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

Author(s)

Acevedo, Melissa J. ^[1] ; Straehler-Pohl, Ilka ^[2] ; Morandini, Andre C. ^{[3, 4]} ; Stampar, Sergio N. ^[5] ; Bentlage, Bastian ^[6] ; Matsumoto, I, George ; Yanagihara, Angel ^{[7, 8]} ; Toshino, Sho ^[9] ; Bordehore, Cesar ^{[10, 11]} ; Fuentes, Veronica L. ^[1]

Affiliation:Show less -

^[1] CSIC, Inst Ciencies Mar, Passeig Maritim Barceloneta 37-49, E-08003 Barcelona - Spain

^[2] Medusas Nursery Private Lab Life Cycle Dev & Evol, Altmarkstr 25, D-21684 Stade Hagen - Germany

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, Rua Matao, Trav 14, 101, BR-05508090 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Biol Marinha, Rodovia Manoel Hypolito Rego, Km 131-5, BR-11600000 Sao Sebastiao - Brazil

^[5] Univ Estadual Paulista, Fac Ciencias & Letras Assis, Dept Ciencias Biol, Av Dom Antonio 2100, BR-19806900 Assis - Brazil

^[6] Univ Guam, Marine Lab, 303 Univ Dr, Mangilao, GU 96923 - USA

^[7] Univ Hawaii Manoa, John A Burns Sch Med, Bekesy Lab Neurobiol, Sch Oceanog Earth Sci & Technol, 1993 East West Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822 - USA

^[8] Univ Hawaii Manoa, John A Burns Sch Med, Dept Trop Med, 1993 East West Rd, Honolulu, HI 96822 - USA

^[9] Univ Ryukyus, Trop Biosphere Res Ctr, 3422 Sesoko, Motobu, Okinawa 9050227 - Japan

^[10] Univ Alicante, Dept Ecol, Alicante - Spain

^[11] Univ Alicante, Inst Multidisciplinar Estudio Medio Ramon Margale, Alicante - Spain

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Zootaxa; v. 4543, n. 4, p. 515-548, JAN 9 2019.
• Web of Science Citations: 2

Abstract

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. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 11/50242-5 - Dimensions of marine life: patterns and process of diversifications in planktonic and benthic cnidarians
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos Marques
• Support type: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 10/50174-7 - Systematics, life cycle and reproductive patterns of jellyfishes (Cnidaria: Medusozoa: Cubozoa and Scyphozoa) in the Baixada Santista (São Paulo, Brazil)
• Grantee: André Carrara Morandini
• Support type: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/24408-4 - Evolution and diversity of Ceriantharia (Cnidaria)
• Grantee: Sérgio Nascimento Stampar
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 15/21007-9 - Recognizing the diversity of jellyfishes (Medusozoa, Rhopaliophora)
• Grantee: André Carrara Morandini
• Support type: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 16/50389-0 - Taxonomy and systematics of Ceriantharia (Cnidaria): an integrative approach
• Grantee: Sérgio Nascimento Stampar
• Support type: Regular Research Grants