| Tripedalia cystophora | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Class: | Cubozoa |
| Order: | Carybdeida |
| Family: | Tripedaliidae |
| Genus: | Tripedalia |
| Species: | T. cystophora |
| Binomial name | |
| Tripedalia cystophora Conant, 1897 [1] | |
Tripedalia cystophora is a small species of box jellyfish in the family Tripedaliidae. It is native to the Caribbean Sea and the Central Indo-Pacific.
The medusa of Tripedalia cystophora is about 1 cm (0.4 in) in diameter. Its boxy dome-shaped bell has a flattened top and is slightly wider than it is high. From a single point on each of the four corners of the bell arise three tentacles, each on a pedalium or stalk. The outer surface of the bell is granulated with small wart-like structures armed with nematocysts. About a quarter way up the bell are four rhopalia, cylindrical structures containing light-sensitive cells. About halfway up the bell, the four flattened gonads can be seen on the inside of the bell. The underside of the bell is partially constricted by a velarium, [2] a horizontal ring of tissue, [3] and in the centre is a manubrium, a tube-like structure which hangs down with the mouth at its tip. [4] This box jellyfish is a translucent yellowish-brown colour. [2]
The World Register of Marine Species lists the Caribbean Sea and the Central Indo-Pacific as habitats, but marks them as unreviewed. [1] Colonies of Tripedalia cystophora are found off the north coast of South America in the Atlantic Ocean. [2] One colony in Puerto Rico, in the Caribbean Sea, was found inhabiting the margins of mangrove lagoons. [5]
Box jellyfish swim by expanding and contracting their bells vigorously. [6] During the day Tripedalia cystophora is mostly to be found within 20 cm (8 in) of the surface, in sunlit positions among the prop roots of mangroves. These warm sunlit areas are where its main food item, the copepod Dioithona oculata , are to be found during the day. [5] Dense swarms of these copepods form in the illuminated patches of water where shafts of sunlight shine through the mangrove canopy. [7] Tripedalia cystophora forages by allowing itself to sink slowly towards the bottom with its tentacles spread out around it to snare its prey. [8]
Box jellyfish have complex visual systems. Each of the four rhopalia on the bell of Tripedalia cystophora consists of a group of six eyes of four morphological types. The uppermost and the lowest eye each contains a lens, and there are also a pair of slit eyes and a pair of pit eyes. It has been found that Tripedalia cystophora displays complex behaviours such as the avoidance of obstacles and fast swimming in a particular direction and is able to maintain its position in the shaft of sunlit water presumably by using visual cues. The presence or absence of the copepod prey or the quantity present does not seem to affect its turning behaviour or swimming speed but by remaining in the sunlit water it maximises the number of copepods on which it can feed. [7] It can detect a cylindrical object such as a root when it gets close enough to it and can then swerve sharply to one side to avoid it. [8] The visual system of Tripedalia cystophora is attributed to its central nervous system. It is suggested that the nerves of the rhopalial nervous system, located in each rhopalium, may be responsible for the processing of visual information. [9]
At night Tripedalia cystophora moves away from the mangroves a few metres further into the shallow lagoon and sinks to the bottom. It is not clear whether it settles on the bed of the lagoon or whether it swims slowly about among the seagrasses and green algae. This is because when an investigator shines a light to observe it, it reacts by rising towards the surface. [5] Each individual medusa of Tripedalia cystophora is gonochoristic (either male or female) and produces gametes. After fertilisation, the zygote develops into a planula larva which is brooded by the female inside the bell. [2] It is later expelled and settles to the bottom where it undergoes metamorphosis into a polyp about 1 mm (0.04 in) long with four, knob-tipped tentacles surrounding a mouth. This may produce further polyps by budding and these creep across the substrate before attaching themselves. The oral end of each polyp later differentiates into a proto-medusa which detaches itself from the base of the polyp to become a juvenile medusa and complete the life cycle. [6] [10]
A polyp in zoology is one of two forms found in the phylum Cnidaria, the other being the medusa. Polyps are roughly cylindrical in shape and elongated at the axis of the vase-shaped body. In solitary polyps, the aboral end is attached to the substrate by means of a disc-like holdfast called a pedal disc, while in colonies of polyps it is connected to other polyps, either directly or indirectly. The oral end contains the mouth, and is surrounded by a circlet of tentacles.
Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies, are the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria.
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.
Aequorea victoria, also sometimes called the crystal jelly, is a bioluminescent hydrozoan jellyfish, or hydromedusa, that is found off the west coast of North America.
Rhopalia from Ancient Greek ῥόπαλον (rhópalon) 'club' are small sensory structures of certain Scyphozoan and Cubozoan species.
