Catostylus townsendi Mayer, 1915

Aspe, Nonillon M. & James, Samuel W., 2017, Pheretima monotheca, Zoological Studies 55 (35), pp. 1-19 : 6-7

Catostylus townsendi Mayer, 1915

( Fig. 1d )

Class: Scyphozoa

Family: Catostylidae (Gegenbaur 1857)

Genus: Catostylus (Mayer 1915)

Description: This species has four pairs of oral arms that appear ribbon-like under the subumbrella without any marginal tentacles and terminal clubs. The number of lappets varies with deep clefts between lappets. Some specimens showed colour variations of the umbrella, mostly white or light pink with purple margins and only a few specimens with intense blue umbrellas, but all specimens exhibited dark brown spots on the umbrella surface and margin. The species has a mild sting. The average exumbrella diameter ranges from 100-120 cm.

Distribution and habitat: The species was found seasonally between April to June in large numbers at Pantai Melawi, east coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The distribution of C. townsendi includes the Malay Archipelago, Gulf of Siam, Borneo, Java and Indochina ( Kramp 1961).

Figures

Fig. 1. Jellyfish species collected in Malaysian waters. Cubozoan jellyfish; Morbakka sp. (a), Chiropsoides buitendijki (b); Scyphozoan jellyfish; Acromitus flagellatus (c), Catostylus townsendi (d), Cephea cephea (e), Chrysaora chinensis (f), Cyanea sp. (g), Lobonemoides robustus (h), Mastigias sp. (i), Phyllorhiza punctata (j), Rhopilema hispidum (k) and Rhopilema esculentum (l).