Family NAUSITHOIDAE Haeckel, 1880

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Introduction

Two genera are currently recognised in the family Nausithoidae, namely, Nausithoe Kölliker, 1853, with eight gonads, and Palephyra Haeckel, 1880 with four gonads. Only species of one genus, Nausithoe, have been found in Australian waters, from localities as diverse as Torres Strait and Great Barrier Reef to the Great Australian Bight.

At first glance, nausithoids look like ephyrae (larval scyphozoans), having a flat body with well-developed marginal lappets. They have eight tentacles and rhopalia. Species are distinguished on the basis of gonad number and position, gonad shape, smoothness or furrowing or pitting of the central disk, number of cirri in each cluster, and colouration.

A key to the coronate polyps and nausithoid medusae was developed by Jarms (1991).

Diagnosis

Coronate scyphomedusae with four perradial and four interradial marginal sense organs; with eight adradial marginal tentacles; without sac-like pouches on subumbrella; with four or eight gonads.

Diagnosis References

Russell, F.S. 1970. Medusae of the British Isles. II. Pelagic Scyphozoa with a Supplement to the First Volume on Hydromedusae. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press 284 pp. [29]

General References

Jarms, G. 1991. Taxonomic characters from the polyp tubes of coronate medusae (Scyphozoa, Coronatae). Hydrobiologia 216: 463-470

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