Dangerous Creatures of the Reef

There are many more dangerous creatures that can be found in a reef than you may think. When I was a teenager I participated in some research at the Sandy Hook Marine Lab at Sandy Hook New Jersey. We always wore old sneakers when walking in the water at the shoreline. The number of jellyfish in the water can vary greatly because there are certain years when there seems to be a "bloom" in their numbers which has not been explained. Jellyfish can still sting even when they have washed on to the beach. Many of the dangers are particularly important to consider if you have small children playing in the surf area.

Some of the Dangerous Creatures of the Reef
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Sea Urchins: Can be found on the sandy bottom or under rocks. They have slender needle-like spines that can penetrate the skin and could break off.

Stonefish: The stonefish is usually buried in mud or in the rocks and coral in shallow water. It has spines along the back that can pierce the skin and does have venom that can get into a puncture.

Crown-of-Thorns Starfish: Is found in areas where there is coral and has spines that can penetrate the skin. It has venom that can get into the wound and has slime on its surface that can be irritating.

Sea Cucumber: A sausage-shaped organism that may have stick threads projecting from the anus that can cause inflammation of parts of the human body like eyes and/or skin.

Bristle Worm: The bristle worm is often found under rocks or in areas with a lot of weeds. It has hollow bristles that contain a venom which can cause painful injuries.

Butterfly Cod: Found often on slopes, under ledges and in caves it has long spines that have a venom that can get into a puncture.

Fire Coral: Often found in reef slopes and has a hard skeleton with minute stinging polyps in branches on the coral.

Stingrays: Often partly buried in the sand, the tail can puncture the skin and it does have venom that can get into the wound. (Note: It is very rare that someone would die from such a wound. Punctures are much more common on the bottom of a person's foot. Punctures in the chest near the heart are potentially deadly.

Cone Shells: Found on the sandy or coral bottom areas and can use a proboscis to inject venom.

Box Jellyfish: Often found inshore and has tentacles with stinging cells. (Note: There are many other varieties of jellyfish with stinging cells.)

Fireweed: Found in the reef and coral areas and has small stinging polyps along the branches.

While the obvious dangers from sharks, left over fishing hooks, glass, etc. are not listed are also things to consider while at any reef or shore area. Many of the venoms produced by creatures in the oceans are being studied for their potential medical use. Organisms like the black sea snake have not been listed above because although very deadly it is not likely to be found in the shore areas.