Sydney Aquarium in New South Wales, Australia, is to unveil a new Dangerous Marine Creatures theme next month, highlighting 16 of the deadliest and most menacing creatures found in Australian waters.

The theme has been created to mark the arrival at the aquarium, for the first time in 10 years, of a new blue-ringed octopus – one of the most toxic sea creatures known to man. It carries enough poison to kill up to 26 people, containing a neurotoxin called tetrodotoxin, which quickly causes paralysis and can lead to respiratory and cardiac arrest.

Sydney Aquarium senior aquarist Dave Watts said: “The blue-ringed octopus is a hard animal to handle, even for highly trained aquarium staff, simply because its venom is so concentrated and it loves hiding in dark places.

“But displaying 12-month old Bluey in his new home is a great chance to let both Australians and visitors learn about this dangerous creature – so they know what to look out for at the beach.”

Other creatures which will be highlighted with a red skull and crossbones to show they are part of the dangerous creatures theme include stonefish, lionfish, moray eels, crocodiles, pufferfish, stingray and sharks.