Man records moment he gets stung by 'most venomous creature on Earth' that can 'kill in minutes'

Despite what the cartoons you watched as a kid might have led you to believe, it turns out that jellyfish might not be as cute and squishy as they seem.

In fact, a certain faction of these marine animals are actually regarded as one of the most venomous creatures on earth, which can kill within a matter of minutes.

So, you'll want to avoid these lot at all costs...however there's just a slight problem when it comes to spotting them - box jellyfish are pretty much invisible.

But keep an eye out all the same, as your survival isn't guaranteed if you get a sting from one of the cnidarian invertebrates, which get their name from the cube-like shape of their bell.

Although George Kourounis was well aware of all of this, he decided to find out how he'd fare against the venom from an Australian box jellyfish (known as chironex fleckeri), which is considered to be among the most deadly in the world.

The Quebec-born adventurer, 54, has done his fair share of shocking stunts over the years, including going inside of the terrifying Darvaza gas crater, which has been dubbed 'the door to hell'.

He certainly has some thick skin, having documented natural disasters across the globe and chasing some of the most severe storms the world has ever seen.

But people were still stunned that the Angry Planet presenter was willing to purposely put himself through excruciating pain, risk paralysis and gamble with his life by stinging himself with a box jellyfish.

George Kourounis stung himself with one of the most venomous creatures on earth, the box jellyfish (YouTube/George Kourounis)

In a video originally shared to his YouTube channel in September 2012, Kourounis explained that he was conducting the wacky experiment on Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

The former audio engineer was joined by Ben Cropp, who he described as a 'renowned underwater filmmaker' who had been 'researching remedies for the box jellyfish venom'.

According to the TV star, the expert's method for trying to find a remedy for the toxin involved 'getting stung stung over and over, on purpose' - so naturally, Kourounis wanted to try it too.

Discussing the sea creature he was going up against, the daredevil said: "This highly venomous and nearly invisible predator is the scourge of Australian beaches, stinging scores of swimmers over the years."

According to National Geographic, the box jellyfish evolved to produce its fatal poison so that it could 'instantly stun or kill prey' without causing too much damage to its 'delicate tentacles'.

Up to 15 of these tentacles - which can reach 10ft in length - grow from each corner of their bells and each one of these have around 5,000 stinging cells.

These are brimming with their highly-potent venom which contains toxins that attack humans hearts, nervous system and skin cells - causing many victims to go into shock and die within minutes.

Interestingly, the tentacles - which leave significant scars on those who survive - are not triggered by the box jellyfish's sense of touch.

Instead, the marine animal can detect the presence of a chemical on the outer layer of its prey, which lets them know a meal is nearby.

Although it might just look like a 'translucent blob of goo', the adventurer found out it was a lot more threatening than it appears (YouTube/George Kourounis)

The underwater beasts are pale blue, making them almost transparent in the ocean, with Cropp explaining that they were 'very hard to see' in the shallow water.

"Really, really really hard," he said. "In fact, [they are] almost invisible over the sand."

Kourounis then quizzed the expert on whether he believes the jellyfish are 'the most dangerous creature on the planet', to which he replied: "Yes. Their venom is more powerful than anything."

The duo then managed to catch one of the almost undetectable jellyfish in the water, which Cropp noted had 'lost some of its tentacles'.

However, according to Kourounis, this didn't do anything to ease the pain which overwhelmed him after he stung himself with it.

"This will ruin your day at the beach," he told viewers. "It doesn't look like much - a translucent blob of goo. But it can see, it can sense that you're there and it has some of the most toxic venom in the world.

The heart-racing footage then showed how Cropp placed the tentacles against the Angry Planet host's bare arm while explaining: "The poison then travels just under the skin and slowly works its way up to you.

"But the initial pain - people go into shock and sometimes just don't come out of it."

Seconds later, Kourounis admitted he could already feel the effects of the venom and began complaining that his arm had started 'stinging' violently.

"You can really feel it building up," the thrill seeker said before dousing the sting in Cropp's uncertified antidote - which didn't work very well, prompting the lads to turn to another tried and tested solution.

"We'll put him out of misery and give him some some vinegar," Cropp continued. "And you can be liberal with it, real cheap."

Experts advise those who suffer a box jellyfish sting to immediately exit the water, alert emergency services and to apply vinegar, hot water, or baking soda to the sting if possible.

According to the Emergency Care Institute of New South Wales, the severity of the sting severity depends on 'the number of stinging cells that fire, which depends on the amount of tentacle contact with skin' and 'the potency of the injected venom, which depends on the species'.

It warned: "In an adult, severe envenoming occurs with several metres of tentacle-to-skin contact. In a child, severe envenoming has occurred with just over one metre of tentacle-to-skin contact.

"Severe envenoming results in life-threatening systemic effects, characterised by cardiovascular collapse and death within 20 to 30 minutes."

Minutes after pouring the vinegar on the sting site, Kourounis then pointed out that the area had 'started to raise up' and that some 'bumps' had began to appear.

But he appeared to be coping pretty well with the venom apart from that.

Signing off the short video, Kourounis then added: "Box jellyfish, one of the most dangerous creatures on the planet. Hurts like hell. I don't think I'll try that again anytime soon."