A lotion could soon be developed that would protect divers and swimmers from the sting of the jellyfish and Portuguese man-of-war, a scientist visiting Bermuda said this week.

Dr. Thomas Heeger, a marine biologist with Germany's Kiel Institute, claimed that in the past 25 years more people had been killed by jellyfish in Australia than by sharks throughout the world.

The sea wasp jellyfish, or chironex fleckeri , has the most deadly venom in the world, Dr. Heeger said. But there was nothing swimmers could wear to protect themselves.

"All you can do is treat the symptoms and cross your fingers,'' he said. But, "we are working on it.

"There is an anti-stinger suit developed in Australia, but if you are going to take a short swim with your family, you don't want to wear a wetsuit.'' Dr. Heeger wants to make a lotion which could be worn like a sun lotion, and that would stay on the skin underwater. He hopes its development is less than five years away.

Dr. Heeger was among a group of scientists aboard the research vessel Poseidon , which arrived in Bermuda on Sunday and left her Front Street berth on Tuesday bound for Portugal.

The ship had just returned from two rough weeks in the Sargasso Sea, where Dr.

Heeger studied jellyfish while colleagues studied eels.

The 197-foot ship, which carries the submersible Jago , is equipped with a crane, winches, probes, and an A-frame for casting nets.

Dr. Wolfgang Sterrer, curator of the Natural History Museum at the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo, said jellyfish were common in Bermuda waters and many swimmers had been stung, though none fatally.

"In calm water, such as we may have in the middle of summer, the tentacles can stretch sideways 100 feet or more, which means that without even getting close (to the body), one might get into the vicinity of those stinging tentacles,'' he said.

Partly due to rough weather in the Sargasso, the Poseidon's two-week expedition was not as successful as had been hoped. Dr. Heeger, who disembarked in Bermuda, will return to Germany with only one Portuguese man-of-war and two box jellies, both badly damaged.

His colleague, Dr. Uwe Waller, bagged only three eel larvae that were in good shape.

However, both scientists, who work under Prof. Dietrich Schnack, said they collected valuable data.

Dr. Heeger, 33, said he was fascinated by jellyfish, which had been around for 400 million years yet had cells which were among the most highly-specialised in the animal kingdom.

In the case of the stinger cell, "the whole weapon, including the toxin, including the expellent, including the receptor which triggers the toxin, all of this is in one cell,'' said Dr. Heeger.

True jellyfish, or Scyphozoan ones (which do not include the Portuguese man-of-war common in Bermudian waters), can be identified by their stinging cells. Traditionally, there have only been three types described, but Dr.

Heeger said he now knows of many more.

The jellyfish toxin, once triggered, is expelled with a tremendous force of 40,000gs, he said. That is why a very strong blocking agent was needed for protection.

The Sargasso Sea is a breeding ground for both American and European eels, and Dr. Waller's studies looked into when and how the eel larvae migrate to Europe.

The two studies were linked, the scientists said. If many eel larvae were found inside jellyfish in the Sargasso Sea, a predator would be identified.

But few of either animal were found.

POSEIDON ADVENTURE -- Dr. Thomas Heeger (left) and Dr. Uwe Waller of Germany's Kiel Institute were among the scientists aboard the research vessel Poseidon , which was in Bermuda this week.

RG MAGAZINE APRIL 1993