Introduction

The superfamily Inscapulatae comprises three families: Lychnorhizidae, Catostylidae and Lobonematidae. All have representatives in Australian waters.

Members of the Inscapulatae are easily identified by their lack of scapulets on the upper portions of the oral arms, and by their continuous subgenital porticus. In the Lychnorhizidae, there are centripetal, usually blindly ending and not anastomosing canals between the 16 radial canals, and the oral arms are broad and much-folded. In the Catostylidae, the intracircular network of anastomosing canals communicates with the ring canal, but not always with the 16 radial canals; the eight rhopalar canals extend to the umbrella margin, the eight interrhopalar only to the ring canal; and the oral arms are pyramidal and cauliflower-like in appearance. In the Lobonematidae, the intracircular network of anastomosing canals communicates with the ring canal and with some or all of the 16-32 radial canals, but not with the stomach; the oral arms have window-like openings in the membranes; and the marginal lappets are elongated and tentacle-like.

Diagnosis

Dactyliophorae without scapulets; with permanent ring canal; with 16 or 32 radial canals not all extending to umbrella margin; with a continuous genital porticus.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [365]

History of changes

Introduction

The family Catostylidae comprises six genera — Acromitoides Stiasny, 1921, Acromitus Light, 1914, Catostylus L. Agassiz, 1862, Crambione Maas, 1903, Crambionella Stiasny, 1921 and Leptobrachia Brandt, 1838. All, but Acromitus and Crambionella are found in Australian waters.

The group is easily identified by having pyramidal oral arms with a tapered cauliflower-like appearance. Acromitoides and Catostylus lack appendages on the oral arms; in Acromitoides, the anastomosing network of intracircular canals directly communicates with the ring canal and inter-rhopaliar canals only, whereas in Catostylus, the intracircular canals communicate with the ring canal, as well as with both the inter-rhopaliar canals and rhopaliar canals. The remaining genera have appendages emitting from the oral arms: in Acromitus, the oral arms typically have a terminal whip-like appendage, usually with whip-like filaments; in Crambione, the oral arms have clubs and whip-shaped filaments without terminal clubs; in Crambionella, the oral arms have short, terminal clubs, but lack whip-like filaments; in Leptobrachia (also sometimes called Leonura), the oral arms terminate in a naked, pointed end, and lack mouths in the mid-region of each arm.

Diagnosis

Inscapulatae with intracircular network of anastomosing canals communicating with the ring canal, but not always with the 16 radial canals; the eight rhopalar canals extending to the umbrella margin, the eight interrhopalar only to the ring canal; mouth-arms pyramidal.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [367]

History of changes

• Acromitoides Stiasny, G. 1921. Studien über rhizostomeen. Capita Zoologica 1(2): viii + 179, 5 pls [136].

  Type species:

   Crambessa stiphropterus Schultze, 1897 (=Acromitoides stiphropterus (Schultze, 1897)) by subsequent designation, see Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [368].

Distribution

States

Northern Territory

Extra Distribution Information

Philippines

Diagnosis

Catostylidae with a broad intracircular anastomosing network in direct communication with the ring canal and the inter-rhopalar canals only; mouth-arms without appendages

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [368]

History of changes

• Catostylus purpurus Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977] [671].

  Type data:

   Holotype USNM 27980 (11 March 1908, coll. by U.S. Fisheries Bureau steamer Albatross), Manila Bay, Philippines.
  Paratype(s) USNM 27934 (7 specimens, collected 9 December 1907 by U.S. Fisheries Bureau steamer Albatross), Manila Bay, Philippines.

Generic Combinations

• Acromitoides purpurus (Mayer, 1910).

Distribution

States

Northern Territory

Extra Distribution Information

Reported from NT by Kramp (1965) and Williamson et al. (1996); Philippines

Ecological Descriptors

Marine, neritic, planktonic.

