Image Credit: Marijke Wilhelmus.

The scientists selected their top seven names from the over 300 that were submitted during the contest period. There were so many great suggestions that seven finalists were chosen instead of the originally planned five! Thank you for all the great submissions and for your participation in the voting. You can now see THE RESULTS OF THE VOTING! Don't forget to visit the list of other honorable mentions.

To learn more about BBBJ and the process click here

Here are the Top Seven selections:

• Tamoya bandakora

  explanation
  A variation of the phrase "red band" from Papiamentu, the native language on Bonaire.
  
  
  

• Tamoya bonahanja

  explanation
  Bonahanja is a blended name meaningful to Bud, one of the discoverers. Bon = Bonaire, Bo = Bobbie, Bud's sister who introduced him to Bonaire in 1966, NA = Nancy Ann, Bud's wife Han = Hans, his son An = Andrew, the son-in-law and Ja = Jamie, son's daughter.
  
  
  

• Tamoya kandela

  explanation
  It means fire in Papiamentu and if you were stung by it, it causes a fiery pain.
  
  
  

• Tamoya lamantigro

  explanation
  I thought it would be neat to name the jellyfish something in the native language of Bonaire: Papiamentu. Therefore, I named it lamantigro, meaning "sea tiger," because the Bonaire Box Jelly has tiger-like stripes on its tentacles.
  
  
  

• Tamoya midushi

  explanation
  "Mi dushi" means "my sweetheart" in Papiamentu, the native language of the island of Bonaire. Using this name would identify and honor the home of this amazing jellyfish. At first glance, "my sweetheart" may seem like a strange name for a jellyfish, but I imagine this is the way you feel about this special jelly. Your personal stories describe your 8-year long commitment to understanding this new species. I can only assume you feel true affection towards this jellyfish, so this name would reflect and honor your commitment to the discovery and understanding of BBBJ.
  
  
  

• Tamoya ohboya

  explanation
  I bet "Oh Boy" is the first thing said when a biologist or layman encounters the Bonaire Banded Box Jellyfish. It is not often that a new amazing species is discovered, especially one so beautiful. I am confident that Bud Gillian exclaimed "Oh Boy" when he saw tourist Vicki Carr's video of the Bonaire Banded Box Jellyfish (a never before seen species of jellyfish). Vicki probably exclaimed "Oh Boy" when Bud called her to tell her the news of her amazing discovery. I am sure that "Oh Boy" was uttered by the 3 people who were stung by the Bonaire Banded Box Jellyfish. In addition, I bet that "Oh Boy" was spoken by the doctors when they saw the wounds inflicted by the nematocysts of the Bonaire Banded Box Jellyfish. Later, the doctors probably uttered "Oh Boy" when they were confident that these 3 people would survive their encounter with the Bonaire Banded Box Jellyfish. And finally, when I saw the website Year of Science: Species naming contest of the Bonaire Banded Box Jellyfish I loudly exclaimed "Oh Boy"!! Therefore I am suggesting the scientific name Tamoya ohboya be given to this amazing creature.
  
  
  

• Tamoya wapa

  explanation
  The Wapa is a native dance on Bonaire symbolizing cooperative effort.