More than 100 years ago, the last of the Crambione Cooki jellyfish was encountered off the coast of Cookstown, Australia. Since that day in 1910 when an American scientist named Alfred Gainsborough Mayor saw the animal and sketched it, no sightings were recorded, and the scientific community believed that the deadly jellyfish was extinct. Late in 2013, an aquarist was releasing a sea turtle off Queensland when she saw something almost unbelievable – a huge pink jellyfish. As it turns out, Puk Scivyer had encountered the Crambione Cooki.
A Deadly Species with a Powerful Sting
Very little is known about the Crambione Cooki, which locals have dubbed the Crambione Cooki Monster on account of its size and its deadly sting, which is so powerful that it can be felt in the water that surround the jellyfish. Aquarist Puk Scivyer, who is familiar with marine life of all types, was astonished to see it. “As soon as I saw it, I realized it was a species I had never seen before,” she told reporters. “But to then discover I was the first person to see this species in over a hundred years was just incredible.”
It is, of course, entirely possible that others without an interest in studying marine life have encountered the Crambione Cooki during the century between when it was last described and Scivyer’s encounter with the animal in late 2013 – but it’s not likely that any potential encounters were close ones, as the species is distinctively different from other Australian jellyfish. “It was the size that made it stand out, but as we came past he was more of a cube shape and we could see he was not like the ones that we normally see. It’s the biggest jellyfish I have seen in Australian waters,” she said.
Puzzled by the sight of the jellyfish, Scivyer and her team carefully captured it for further study at the UnderWater World aquarium in Queensland. Despite its toxic, powerful sting, the Crambione Cooki is being looked after with tender, loving care – especially now that scientists have positively identified it using the sketch that Alfred Gainsborough Mayor made way back in 1910. Jellyfish expert Dr. Lisa Ann Gershwin carefully identified it after it was captured, increasing the mystery surrounding the species. It’s clear that the animal is not extinct after all, but scientists have no idea about its habitat, its population size, or its life expectancy. It is hoped that further encounters will be experienced in order to increase knowledge about the species.
The Crambione Cooki is not the only strange jellyfish to show up off Australia’s coast recently. In late January of 2013, a 1.5-meter jellyfish washed up on a beach, and according to Dr. Gershwin, it’s closely related to the world’s largest jellyfish, which is found in the Arctic, and which grows to be about three meters across. No one is certain where the jellyfish are coming from, and theories about their appearance range from changing ocean acidity to climate change. If you’re lucky enough to be diving in Australia, keep an eye out for jellies – you might be the next to spot a strange, fascinating species.