tubules are tubules contained in the stinging organ of a jellyfish – the nematocyst – that are

injected into a jellyfish’s prey. This action is the jellyfish’s sting. After the tubule emerges from

a nematocyst and penetrates its victim, a process which takes only 3ms and is one of the fastest

known movements in the animal kingdom, venom is injected into the penetrated organism.

Because of the harmful effects of toxins on organisms, the largest determining factors in the

harmfulness of a species of jellyfish are tubule length and nematocyst abundance.

Longer nematocyst tubule lengths result in more pain and damage inflicted on victims of

jellyfish stings. In a study conducted by the Department of Ocean Sciences at Tokyo University

of Marine Science and Technology, four species of jellyfish with differing nematocyst tubule

lengths and differing harmfulness were collected and studied. The two harmful species of

jellyfish studied, ​Chironex yamaguchii​ and ​Carybdea brevipedalia,​ had average tubule lengths

of 334.8 ± 104.7 μm and 712.4 ± 487.1 μm, respectively. These tubules are considerably longer

than those of the moderately harmful and harmless species of jellyfish studied (​Chrysaora

Pacifica​ and ​Aurelia aurita​, respectively). ​C. pacifica​ had tubules 117.1 ± 64.9 μm in length, and
A. aurita h​ ad tubules 46.5 ± 30.4 μm in length. The reason for these species’ differing

harmfulness is because of the subepidermal nerve plexus, located 100-200 μm from the skin’s

surface that has nociceptors that mediate pain. Because ​A. aurita​’s tubules are under​ 1​ 00μm in

length, its sting causes very little to no pain. However, the length of ​C. pacifica’​ s tubules allows

it to occasionally reach and pierce the nerve plexus, causing increased pain. Because the length

of ​C. pacifica’​ s tubules does not allow for deep injection into the subepidermal nerve plexus,

moderate pain is felt. Lastly, the tubule lengths of both ​C. brevipedalia​ and ​C. yamaguchii​ far

exceed 200μm. This means that, when stung by either of these species of jellyfish, tubules are

injected deep into the subepidermal nerve plexus and are able to release venom deep in the skin.

This causes severe pain and can lead to the destruction of tissue, which may result in the

persistence of severe pain.

The amount of nematocyst tubules a jellyfish possesses also affects pain severity and

overall damages. As shown previously, ​C. yamaguchii​ has shorter tubules than ​C. brevipedalia​.

Studies have also shown that the lethal toxicity of ​C. brevipedalia ​is far more potent than the

toxin possessed by ​C. yamaguchii.​ However, as of August 2015, ​C. yamaguchii​ is responsible

for three recorded fatalities while ​C. brevipedalia​ is responsible for none. This is because the

number of tentacles ​C. yamaguchii ​possesses far exceeds the number ​C. brevipedalia​ possesses.

Along with this, the length of ​C. yamaguchii​’s tentacles​ ​is at least triple that of ​C. brevipedalia.​

This results in ​C. yamaguchii​ having a far longer overall tentacle length than ​C. brevipedalia,​

which allows for more nematocysts. A greater number of nematocysts allows for more venom to

be injected into any organism stung. As a result of this, the sting of ​C. yamaguchii​ is far more
dangerous than the sting of ​C. brevipedalia,​ as far more venom overall is injected into ​C.

yamaguchii’​ s prey, outperforming the higher toxin potency possessed by ​C. yamaguchii​.

Jellyfish, although mainly harmless, can cause severely painful stings and, occasionally,

fatalities. The main factors that determine the pain severity and risk of fatality of jellyfish species

are nematocyst tubule lengths, nematocyst abundance, and venom potency. Longer tubule

lengths are more dangerous and cause more severe pain, especially when they exceed lengths of

200μm because at this length they are able to pierce through the subepidermal nerve plexus and

damage tissue with venom. Nematocyst abundance is also an important factor in the

dangerousness of a species of jellyfish, as more nematocysts allow for more venom to be injected

into the body. Higher venom potencies also make jellyfish more dangerous. However, some

species of jellyfish with weaker venoms may be more dangerous than species with high venom

potencies if they have more nematocysts and are able to inject more venom into their prey. The

most dangerous jellyfish are those with many long tentacles, long nematocyst tubules, and a high

venom potency.
 Sources

Cegolon, Luca, et al. “Jellyfish Stings and Their Management: A Review.” Marine Drugs, vol.

11, no. 12, 22 Feb. 2013, pp. 523–550., doi:10.3390/md11020523.

Fenner, Peter J. “Dangers in the Ocean: The Traveler and Marine Envenomation. I. Jellyfish.”

Journal of Travel Medicine, vol. 5, no. 3, 1998, pp. 135-141.,

Doi: 10.1111/j.1708-8305.1998.tb00487.x.

Kitatani, Ryuju, et al. “Length Is Associated With Pain: Jellyfish with Painful Stings Have

Longer Nematocyst Tubules than Harmless Jellyfish.” Plos One, vol. 10, no. 8, 26 Aug.

2015, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135015.

Park, Sinwook, et al. “The Nematocysts Sting Is Driven by the Tubule Moving Front.” Journal of

The Royal Society Interface, vol. 14, no. 128, 1 Mar. 2017, doi:10.1098/rsif.2016.0917.