Recognition of the Californian cubozoan population as a new species-Carybdea confusa n. sp. (Cnidaria, Cubozoa, Carybdeida)

10 pages, 2 figures, 2 tablesA lot of confusion (over the last 90 years) surrounds the naming of the Californian carybdeid population, sighted near La Jolla and Santa Barbara, since its first description by Stiasny in 1922. The specimens were first identified as Carybdea rastonii and later as Carybdea marsupialis but the identification was doubted by several scientists. To clear up the confusion, specimens of the Californian population were compared to specimens of all known carybdeid species. This comparison revealed that the Californian population represents an undescribed carybdeid species, named Carybdea confusa n. sp., being identified by the combination of the following characters: Gastric phacellae (single rooted, single stemmed), velarial canals (2 velarial canal roots/octant; canals multiple-branched with rounded tips) and pedalial canal (knee bend with thorn-like appendage)The first author was supported by the SYNTHESYS Project (GB-TAF-6151) http://www.synthesys.info/, which is financed by a European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 Integrating Activities ProgrammePeer Reviewe

Life cycle of the jellyfish Rhizostoma pulmo (Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae) and its distribution, seasonality and inter-annual variability along the Catalan coast and the mar Menor (Spain, NW Mediterranean)

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Revision of the genus Carybdea (Cnidaria: Cubozoa: Carybdeidae): clarifying the identity of its type species Carybdea marsupialis

.While records of Carybdea marsupialis in the literature suggest a worldwide distribution of this species, the validity of some of these records has been questioned recently, as has the validity of some nominal Carybdea species. We inspected material of all known species of Carybdea from multiple locations (i.e. Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Puerto Rico, California, Hawaii, Australia, South Africa, and Japan) using morphological and genetic tools to differentiate Carybdea species as well as understand their evolutionary relationships. We observed morphological differences between adult medusae of Mediterranean and Caribbean C. marsupialis; the most obvious differences were the structure of the phacellae, the structure of the pedalial canal knee bend, and the number and structure of the velarial canals. The characters of the adult Mediterranean specimens agree with the description provided by Claus (1878) for individuals of C. marsupialis from the Adriatic Sea (Italy); specimens from the Caribbean (Puerto Rico) agreed with the description of C. xaymacana by Conant (1897). Significant differences between both species were also observed in the newly released medusa stage. Further, we resolved a discord about the undefined polyp culture originating from Puerto Rico that was long considered Carybdea marsupialis but should be referred to as C. xaymacana. Although C. marsupialis is currently considered the only species of Cubozoa to occur in the Mediterranean, specimens collected in Algeria and Tunisia suggest that species of Alatinidae may also be present in the Mediterranean. Our investigations indicate that Carybdea spp. are more restricted in their geographical distribution than has been recognized historically. These findings confirm that Carybdea arborifera Maas, 1897 from Hawaii, Carybdea branchi, Gershwin & Gibbons, 2009 from South Africa, Carybdea brevipedalia Kishinouye, 1891 from Japan, Carybdea confusa Straehler-Pohl, Matsumoto & Acevedo, 2017 from California, Carybdea marsupialis Linnaeus, 1758 from the European Mediterranean Sea, Carybdea rastonii Haacke, 1886 from South Australia, and Carybdea xaymacana, Conant, 1897 from the Caribbean Sea are valid names representing distinct species, rather than synonyms. A taxonomic key for all valid species is provided, and a neotype for C. marsupialis is designated.This work has been supported by the LIFE programme of the European Commission [LIFE08 NAT ES64] and the following Spanish Institutions: Fundación Biodiversidad, Ministerio de Agricultura, Alimentación y Medio Ambiente, D.G. Agua Generalitat Valenciana, and O.A. Parques Nacionales. We also are grateful for the collaboration of Fundació Baleària and the Marina El Portet de Denia. This study is a contribution of the Marine Zooplankton Ecology Group (2014SGR-498) at ICM–CSIC and NP-BioMar (USP). MJA was supported by a predoctoral fellowship (FI-DGR 2013) of Generalitat de Catalunya. ISP was supported by the SYNTHESYS Project (GB-TAF-6151, GB-TAF-7146) http://www.synthesys.info/), which is financed by a European Community Research Infrastructure Action under the FP7 Integrating Activities Programme. ACM was supported by grants 2010/50174-7, 2011/50242-5, and 2015/21007-9 São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and CNPq (301039/2013-5, 304961/2016-7). SNS was supported by grants 2015/24408-4 and 2016/50389-0 São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), and CNPq (Universal 481549/2012-9). GIM is supported by a grant from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute

Seasonality in polyps of a tropical cubozoan: a latina nr mordens

A latina nr mordens have been located in large predictable spawning aggregations near Osprey Reef in the Coral Sea eight to ten days after a full moon; however, polyps have never been located in-situ. The polyp stage contributes to the abundance of medusae through asexual reproduction and metamorphosis, and may influence the periodicity of medusae by metamorphosis of the polyp. To elucidate the relationship between medusae periodicity and polyp ecology, polyps were exposed to thermal and osmotic treatments in order to determine the theoretical environmental limits to their distribution. Maximum fecundity occurred in thermal treatments of 21 to 25ºC and the theoretical minimum thermal requirement for population stability was approximately 17ºC. Polyps were also exposed to five feeding regimes and fecundity was found to be positively correlated with feeding frequency. Thermal and osmotic variations did not induce metamorphosis in this species, however, reduced food did. The implications of asexual reproduction and cues for metamorphosis in relation to population dynamics of this species are discussed