A woman has recovered after being stung by a rare breed of the deadly Irukandji jellyfish in north Queensland.
Lucy Ward, 25, was diving with friends at Geoffrey Bay at Magnetic Island, off the coast of Townsville, about midnight on Friday when she spotted the stinger, which she suspected belonged to the highly venomous Irukandji family.
"I didn't feel a sting or anything [at the time]," Ms Ward said.
"It wasn't until I was driving home, and I felt a really bad pain in my stomach, and I was really confused as to what was happening."
'Like taking a power drill to your lower back'
The recreational diver described a sudden onset of intense symptoms, disassociation and a sense of impending doom while waiting for the island's ambulance to arrive.
"I was having chest pains, pains in the side of my ribs, numbness in my arms, headaches," Ms Ward said.
"I started to feel like everything was really, really bad."
James Cook University PhD candidate Scott Morrissey, an expert on north Queensland jellyfish said Ms Ward's symptoms were a textbook case of Irukandji Syndrome.
He said they usually kicked in about 20 minutes after a person had been stung.
"Then it's like someone taking a power drill to your lower back," he said.
A rare breed of stinger
Underwater photographer and marine biology student Lawrence Scheele, who was diving with Ms Ward when she was stung, captured an image of the jellyfish.
"We deduced that it was from the class Cubozoa because of the distinguished box shape and four tentacles on each corner," Mr Scheele said.
But the stinger was much bigger than the typical Irukandji seen in north Queensland — which reach an adult size of about one cubic centimetre — prompting Mr Scheele to brave the sea again to photograph the stinger in shallow waters.
"I thought it's really important that we document what this is because we've never seen this type of Irukandji before," Mr Scheele said.
Stinger present all year round
Mr Morrissey said there were 25 different species of Irukandji jellyfish, typically present in northern Australian waters between November and May.
But Alatina alata can occur year-round.
It is present in Australia, South America, and Hawaii, where tourists are routinely stung on Waikiki Beach.
The Alatina alata is unique because it usually inhabits deep waters.
"But it forms these monthly near-shore aggregations where they breed, and they occur in conjunction with the lunar cycle ... so about eight to 10 days after the full moon you get these aggregations near shore waters breeding.
"They're only around [the shore] for a couple of days and they disappear back into the deep.
"I don't think there are any recorded deaths by Alatina. You don't really have much to worry about."
Ms Ward's sting happened 11 days after the full moon, and after a trip to the island's medical clinic for treatment and medication, she has made a quick recovery.
"I went back for a snorkel the next day," Ms Ward said.
"We're going into their space; they're going to be there, but we can take care when we do go in."
