Vampyrocrossota

Vampyrocrossota
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Hydrozoa
Order:	Trachymedusae
Family:	Rhopalonematidae
Genus:	Vampyrocrossota Thuesen, 1993
Species:	V. childressi
Binomial name
Vampyrocrossota childressi Thuesen, 1993

Vampyrocrossota is a genus of hydrozoans of the family Rhopalonematidae. ^[1] The genus only contains one species, Vampyrocrossota childressi. ^[2] Unlike many hydromedusae, these animals do not have a sessile stage. Rather, they spend their entire lives in the water column as plankton. It is the only known species with a medusa that is truly black. ^[1]

Distribution

Vampyrocrossota childressi has only been found in the Pacific Ocean off California and British Columbia. ^[3] This deep-sea animal lives between 600–1475 m depth. ^[1]

Etymology

This species was named after James J. Childress, a marine biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara who helped discover this jellyfish. ^[4]

References

1. Thuesen, E.V. 1993. Vampyrocrossota childressi, a new genus and species of black medusa from the bathypelagic zone off California (Cnidaria: Trachymedusae: Rhopalonematidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 106 (1): 190-194. http://biostor.org/cache/pdf/a3/f3/cc/a3f3cc72a73958a5bc0da92920424458.pdf
2. Vampyrocrossota childressi Thuesen, E.V. 1993 . Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species .
3. Thuesen, E.V., 2003. Crossota millsae (Cnidaria: Trachymedusae: Rhopalonematidae), a new species of viviparous hydromedusa from the deep sea off California and Hawaii. Zootaxa, 309: 1-12 http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2003f/zt00309.pdf
4. "Biographical Etymology of Marine Organism Names". Archived from the original on 2 January 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2012.