Pelagia noctiluca is a jellyfish in the family Pelagiidae and the only currently recognized species in the genus Pelagia. It is typically known in English as the mauve stinger, but other common names are purple-striped jelly, purple stinger, purple people eater, purple jellyfish, luminous jellyfish and night-light jellyfish. In Greek, pelagia means "(she) of the sea", from pelagos "sea, open sea"; in Latin noctiluca is the combining form of nox, "night"", and lux, "light"; thus, Pelagia noctiluca can be described as a marine organism with the ability to glow in the dark (bioluminescence). It is found worldwide in tropical and warm temperate seas, although it is suspected that records outside the North Atlantic region, which includes the Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico, represent closely related but currently unrecognized species.
Discomedusae is a subclass of jellyfish in the class Scyphozoa. It is the sister taxon of Coronamedusae. Discomedusae contains about 155 named species and there are likely to be many more as yet undescribed. Jellyfish in this subclass are much more likely to have swarming events or form blooms than those in Coronamedusae. Discomedusae consists of two orders, Rhizostomeae and Semaeostomeae.
Carybdea is a genus of venomous box jellyfish within the family Carybdeidae that currently consists of a total of 8 species. This genus of jellyfish are often found in warm waters around the world in waters such as the Mediterranean Sea, the Pacific Ocean, and off the coast of Africa. Their sting can cause a range of effects depending on the species. These invertebrates will go through both sexual and asexual reproduction as they transform from a polyp to medusa. Carybdea have a box-shaped bell with four tentacles and eye-like sensory structures. There are distinct physical markings that differentiate many species within the genus. While Carybdea use their venom to act as predators, they are also preyed on by turtles and various fish. They feed on plankton, invertebrates, fish, and some crustaceans.
Atolla wyvillei, also known as the Atolla jellyfish, Coronate medusa, and deep-sea jellyfish, is a species of deep-sea crown jellyfish. It lives in oceans around the world. Like many species of mid-water animals, it is deep red in color. This species was named in honor of Sir Charles Wyville Thomson, chief scientist on the Challenger expedition.
Carukia barnesi is an extremely venomous jellyfish found near Australia. Stings can result in Irukandji syndrome, and this species is commonly known as Irukandji jellyfish, although this name does not distinguish it from other Irukandji jellyfish such as Malo kingi.
Catostylus mosaicus is also known as the Jelly blubber or Blue blubber jellyfish. The jelly blubber is distinguishable by its color, which ranges from light blue to a dark blue or purple, and its large (250-300mm), rounded bell which pulses in a staccato rhythm. It occurs along the coastline of Eastern Australia in estuaries and shallow bays, and often blooms to high abundance.
Vallentinia gabriellae, the hitch-hiking jellyfish, is a species of small, inconspicuous hydrozoan in the family Olindiidae. It is endemic to a few isolated parts of the western Atlantic Ocean. It is elusive in the wild but sometimes makes its appearance unexpectedly in seawater cultures of other organisms in the laboratory.
Copula is a monotypic genus of box jellyfish in the family Tripedaliidae of the phylum Cnidaria. The only species in the genus is Copula sivickisi, a very small gelatinous, bell-shaped jellyfish with four tentacles that is active only at night. It is unusual among box jellyfish in having a mating ritual and internal fertilization. Its scientific name honours the Lithuanian zoologist Pranciškus Baltrus Šivickis.
Dioithona oculata is a species of small crustacean, a marine copepod in the order Cyclopoida. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region but has spread to other parts of the world. It is a free-swimming epipelagic species found near the surface of the water. It was first described as Oithona oculata by the Irish zoologist George Philip Farran in 1913.
Carybdea marsupialis is a venomous species of box jellyfish, in the small family Carybdeidae within the class Cubozoa.
Chironex yamaguchii, commonly known as ハブクラゲ and as "hub jellyfish" due to erroneous machine translations, is a species of box jellyfish found in coastal waters around Japan, on Okinawa and the Ryukyu Islands, and in the Philippines. Discovered in 2009, it is highly venomous and has been the cause of several deaths in Japanese waters.
The thimble jellyfish is a species of cnidarian found in the warm West Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean. It is a tiny jellyfish with a straight-sided, flat-topped bell. This jellyfish is the most common cause of seabather's eruption, a reaction caused by the injection of juvenile jellyfish nematocysts into human skin.
The South American sea nettle is a species of jellyfish from the family Pelagiidae. It is found from the Pacific coast of Peru, south along Chile's coast to Tierra del Fuego, and north along the Atlantic coast of Argentina, with a few records from Uruguay. Despite its common name, it is not the only sea nettle in South America. For example, C. lactea is another type of sea nettle in this region. Historically, C. plocamia was often confused with C. hysoscella, a species now known to be restricted to the northeast Atlantic. C. plocamia is a large jellyfish, up to 1 m in bell diameter, although most mature individuals only are 25–40 cm (10–16 in).
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.
Tripedalia is a genus within the family Tripedaliidae that is part of the box jellyfish, also known as the Cubozoa. There are only three known species within Tripedalia: T. cystophora, T. binata and T. maipoensis.
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