Ocyropsis maculata ( Rang, 1828 )

Ruiz-Escobar, Fernando, Valadez-Vargas, Diana K. & Oliveira, Otto M. P., 2015, Ctenophores from the Oaxaca coast, including a checklist of species from the Pacific coast of Mexico, Zootaxa 3936 (3), pp. 435-445 : 437-439

Ocyropsis maculata ( Rang, 1828)

( Fig. 2 )

Material examined. Oaxaca, Mexico, 21 specimens; UMAR-CTEN-001, 2 specimens (Puerto Ángel, 15°39'31'' N, 96°28'51'' W, 2 m, 4 January 2014, coll. D.K. Valadez-Vargas); UMAR-CTEN-002, 4 specimens (Zipolite, 15°38’55’’ N, 96°31’30’’ W, 2 m, 11 January 2014, coll. D.K. Valadez-Vargas); UMAR-CTEN-003, 7 specimens (Puerto Ángel, 15°39'31 '' N, 96°28'51'' W, 2 m, 12 January 2014, coll. D.K. Valadez-Vargas); UMAR-CTEN-004, 4 specimens (Zipolite, 15°39’14’’ N, 96°31’44’’ W, 2 m, 18 January 2014, coll. D.K. Valadez-Vargas); UMAR- CTEN-006, 4 specimens (Zipolite, 15°38’49’’ N, 96°31’46’’ W, 2 m, 25 January 2014, coll. D.K. Valadez-Vargas).

Description. Body translucent, without dark spots in the inner side of the lobes. Body highly compressed in the tentacular plane ( Fig. 2 A). Reduced tentacle bulbs present, along with tentacular canals. Lacking tentacles and warts. Substomodeal ctene rows with 35–37 ctene plates. Subtentacular ctene rows with 25–27 ctene plates, not reaching beyond the base of the lobes. Apical organ at the aboral extremity of the body ( Fig. 2 D). Two prominent cup-like lobes. Meridional canals extending to the lobes, presenting conspicuous turns inside it ( Fig. 2 D). Auricles arising at the base of the lobes, distally able to reach the mouth. Pharynx compressed in the tentacular plane, presenting a constriction in the middle part, forming a characteristic hourglass shape and opening in a broad mouth ( Fig. 2 C, D). Gonads present along the substomodeal meridional canals orally beyond the end of the ctene rows.

Remarks. The specimens studied here are similar to those described by Wrobel & Mills (2003), except for the absence of large dark spots in the oral lobes. They can be regarded as Ocyropsis maculata immaculata according to the definition of Harbison & Miller (1986). Although in principle we accept the diagnoses of Harbison & Miller (1986) for the two subspecies ( Ocyropsis maculata maculata and Ocyropsis maculata immaculata ), in this paper we do not distinguish between them, since we think that morphological variations are inherent to species and because the species level allows the inclusion of intermediary morphotypes.

Distribution. Ocyropsis maculata Rang, 1828 is known from tropical and subtropical epipelagic waters in the northeastern Pacific, occasionally as far north as southern California ( Wrobel & Mills 2003) and the Gulf of Mexico ( Moss 2009), also the western Pacific, Atlantic Ocean ( Harbison & Miller 1986) and Indian Ocean (Gul & Oliveira, in press).

Figures

FIGURE 2. Ocyropsis maculata (Rang, 1828). A, B, aboral view of damaged adult; C, stomodeal view of a compete adult; D, oral view of damaged adult; E, juvenile specimen in the stomodeal plane. Legend: ao, apical organ; au, auricle; lo, lobe; mo, mouth; ph, pharynx; sscr, substomodeal ctene row; stcr, subtentacular ctene row.