The sting of Tamoya ohboya

Photo courtesy of Ellen Muller

Be on the lookout for the Bonaire banded box jellyfish.

In case you missed the story in the scientific journal Zootaxa, biologists have classified and named a new species of box jellyfish found in the Caribbean from Bonaire to St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

Commonly known as the Bonaire banded box jellyfish (BBBJ), its whimsical scientific name is Tamoya ohboya, a reference to the “Oh Boy!” reaction you’ll have if you make contact with its stinging cells. We could think of a more likely utterance, but it wouldn’t be suitable for publication.

According to several reports including this one from the Smithsonian Institution, there have been 50 confirmed sightings of the creature since the late 1980s and at least three reported cases of stings—one requiring medical care. Although not nearly as toxic as some of the Pacific species of box jellyfish, which can kill an adult diver in minutes, the BBBJ does pack a serious, painful wallop and divers should steer clear.

Of course, it goes without saying that you should always adopt a strict “hands-off” policy toward marine life, especially when diving in a protected area like the Bonaire Marine Park. The biggest risk of a sting comes from making accidental contact, so we wanted our readers who are diving the Caribbean to be on the lookout.

Seaduction.com would like to thank Ellen Muller for sharing the above photo of a BBBJ, and we invite other readers to do the same. If you have a photo of (or a story of a run-in with) a BBBJ, send them to keith@seaduction.com. We’ll post them here and give you full credit.