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We’re used to seeing weird and wonderful things in Hong Kong, but this one is officially for the history books. A research team led by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) has identified a new species of box jellyfish, and it’s a 24-eyed creature that’s easily one of the most fascinating things we’ve seen in the city for a while.
Meet the Tripedalia maipoensis. Discovered in the brackish shrimp ponds of the Mai Po Nature Reserve, this tiny invertebrate is the first of its kind ever recorded in Chinese waters. Measuring a mere 1.5cm, this cube-shaped colourless creature has a total of 24 eyes, divided into four groups of six. Each group is tucked inside a sensory organ called a rhopalium, containing two eyes capable of forming images and four that are essentially light sensors, allowing it to navigate the murky waters with surprising accuracy.
The researchers, who collected samples over three summers between 2020 and 2022, found that this species is also a bit of a speedster. Unlike the average drifting blob that’s usually left at the mercy of the current, this box jellyfish features paddle-shaped structures called pedalia at the base of its tentacles. These act like mini oars, making it a much faster and more agile swimmer than the common jellyfish.
To confirm the find, the HKBU team used a mix of morphological and molecular methods. They found that while it looks similar to its cousins in the tropics and subtropics, the Mai Po species has a unique anatomical blueprint – specifically a trio of pedalia at each bell corner and distinctively forked canals in its ‘velarium’ (the muscular sheet that helps it pulse and swim). Genetically, this was a clear outlier, sitting on its own unique branch of the evolutionary tree.
While box jellyfish are famous for being some of the most venomous animals on the planet, there is no need to panic; the Tripedalia species is generally not known to be a threat to humans. Still, the discovery is a big deal for local biodiversity, bringing the total number of known box jellyfish species to 49 worldwide. And if a 24-eyed speedster has been hiding in plain sight at Mai Po all this time, it makes you wonder what else is currently swimming through our waters.
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