Diagnosis

115 mm wide, 35 mm high, exumbrella smooth; in each octant four cleft and two simple velar lappets (two median and two lateral lappets are cleft); mouth-arms shorter than radius of bell, lower three-winged portion 5–7 times as long as upper cylindrical portion; uniform dark brownish-purple

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [368]

General References

Kramp, P.L. 1965. Some medusae (mainly Scyphomedusae) from Australian coastal waters. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 89: 257–278, pl. 1–3 (distribution)

Williamson, J., Fenner, P., Burnett, J. & Rifkin, J. (eds) 1996. Venomous and Poisonous Marine Animals: a medical and biological handbook. Sydney, Australia : NSW University Press 800 pp. (distribution)

History of changes

• Catostylus Agassiz, L. 1862. Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. Second monograph. In five parts — Pt. I Acalephs in general. Pt. II Ctenophore. Pt. III. Discophorae. Pt. IV. Hydroidae. Pt. V. Homologies of the Radiata. Boston, London : Little Brown, Trubner Vol. IV i-viii, 380 pp. + (1-10), pls 20-35. [152].

  Type species:

   Cephea mosaica Quoy & Gaimard, 1824 (=Catostylus mosaicus (Agassiz, 1862)) by indication (Agassiz (1862: 152) seemed to indicate C. mosaicus as the type species, and this was reiterated by Mayer (1910: 664)).

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Widely distributed including Papua New Guinea; Indo-Pacific and Altantic

IMCRA

Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)

Distribution References

Diagnosis

Catostylidae with a broad, intracircular anastomosing network in direct communication with both rhopalar and inter-rhopalar canals and with the ring canal; moutharms without special appendages.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [370]

Notes

Agassiz (1862: 152) proposed the genus Catostylus for Quoy & Gaimard's (1824) medusa Cephea mosaica, and added his new species Catostylus wilkesii, which has long been regarded as identical to C. mosaicus.

Numerous other species have been added from the tropics and subtropics of the world; Kramp (1961) considered no less than eight species to be valid.

General References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469

Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977]

History of changes

• Cephea mosaica Quoy, J.R.C. & Gaimard, J.P. 1824. Voyage autour du monde ... executé sur l'Uranie et la Physicienne, pendant ... 1817-20. Zoologie. Voyage de l'Uranie. M. L. d. Freycinet. Paris 712 pp. + Atlas. [569].

Generic Combinations

• Rhizostoma mosaica (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) [see Eschscholtz (1829)].
• Crambessa mosaica (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824) [see Haeckel (1880)].
• Catostylus mosaicus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). —
  Agassiz, L. 1862. Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. Second monograph. In five parts — Pt. I Acalephs in general. Pt. II Ctenophore. Pt. III. Discophorae. Pt. IV. Hydroidae. Pt. V. Homologies of the Radiata. Boston, London : Little Brown, Trubner Vol. IV i-viii, 380 pp. + (1-10), pls 20-35. [152]

Taxonomic Decision for Subspecies Arrangement

• von Lendenfeld, R. 1885. Local colour varieties of Scyphomedusae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 9: 925–928 [926]

Distribution

States

New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria

Extra Distribution Information

Catostylus mosaicus has been widely reported from Brisbane, QLD to Melbourne, VIC; it also occasionally extends into the tropics of QLD; Papua New Guinea, Philippines.

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, estuary, marine, neritic, planktonic (host(s): Paramacrochiron maximum Thompson & Scott, 1903 [MACROCHIRONIDAE]).

Associated Fauna References

Browne, J.G. & Kingsford, M.J. 2005. A commensal relationship between the scyphozoan medusae Catostylus mosaicus and the copepod Paramacrochiron maximum. Marine Biology 146(6): 1157-1168 (Paramacrochiron maximum)

Diagnosis

Catostylus with the body 250–350 mm wide; exumbrella with coarse granulations; about 16 lappets in each oaant, all alike; arm-disk somewhat wider than bell radius; moutharms about 1.5 times as long as bell radius, proxima1 portion 1/6 as long as the distal, tapering, three-winged portion; outer edges branch profusely and taper to a pointed end below; no appendages; intracircular network rather narrow, with nearly radial meshes, extracircular network very wide and fine-meshed, extending into the lappets.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [370]

Notes

The species was originally described as a Cephea, then transferred to the genus Rhizostoma by Eschscholtz (1829: 53), then to Catostylus by L. Agassiz (1862: 152). Haeckel (1880: 622) then transferred it to the genus Crambessa, where it was regarded as valid by von Lendenfeld (1884d: 299). Subsequent authors have considered it a Catostylus.

