''Tamoya ohboya'', also known as the Bonaire banded box jellyfish, is a species of

box jellyfish Box jellyfish (class Cubozoa) are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their box-like (i.e. cube-shaped) body. Some species of box jellyfish produce potent venom delivered by contact with their tentacles. Stings from some species, including '' ...

formally described in 2011. ''Tamoya ohboya'' was discovered by a biologist and educator, William Gillan. In order to name the newly discovered species, Coalition on the Public Understanding of Science organized an online competition, which was won by the high school marine biology teacher Lisa Peck, who explained her winning entry saying: "I bet ‘Oh Boy’ is the first thing said when a biologist or layman encounters the Bonaire Banded Box Jellyfish." It is the first species of the genus '' Tamoya'' to be discovered in over 100 years. The

International Institute for Species Exploration The International Institute for Species Exploration (IISE) is a research institute located in Syracuse, New York. Its mission is to improve taxonomical exploration and the cataloging of new species of flora and fauna. Since 2008, IISE has publ ...

included it in a list of Top Ten New Species in 2011. The species was discovered in the waters of the

Dutch Caribbean The Dutch Caribbean (historically known as the Dutch West Indies) are the territories, colonies, and countries, former and current, of the Dutch Empire and the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean Sea. They are in the north and south-wes ...

islands (then part of the Netherlands Antilles). There have been roughly 70 confirmed sightings since 1989, approximately 45 of which took place in the waters of Bonaire and the rest off the shores of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

St Lucia Saint Lucia ( acf, Sent Lisi, french: Sainte-Lucie) is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. The island was previously called Iouanalao and later Hewanorra, names given by the native Arawaks and Caribs, two Amerindi ...

, Curacao,

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate) ...

, Honduras and St Vincent. The closely related species ''

Tamoya haplonema ''Tamoya haplonema'' is a species of box jellyfish in the genus '' Tamoya''. It is the type species of the genus and was described in 1859. The medusa possesses four tentacles, one each on an inter-radial pedal. Body They possess 4 tentacles, o ...

'' lives in the waters of

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

and the south-eastern United States of America. ''Tamoya ohboya'' is characterized by a deep stomach, densely spread

cnidocyst A cnidocyte (also known as a cnidoblast or nematocyte) is an explosive cell containing one large secretory organelle called a cnidocyst (also known as a cnida () or nematocyst) that can deliver a sting to other organisms. The presence of this ce ...

s and banded tentacles whose color ranges from reddish-orange to dark brown. ''Tamoya ohboya'' is hard to collect due to its fast swimming and ungregarious nature. Its ecology is still relatively unknown, but it is presumed that it is a daylight predator whose prey includes small crustaceans and fish. Like other box jellyfish, ''Tamoya ohboya'' is highly venomous. Since 1989, three people have reported being stung by ''Tamoya ohboya'', which led to intense pain, skin damage and, in one of the cases, hospitalization. Its bell is shaped like a plastic bag.Archived a
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The number of people stung by ''Tamoya ohboya'' is likely higher than the three reported above. Three people were stung by what was believed to be ''Tamoya ohboya'' in Barbados over two days around November 3, 2018.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q291544, inaturalist=1118156 Tamoyidae Animals described in 2011 Fauna of the Caribbean