Cnidome: heterotrichous microbasic p-euryteles and small birhaploids[clarification needed] in tentacles, and large isorhizasin nematocyst warts.

No confirmed deaths have occurred from this box jellyfish's stings, but the pain they inflict can be severe.

[8] The so-called winged box jellyfish was originally described in 1830 as Carybdea alata (Reynaud, 1830) in La Centurie Zoologique — a monograph published by René Primevère Lesson during the age of worldwide scientific exploration.

Reynaud's brief description gave no details about the collection events or the whereabouts of the specimen, stating only that this box jellyfish "lives in the Atlantic Ocean".

Carybdea alata is the second oldest name for a box jellyfish, and the name has been applied to specimens reported in oceans worldwide (e.g. Pacific, Indian and Atlantic).