History of changes

• Catostylus mosaicus conservativa von Lendenfeld, R. 1885. Local colour varieties of Scyphomedusae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 9: 925–928 [926].

Distribution

States

Victoria

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, estuary, marine, neritic, planktonic.

Diagnosis

Catostylus mosaicus without zooxanthellae; typically bluish coloured, common in the estuaries of Victoria.

History of changes

• Catostylus mosaicus symbiotica von Lendenfeld, R. 1885. Local colour varieties of Scyphomedusae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 9: 925–928 [926].

Distribution

States

New South Wales

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, estuary, marine, neritic, planktonic, zooxanthellate.

Diagnosis

Catostylus mosaicus with zooxanthellae; typically brownish coloured, common in the estuaries of New South Wales.

History of changes

• Catostylus wilkesii Agassiz, L. 1862. Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. Second monograph. In five parts — Pt. I Acalephs in general. Pt. II Ctenophore. Pt. III. Discophorae. Pt. IV. Hydroidae. Pt. V. Homologies of the Radiata. Boston, London : Little Brown, Trubner Vol. IV i-viii, 380 pp. + (1-10), pls 20-35. [152].

Distribution

States

New South Wales

Extra Distribution Information

Known only from type locality.

IMCRA

Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)

Ecological Descriptors

Epipelagic, estuary, marine, neritic, planktonic.

Diagnosis

Large, 350 mm in diameter; similar in appearance to C. mosaicus, showing the reticulation of the arms represented by Quoy & Gaimard to be small bunches of marginal lobes. Slaty coloured, rim transparent, with radiating white lines; surface of the disk crenulate, dotted near the margin.

Diagnosis References

Agassiz, L. 1862. Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. Second monograph. In five parts — Pt. I Acalephs in general. Pt. II Ctenophore. Pt. III. Discophorae. Pt. IV. Hydroidae. Pt. V. Homologies of the Radiata. Boston, London : Little Brown, Trubner Vol. IV i-viii, 380 pp. + (1-10), pls 20-35. [152]

Notes

This species was originally described based on an illustration of a specimen from Lake Illiwara (near Sydney).

Haeckel (1880: 622) and von Lendenfeld (1884d: 299) regarded this species as a junior synonym of C. mosaicus (as Crambessa mosaica). It has not been dsicussed in the scientific literature since.

General References

Haeckel, E. 1880. System der Acraspeden. Zweite Halfte des System der Medusen. Jena : G. Fischer. [622]

Von Lendenfeld, R. 1884. The scyphomedusae of the southern hemisphere. Part III. - Conclusion. IV. Ordo - Discomedusae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 9: 259–306 [299]

History of changes

• Crambione Maas, O. 1903. Die scyphomedusen der Siboga-Expedition. Siboga-Expeditie 11(livr. 10): 1–91, pls 1–12 [48].

  Type species:

   Crambione mastigophora Maas, 1903 by subsequent designation, see Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977] [676].

Distribution

States

Queensland, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Midway Islands, India, Malaysia

IMCRA

Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39)

Diagnosis

Catostylidae with a narrow, wide-meshed, intracircular anastomosing mesh-work, not stretching far towards the centre and communicating only with the ring canal; mouth-arms with clubs and whip-shaped filaments; without terminal clubs.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [372]

History of changes

• Crambione cookii Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977] [677] [the species was originally described with two "i"'s; although the second "i" was dropped by Kramp (1961), it is retained here].

Distribution

States

Queensland

Extra Distribution Information

Originally reported from off Cooktown, QLD, on 4 May 1896; no other reports until early 2000 when a single beached specimen was photographed at Moreton Bay, QLD.

IMCRA

Central Eastern Shelf Transition (39)

Ecological Descriptors

Marine, planktonic.

Diagnosis

110 mm, hemispherical, tough; smooth in flexible zone above margin, central inflexible part reticulated by deep, more or less radial furrows; in each octant 11 (9 + 2) large, pointed lappets, all alike; mouth arms about 3/4 the length of diameter; lower 2/3 three-winged, complexly folded; four slender filaments (as long as bell radius) from arm-disk; 2–6 globular appendages on outer side of each mouth-arm

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [373]

History of changes

• Crambione mastigophora Maas, O. 1903. Die scyphomedusen der Siboga-Expedition. Siboga-Expeditie 11(livr. 10): 1–91, pls 1–12 [49].

