Venom Wiki
Cartoon of Black sea nettle
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Black sea nettle

Chrysaora achlyos
Jellyfish & sea stingers๐Ÿชผ Stinging tentacles
Danger to people: PainfulIt can really hurt, but it is almost never serious.

Black sea nettle belongs to the group: Jellyfish & sea stingers. It lives in: The oceans.2

Lives in
The oceans2
Length
80 cm (2.6 ft)2
typical adult size
Top speed
about 1.9 km/h (1.2 mph)
Swimming, rough guess

Venom power

Stinging tentacles

Thousands of tiny stinging cells fire when something touches them.

How dangerous is it to people?

Danger to people: PainfulIt can really hurt, but it is almost never serious.

๐Ÿš‘ If it bites or stings

  • Get out of the water and pick off any tentacles (with gloves or a cloth).
  • For tropical box jellyfish: pour vinegar on the stings for at least 30 seconds, call for help and be ready to do CPR. For bluebottles and most others: rinse with seawater, then hot water for the pain.

Always call your emergency number first (112, 000, 911). This is general first aid guidance, not medical advice. First aid basics

โ›‘๏ธ Stay safe

  • Never touch, catch or tease a wild animal, even a small one, and even if it looks asleep or dead.
  • Give it space. If you meet one, stay calm, step back slowly and let it go its own way.
  • If one bites or stings you: stay calm, keep still, call your emergency number (112, 000, 911) or get to a hospital fast. Remember what it looked like, a photo helps.

It is not out to get you. It uses its venom to catch food or to protect itself, and it would much rather hide. More about staying safe

How big is it?

How long is it?

Black sea nettle about 80 cm long (2.6 ft)A house cat about 50 cm (1.6 ft)A dog about 1 m (3.3 ft)A grown-up's bike about 1.8 m (5.9 ft)
as long as 1.5 house cats nose to tailas long as 4 bananas end to endcould swim the length of a big swimming pool (50 m) in 95 seconds

How big is Black sea nettle compared to YOU?

Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.

How fast is it?

For venom experts

Scientific name
Chrysaora achlyos
Group
Jellyfish & sea stingers
Family
Pelagiidae1
Order
Semaeostomeae
Continents
The oceans
Danger to people
2 / 5: Painful2

Where the facts come from

  1. Chrysaora achlyos (iNaturalist): names and classification.
  2. Venom Wiki: the danger level, the typical size and the speed guess are our own. See how we work them out: How we rate danger.

Every fact on this page has a number that points to its source. If we got something wrong, sorry, we are animal fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.

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More from the same group: Jellyfish & sea stingers

Also lives in: The oceans

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