Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

Museums

Regional Maps

Order CARYBDEIDA Gegenbaur, 1856


Compiler and date details

June 2012 - Lisa-ann Gershwin

DRAFT RECORD

This taxon is under review. This record is released now for public view, prior to final verification. For further information or comment email us.



Introduction

The elevation of the order Cubomedusae to the class level by Werner (1973) left an illogical classification, wherein the Class Cubozoa and the Order Cubomedusae define precisely the same set of species at the upper taxonomic levels, resulting in inappropriate groupings and thus loss of resolution at the lower taxonomic levels (e.g. the families Carybdeidae and Chirodropidae, the genera Carybdea and Chiropsalmus).

A finer resolution of the lower taxonomic groups was attempted by Werner (1984), by raising the former “family Carybdeidae” (=all cubozoans with unbranched pedalia) and the former “family Chirodropidae” (=all cubozoans with branched pedalia) to the ordinal level, i.e., the orders Carybdeida and Chirodropida. This initiative was not widely adopted until recently, when it was upheld by Gershwin in numerous revisions and new descriptions from 2005 onward.

The Order Carybdeida is attributed to Gegenbaur (1856) by the Principle of Coordination, because he was the first to recognise the Carybdeidae as a family, although not in its current sense.

 

Diagnosis

Cubozoa with one or more simple, unbranched oar-like pedalia per corner, with only a single tentacle per pedalium; gastric saccules lacking; gastric phacellae present or absent.

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
05-Aug-2022 MEDUSOZOA Petersen, 1979 18-Nov-2014 MODIFIED Dr Lisa Gershwin
13-Aug-2013 MODIFIED