Nausithoe maculata Jarms, 1990

Molinari, Clarissa G., Collins, Allen G. & Morandini, André C., 2023, A morphological review of the jellyfish genus Nausithoe Kölliker, 1853 (Nausithoideae, Coronatae, Scyphozoa, Cnidaria), Zootaxa 5336 (1), pp. 1-32 : 13-15

Nausithoe maculata Jarms, 1990

( Fig. 8 )

Nausithoe maculata Jarms, 1990: 21–24 , figs 15–17, pl. V.

Nausithoe aurea Silveira & Morandini, 1997: 236–239 , figs 1–7, pls I–II.

Holotype ZMH C11534 .

Material examined: NMNH 57648 , 57650 , 57651 , 57657 , 57660 , 57656 , 57658 and 57659 (more than 100 specimens from Puerto Rico 1975, no information on depth), NMNH 43306 (eight specimens from Dry Tortugas 1929, no information on depth), NMNH 57764 , 57765 , 57766 , 57767 , 57768 , 57772 and 57773 (more than 50 specimens from Belize 1978, no information on depth); 24 medusae from culture (polyps from Cuba 2001 and S„o Sebasti „o, Brazil 2018, shallow waters) and photo from underwater photographers, Linda Ianniello and Suzan Meldonian ( SE Florida, USA 2015–2016, depth: 6–12 m) .

Diagnosis: medusa—hypodome bell with one yellow pigment spot in each lappet; polyp—solitary with 16 cusps per whorl.

Description: Based on original description. Adult medusa 4 mm in diameter, 2 mm of this the central disc; flattened transparent umbrella (hypodome) with a yellow pigment spot in the center of each lappet; rounded lappets with pointed tips; rhopalia with statocyst and red ocellus; 7 gastric filaments per quadrant (28 in total); spherical gonads (in life female blue, male brownish). Polyp solitary; living in shallow waters (5–10 m); 13 mm total length; 16 cusps per whorl; maximum of 8 whorls of cusps. When describing Nausithoe aurea, Morandini & Silveira (2001a , b) highlighted the production of a planuloid by the polyp, apart from the typical strobilation resulting in ephyrae. This feature has not been observed in polyps from Cuba or Puerto Rico.

Type locality: Puerto Rico (shallow waters).

Distribution: Caribbean, Florida ( USA), Brazil.

Remarks: Examined specimens had from three to seven gastric filaments per quadrant. The gonads were round, varying in color from dark brown to yellowish-white. Specimens had a maximum total diameter of 6 mm and tentacles were about 3 mm long. There is a report of N. aurea from the Cape Verde Islands ( León et al. 2005), but no image is provided and the identity could not be checked.

Figures

FIGURE 8. Nausithoe maculata. C–E: NMNH 57660. A—Side view of adult medusa from SE Florida (photo: © Linda Ianniello 2015). B—Side view of adult medusa from W Palm Beach, Florida, note the dark eggs inside the gonads (photo: © Suzan Meldonian 2016). C—Oral view of the medusa, showing the mouth (mo) and gonads (g). D—Aboral view of the medusa, showing the coronal groove (cg) and gastrovascular cavity (gc) with cirri. E—Detail of rhopalium (rh), with statocyst (s) and ocellus (e), and marginal lappets (ml) with the yellow pigment spot (ps), essential for identifying this species.