Aurelia sp., 1816

Estrada-González, Mariae C., Agüero, José & Mendoza-Becerril, María A., 2023, Medusozoans from the Mexican Pacific: a review based on historical literature and recent observations, Journal of Natural History 57 (1), pp. 784-853 : 814

Aurelia sp.

Material examined

2, medusae, mature and immature; El Conchalito Beach, La Paz Bay , Baja California Sur, 24.144°N, 110.344°W; depth 1 m; 26 August 2018; ECO-CH-Z 11777 . – 1, medusa, mature; El Caimancito Beach, La Paz Bay , Baja California Sur, 24.206°N, 110.301°W; depth 0–1 m; 16 July 2019; ECO-CH-Z 11772 .

Identification (after Mayer 1910)

Umbrella hemispherical, margin with eight velar lappets, eight rhopalia, and numerous small tentacles. A central stomach with a simple mouth arises from all canals and connects with the circular canal; four interradial gonads alternate with four oral arms. Four perradial canals, four interradial canals, eight adradial canals, and 16 anastomosing nets of radiating canals.

Distribution

A medusa of this genus was previously recorded on the west coast of the Gulf of California, Baja California Sur, under the name Aurelia sp. 12 ( Gómez Daglio and Dawson 2017). Elsewhere in the gulf, it has been recorded in Sonora, Sinaloa and Nayarit as Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus, 1758) ( Gómez-Aguirre 1991) .

Remarks

Aurelia aurita (Linnaeus, 1758) has been recorded from the Gulf of California, but no morphological description is available ( Gómez-Aguirre 1991). The incorporation of molecular data distinguishes the lineage Aurelia sp. 12 for the west coast of the Gulf of California ( Gómez Daglio and Dawson 2017; Lawley et al. 2021), and given the cryptic speciation in Aurelia ( Dawson and Jacobs 2001) , a detailed morphometric and genetically based taxonomic investigation is required to resolve the identity of this species in the MP.