Carybdea murrayana, the South African box jellyfish, is a venomous species of cnidarian, in the small family Carybdeidae within the class Cubozoa.
Description This small box jellyfish grows up to across and may have tentacles of up to in total length. It has a transparent box-shaped bell with a very long tentacle trailing from each corner.Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa. .
The animal is described as being robust and having a well sculpted in particular, single rooted with multiple stems, velarial canals 2 per octant, pedalia knee bend upwards turned volcano shaped. Also known to have a brownish pigmentation of the phacellae and pedalia.Acevedo et al. 2019. Revision of the genus Carybdea (Cnidaria: Cubozoa: Carybdeidae): clarifying the identity of its type species Carybdea marsupialis. Zootaxa.
Distribution This jellyfish is found from the north of Namibia around the South African coast to Port Elizabeth from the surface to a depth of at least underwater.
Ecology This jellyfish is often seen in swarms. The tentacles have a painful sting, although the sting is not known to be fatal. It is eaten by the sunfishes, Mola molaJones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. and Mola ramsayi, as well as the slender sunfish, Ranzania laevis.
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