  Type data:

   
  Syntype(s) whereabouts unknown unnumbered 15 specimens: 1 1/2 -2, 4, 6-8cm, Siboga Stat. 140; whereabouts unknown unnumbered 3 specimens: 10-12 cm, Siboga Stat. 209; whereabouts unknown unnumbered 1 specimen: 25 cm, Siboga Sta. 209; whereabouts unknown unnumbered 1 specimen: 40 cm, Ambon
  Comment: Type material possibly held at Leiden Museum.

Distribution

States

Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Crambione mastigophora was originally described, and most often reported, from the Malayan Archipelago (see synopsis in Kramp 1961). It has also been reported from Ceylon (Stiasny 1931) and Truk Islands (Uchida 1947).

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, epipelagic, marine, neritic, pelagic, planktonic.

Diagnosis

400 mm wide, highly arched, exumbrella smooth; in each octant 8-10 velar lappets, elongate, with rounded outer edges and deep clefts; arm-disk very wide; mouth-arms about as long as bell radius, distal three-winged portion as long as proximal simple portion; distal portion pyramidal, with many small club-shaped and some long filamentous appendages; extracircular canal system fine-meshed, not extending into the velar lappets; intracircular system with comparatively few meshes, partly elongated, radiating

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [373]

Notes

In April 2000, a massive bloom of C. mastigophora stretched about 1200 km along Western Australia's coastline from Derby to Rottnest Island. However, scientific data was not collected from this event, and a collection of anecdotal observations remains unpublished to this day.

Since that time, the species has been observed several more times, but not in the same numbers as in 2000. No explanation for its occurrence in Australian waters has been offered.

General References

Agassiz, L. 1849. Contributions to the natural history of the Acalephae of North America. Part I. On the naked eyed Medusae of the shores of Massachusetts, in their perfect state of development. Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 4: 221-316, pls 1-8

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469

Uchida, T. 1947. Some medusae from the Central Pacific. Journal of the Faculty of Science, Hokkaido University. Series VI. Zoology 9: 297–319, text-figs 1–13

History of changes

• Leonura Haeckel, E. 1880. System der Acraspeden. Zweite Halfte des System der Medusen. Jena : G. Fischer. [631].

  Type species:

   Leonura leptura Haeckel, 1880 by monotypy.

Distribution

States

New South Wales

Extra Distribution Information

New Zealand

Diagnosis

Catostylidae without free upper arms, with ribbon-shaped, very long and slender under-arms which only have suctorial crisps towards the distal end above the terminal knot, mouth cross with 8 rays and 8 adradial suctorial crisps, which form especial frills round the centre of the brachial disc.

Diagnosis References

Von Lendenfeld, R. 1884. The scyphomedusae of the southern hemisphere. Part III. - Conclusion. IV. Ordo - Discomedusae. Proceedings of the Linnean Society of New South Wales 9: 259–306 [305]

History of changes

• Leonura leptura Haeckel, E. 1880. System der Acraspeden. Zweite Halfte des System der Medusen. Jena : G. Fischer. [631].

Distribution

States

New South Wales

Extra Distribution Information

Reported in Australia by Whitelegge (1889) from New South Wales; New Zealand

Ecological Descriptors

Marine, planktonic.

Diagnosis

(as Leptobrachia leptopus): 80 mm wide, flatter than a hemisphere, exumbrella with regularly arranged polygonal elevations (caused during collecting by pressure of the net?); in each octant 8 + 2 sharply pointed lappets, the largest in the middle, converging furrows from the clefts upwards; mouth-arms about as long as bell diameter, slender, terminating in a triangular, pointed, naked extremity, 1/4 as long as entire mouth-arm.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [375]

Notes

Mayer (1910: 696-697) regarded the species as identical to Leonura terminalis of Haeckel (1880: 646), which is a modern name for Leptobrachia leptopus (Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821: 356). Kramp (1961: 375) regarded the species and genus doubtful under the name Leptobrachia leptopus.

