| Lipkea ruspoliana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Staurozoa |
| Order: | Stauromedusae |
| Family: | Lipkeidae |
| Genus: | Lipkea |
| Species: | L. ruspoliana |
| Binomial name | |
| Lipkea ruspoliana Vogt, 1886 | |
Lipkea ruspoliana is a species of stalked jellyfish. Lipkea species lack tentacles at the end of their bell. [1] [2] [3]
Cnidaria is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in freshwater and marine environments, predominantly the latter.
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella-shaped bells and trailing tentacles, although a few are anchored to the seabed by stalks rather than being mobile. The bell can pulsate to provide propulsion for highly efficient locomotion. The tentacles are armed with stinging cells and may be used to capture prey and defend against predators. Jellyfish have a complex life cycle; the medusa is normally the sexual phase, which produces planula larva that disperse widely and enter a sedentary polyp phase before reaching sexual maturity.
Box jellyfish are cnidarian invertebrates distinguished by their box-like body. Some species of box jellyfish produce potent venom delivered by contact with their tentacles. Stings from some species, including Chironex fleckeri, Carukia barnesi, Malo kingi, and a few others, are extremely painful and often fatal to humans.
Aurelia aurita is a widely studied species of the genus Aurelia. All species in the genus are very similar, and it is difficult to identify Aurelia medusae without genetic sampling; most of what follows applies equally to all species of the genus. The most common method used to identify the species consists of selecting a jellyfish from a harbour using a device, usually a drinking glass and then photographing the subject. This means that they can be released in to the harbour shortly afterwards and return to their natural habitat.
In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work mainly like muscular hydrostats. Most forms of tentacles are used for grasping and feeding. Many are sensory organs, variously receptive to touch, vision, or to the smell or taste of particular foods or threats. Examples of such tentacles are the eyestalks of various kinds of snails. Some kinds of tentacles have both sensory and manipulatory functions.
Medusozoa is a clade in the phylum Cnidaria, and is often considered a subphylum. It includes the classes Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, Staurozoa and Cubozoa, and possibly the parasitic Polypodiozoa. Medusozoans are distinguished by having a medusa stage in their often complex life cycle, a medusa typically being an umbrella-shaped body with stinging tentacles around the edge. With the exception of some Hydrozoa, all are called jellyfish in their free-swimming medusa phase.
Stauromedusae are the stalked jellyfishes. They are the sole living members of the class Staurozoa, and belong to the medusozoa subphylum of Cnidaria. They are unique among medusa jellyfish in that they do not have an alternation of polyp and medusa life cycle phases but are instead interpreted as an attached medusa stage, with a life style more resembling that of polypoid forms. They have a generally trumpet-shaped body, oriented upside-down in comparison with other jellyfish, with the tentacles projecting upwards, and the stalk located in the centre of the umbrella.
Staurozoa is a class of Medusozoa, jellyfishes and hydrozoans. It has one extant order: Stauromedusae. A fossil group called Conulariida has been proposed as a second order, although this is highly speculative. The extinct order is largely unknown and described as a possibly cnidarian clade of marine life with shell-like structures, the Conulariida. Staurozoans are small animals that live in marine environments, usually attached to seaweeds, rocks, or gravel. They have a large antitropical distribution, a majority found in boreal or polar, near-shore, and shallow waters. Few staurozoans are found in warmer tropical and subtropical water environments of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Ocean basins, but most are known from the Northern Hemisphere. Over the years their number of species has increased, thus right now it is said to have an estimated 50 species.
Turritopsis dohrnii, also known as the immortal jellyfish, is a species of small, biologically immortal jellyfish found worldwide in temperate to tropic waters. It is one of the few known cases of animals capable of reverting completely to a sexually immature, colonial stage after having reached sexual maturity as a solitary individual. Others include the jellyfish Laodicea undulata and species of the genus Aurelia.
Carybdeida is an order of box jellyfish. There are five families within the order. They are distinguished from other box jellyfish by the presence of unbranched muscular bases at the corners of the cubic umbrella. Most species have four tentacles.
Calvadosia cruxmelitensis is a stalked jellyfish which inhabits the intertidal and sublittoral zones of rocky coasts in south-western England and the Atlantic coast of Ireland.
Haliclystus auricula is a stalked jellyfish found in the Northern hemisphere. It is the type species for its genus.
Haliclystidae is a family of stalked jellyfish in the order Stauromedusae.
Lipkea is a genus of stalked jellyfish. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Lipkeidae. Lipkea species lack tentacles at the end of their bell.
The bell trumpet jelly, is a species of stalked jellyfish in the family Lipkeidae.
Kyopoda is a genus of stalked jellyfish, It has only one species in the genus, Kyopoda lamberti, and is in turn the only genus in the family Kyopodiidiae.
Manania handi is a species of stalked jellyfish found in the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of North America. This species can be found in shallow waters at low tide on soft substrates such as seagrass (Phyllospadix), but the related M. gwilliami have also been recovered at depths of >10 metres. This may reflect that intertidal specimens represent the fringes of a population that is typically more commonly found in the subtidal zone.
Manania gwilliami is a species of stalked jellyfish found in intertidal and subtidal zones on the west coast of North America. The stalk (peduncle) is described as being as long or longer than the calyx; the calyx typically has mottled pigmentation throughout. The name "gwilliami" refers to G.F. Gwilliam who described a number of stauromedusae in the mid-20th century.
Haliclystus sanjuanensis is a species of small (~4 cm) stalked jellyfish found in the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of North America. This species can be found in shallow waters at low tide on soft substrates such as seagrass (Phyllospadix). A variety of colour morphs can be found ranging from yellow-green to red. Haliclystus sanjuanensis remains undescribed officially, despite sequence data establishing it as a distinct taxon.
Chiropsella bronzie is a species of box jellyfish. It is considered much less of a threat to humans than some of its relatives. The species was described in 2006, and is one of four species in the genus Chiropsella. Chiropsella bronzie can be found in shallow waters off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
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