Malate Dehydrogenase and Tetrazolium Oxidase of Scyphistomae of Aurelia-aurita, Chrysaora-quinquecirrha, and Cyanea-capillata (Scyphozoa-Semaeostomeae)

Three species of scyphozoan jellyfishes, Aurelia aurita (LINNAEUS 1758), Chry- saora quinquecirrha (Desor 1848), and Cyanea capillata (LINNAEUS 1758) are commonly found in Chesapeake Bay. Because of the uncertainty in the identification of jellyfish scyphistomae (polyps) collected from the field, CALDER (1971) used the nematocyst complement for distinguishing polyps of these different species. BURNETT & GOULD (1971) used an immunological assay to differentiate polyps of Aurelia aurita and Chrysaora quinquecirrha from those of Cyanea capillata. In this study, the MDH and tetrazolium oxidase (TO) isozyme patterns of the polyps of Chesapeake Bay Aurelia aurita, Chrysaora quinquecirrha, and Cyanea capitlata are reported. These isozyme patterns provide another method for distin- guishing scyphozoan polyps of uncertain identity