General References

Chamisso, A. & Eysenhardt, C.G. 1821. De animalibus quibusdam e classe Vermium Linneana, in circumnavigatione terrae, auspicante Comite N. Romanzoff duce Ottone de Kotzebue, annis 1815–1818 per acta, observatis ... Nova Acta Academiae Caesareae Leopoldino-Carolinae Germanicae Naturae Curiosorum 10(2): 345–374, pls 24–33

Haeckel, E. 1880. System der Acraspeden. Zweite Halfte des System der Medusen. Jena : G. Fischer.

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469

Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977]

Whitelegge, T. 1889. List of the Marine and Freshwater Invertebrate Fauna of Port Jackson and the Neighbourhood. Journal and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New South Wales 23: 163-323

History of changes

Introduction

The family Lobonematidae includes two genera, Lobonema Mayer, 1910 and Lobonemoides Light, 1914; only Lobonema has been reported from Australian waters. The genus Lobonema was first reported in Australian waters by Alderslade (in Williamson et al. 1996), from medusae captured at Darwin, NT. The animals were originally reported as Lobonema smithii, but when later compared with type material, they were shown to be Lobonema mayeri (Gershwin & Alderslade pers. comm.). Originally described from the Philippines, Lobonema smithii has been subsequently reported by numerous authors from the Philippines, and from the Indian Ocean by Rao (1931).

Lobonema smithii and L. mayeri have been variously regarded as synonymous or as separate species by different authors. Gershwin (pers. comm.), after re-examination of the type species of L. smithii, considers L. smithii and L. mayeri (as described) to be morphologically distinct and are here treated as separate species.

Differs from L. smithii in that it has 12-16 rhopalia instead of eight, in that the circular muscle is completely interrupted in the ocular radii, in that it has a false ostium in each interostial pillar, and in that the inter-rhopaliar canals do not reach the bell margin.

Outside Australia, lobonematids have been found from the Philippines to the Indian Ocean. They may occasionally occur in dense swarms. In the Philippines, they have been thought to be quite dangerous (Smith, in Mayer, 1910; but see Light, 1914), but the Australian medusae merely give a painful sting.

Jellyfish in this family are quite distinctive. They have scattered erect, gelatinous papillae on the exumbrellar surface and frilly, floppy oral arms with windows along the fleshy portion. A key defining character of the group is the presence of 'pseudo-tentacles', i.e., tentacle-like structures that have been formed from elongation of marginal lappets.

The group appears to be highly desireable to commensals. An unidentified lobonematid with numerous ophiuroid hitch-hikers was photographed by Clay Bryce at the Western Australian Museum, and another series of photographs by an unknown photographer showed an unidentified lobonematid with gooseneck barnacles hanging from the margin of the bell. It seems likely that fish and crabs also may associate with lobonematids, since they are common associates of rhizostome medusae.

Diagnosis

Inscapuatae with intracircular network of anastomosing canals communicating with the ring canal and with some or all of the 16-32 radial canals, but not with the stomach; with window-like openings in the membranes of the mouth-arms; marginal lappets elongated, tentacle-like.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [375]

General References

Light, S.F. 1914. Some Philippine Scyphomedusae, including two new genera, five new species, and one new variety. Philippine Journal of Science D 9: 195–231

Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977]

Rao, H.S. 1931. Notes on Scyphomedusae in the Indian Museum. Records of the Indian Museum 33: 25-55, pls 3-4

Williamson, J., Fenner, P., Burnett, J. & Rifkin, J. (eds) 1996. Venomous and Poisonous Marine Animals: a medical and biological handbook. Sydney, Australia : NSW University Press 800 pp.

History of changes

• Lobonema Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977] [688].

  Type species:

   Lobonema smithii Mayer, 1910 by original designation.

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Philippines

Diagnosis

Lobonematidae with a large-meshed, intracircular anastomosing network, which communicates with both rhopaliar and inter-rhopaliar canals and with the ring canal.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [375]

History of changes

• Lobonema mayeri Light, S.F. 1914. Some Philippine Scyphomedusae, including two new genera, five new species, and one new variety. Philippine Journal of Science D 9: 195–231 [217].

  Type data:

   Syntype(s) UPLB C2424 2 specimens, Malampaya Sound, west coast of Palawan.

