New record of Nausithoe werneri (Scyphozoa, Coronatae, Nausithoidae) from the Brazilian coast and a new synonymy for Nausithoe maculata

By

Molinari, Clarissa
Manuel Maronna, Maximiliano
Morandini, André Carrara

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

984

Pages

1--21

Subjects

Coronamedusae , jellyfish , life cycle , periderm , polyp , Scyphomedusae , systematics

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.984.56380

 

Abstract

The order Coronatae (Scyphozoa) includes six families, of which Nausithoidae Haeckel, 1880 is the most diverse with 26 species. Along the Brazilian coast, three species of the genusNausithoeKölliker, 1853 have been recorded:Nausithoe atlanticaBroch, 1914,Nausithoe punctataKölliker, 1853, andNausithoe aureaSilveira & Morandini, 1997. Living polyps (n= 9) of an unidentified nausithoid were collected in September 2002 off Arraial do Cabo (Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil) at a depth of 227 m, and have been kept in culture since then. We compared these specimens with three species cultured in our laboratory:Nausithoe aurea(from Ilhabela, São Paulo, Brazil),Nausithoe maculataJarms, 1990 (from Cuba and Puerto Rico), andNausithoe werneriJarms, 1990 (from the Atlantic Ocean off Morocco and from the Mediterranean Sea). The criteria used for comparison were: main aspects of the morphology, life cycle, and DNA sequences (18S, 28S, and COI). The results indicate that the unidentified polyps belong toN. werneri. Furthermore,N. aureais considered a junior synonym ofN. maculata.