Miscellaneous Literature Names

• Lobonema smithii Mayer, 1910 [misidentification]. —
  Williamson, J., Fenner, P., Burnett, J. & Rifkin, J. (eds) 1996. Venomous and Poisonous Marine Animals: a medical and biological handbook. Sydney, Australia : NSW University Press 800 pp.

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Philippines

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, marine, neritic, planktonic.

Diagnosis

Differs from L. smithii in that it has 12-16 rhopalia instead of eight, in that the circular muscle is completely interrupted in the ocular radii, in that it has a false ostium in each interostial pillar, and in that the inter-rhopaliar canals do not reach the bell margin.

Diagnosis References

Light, S.F. 1914. Some Philippine Scyphomedusae, including two new genera, five new species, and one new variety. Philippine Journal of Science D 9: 195–231 [221]

Notes

Lobonema has been further photographed by Kevin Kinnealey with hitch-hiking brittle stars, in the waters off tropical Western Australia.

General References

Williamson, J., Fenner, P., Burnett, J. & Rifkin, J. (eds) 1996. Venomous and Poisonous Marine Animals: a medical and biological handbook. Sydney, Australia : NSW University Press 800 pp. (misidentified as Lobonema smithii Mayer, 1910)

History of changes

Introduction

The family Lychnorhizidae comprises three genera, Anomalorhiza Light, 1921, Lychnorhiza Haeckel, 1880 and Pseudorhiza von Lendenfeld, 1882. Only members of Pseudorhiza have been reported from Australian waters and, in fact, Pseudorhiza as yet has not been reported outside Australia.

The family is distinctive in having a series of blind-ending, centripetal canals between the 16 radial canals, and large, frilly oral arms.

Diagnosis

Inscapulatae with centripetal, usually blindly ending and not anastomosing canals between the 16 radial canals; with broad, much folded mouth-arms.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [365]

History of changes

• Pseudorhiza Von Lendenfeld, R. 1882. Über eine übergangsform zwischen Semostomen und Rhizostomen. Zoologischer Anzeiger 5: 380–383 [380].

  Type species:

   Pseudorhiza aurosa Von Lendenfeld, 1882 by subsequent designation, see Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977] [682].
• Monorhiza Haacke, W. 1887. Die Scyphomedusen des St. Vincent Golfes. Jenaische Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft 20: 588–638, 3 pls [614].

  Type species:

   Pseudorhiza haeckelii Haacke, 1884 (=Monorhiza haeckelii (Haacke, 1887)) by original designation.

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Mayer, A.G. 1910. Medusae of the World. Vol. 1 and 2, The Hydromedusae. Vol. 3, The Scyphomedusae. Washington, D.C. : Carnegie Institution 735 pp., 76 pls. [reprinted by A. Asher & Co., 1977] [682]

Introduction

The genus Pseudorhiza has a long and complicated nomenclatural history, a summary of which has recently been submitted for publication (Gershwin & Zeidler, in review).

Briefly, pending publication, von Lendenfeld (1882) described the species P. aurosa, and figured it with 8 symmetrically-placed appendages, i.e., one on each moutharm; this form has not been reported since, and is likely to be apocryphal. Haacke (1884) described the species P. haeckelii, with only a single asymmetrically-placed appendage, i.e., one on one moutharm. Occasionally specimens are found with two moutharms, and once I have seen a photograph of a specimen with three moutharms, but by a huge margin, one is the norm. To emphasize this difference, Haacke (1887) subsequently moved his species to the genus Monorhiza, which has not been adopted by other authors.

However, this form was previously described by Péron & Lesueur (1810) under the names Favonia octonema and Lymnorea triedra. Both of these species were long regarded as unidentifiable hydromedusae (except by Agassiz, 1862: 159, who treated them as obscure rhizostomes), and as such were eventually suppressed from the scientific literature.

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Diagnosis

Lychnorhizidae with mouth-arms with very long terminal clubs, with or without filaments between the mouths; eight radial canals reaching bell margin, eight only reaching ring canal; in each of the 16 spaces 10 centripetal unbranched, blind vessels.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [367]

General References

Agassiz, L. 1862. Contributions to the Natural History of the United States of America. Second monograph. In five parts — Pt. I Acalephs in general. Pt. II Ctenophore. Pt. III. Discophorae. Pt. IV. Hydroidae. Pt. V. Homologies of the Radiata. Boston, London : Little Brown, Trubner Vol. IV i-viii, 380 pp. + (1-10), pls 20-35. [159]

Haacke, W. 1884. Pseudorhiza haeckelii, sp.n. der Endspross des Discomedusenstammes. Biologisches Zentralblatt 4: 291–294 [291]

Haacke, W. 1887. Die Scyphomedusen des St. Vincent Golfes. Jenaische Zeitschrift für Naturwissenschaft 20: 588–638, 3 pls

Péron, F. & Lesueur, C.A. 1810. Tableau des caractères génériques et spécifiques de toutes les espèces de méduses connues jusqu'à ce jour. Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris 14: 325–366

Von Lendenfeld, R. 1882. Über eine übergangsform zwischen Semostomen und Rhizostomen. Zoologischer Anzeiger 5: 380–383 [380]

History of changes

• Pseudorhiza aurosa Von Lendenfeld, R. 1882. Über eine übergangsform zwischen Semostomen und Rhizostomen. Zoologischer Anzeiger 5: 380–383 [380].

  Type data:

   Holotype BMNH 86.7.8.7, 8, 9 manubrium and oral arms, plus 2 marginal bodies, Port Phillip Bay, VIC.

Distribution

States

Victoria

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, epipelagic, estuary, marine, neritic.

Diagnosis

400 mm wide, about 130 mm high, flatly rounded, exumbrella rough; in each octant six velar lappets, each consisting of three secondary lappets; mouth-arms without filaments.

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [367]

Notes

Pseudorhiza aurosa was originally described from Port Phillip Bay in Victoria; it was described and figured as having one large palp emitting from each oral arm, i.e., a total of eight. It has not been reported again. It is possible that von Lendenfeld figured the medusa with eight palps, assuming that there must have been a symmetrical number, rather than actually observing eight; it is also possible that he found a deviant medusa with eight palps, but that this did not represent the true population; it is also possible that there was a population of 8-palped medusae, which has since disappeared.

History of changes

• Pseudorhiza haeckelii Haacke, W. 1884. Pseudorhiza haeckelii, sp.n. der Endspross des Discomedusenstammes. Biologisches Zentralblatt 4: 291–294 [291].
• Favonia octonema Péron, F. & Lesueur, C.A. 1810. Tableau des caractères génériques et spécifiques de toutes les espèces de méduses connues jusqu'à ce jour. Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris 14: 325–366 [328] [name unavailable].
• Lymnorea triedra Péron, F. & Lesueur, C.A. 1810. Tableau des caractères génériques et spécifiques de toutes les espèces de méduses connues jusqu'à ce jour. Annales du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris 14: 325–366 [329] [name unavailable].

Taxonomic Decision for Synonymy

• Gershwin, L. 2007. Personal communication.

Distribution

States

Northern Territory, South Australia, Tasmania, Victoria, Western Australia

Extra Distribution Information

Originally described from South Australia, this species was subsequently reported in Western Australia by Thiel (1926), Northern Territory by Kramp (1965), Victoria by Fancett (1986) and Tasmania by Edgar (1997). It is one of the commonest and most conspicuous jellyfishes in temperate Australian waters. Curiously, it does not seem to have made its way along the eastern seaboard.

Ecological Descriptors

Carnivorous, marine, neritic, planktonic.

Diagnosis

Pseudorhiza with the body 200–250 mm wide, 50–100 mm high; exumbrella rough; in each octant six wide, short, rounded velar lappets; each leaf of the three-winged mouth-arms with many flat, fern-like expansions; a single very long filament arises from the distal end of one of the mouth-arms

Diagnosis References

Kramp, P.L. 1961. Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1-469 [367]

General References

Edgar, G.J. 1997. Australian Marine Life, the plants and animals of temperate waters. Kew, Victoria, Australia : Reed Books 544 pp.

Fancett, M.S. 1986. Species composition and abundance of scyphomedusae in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria [Australia]. Australian Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research 37(3): 379–384

Kramp, P.L. 1965. Some medusae (mainly Scyphomedusae) from Australian coastal waters. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia 89: 257–278, pl. 1–3

History of changes