Euphysa aurata Forbes, 1848

Galea, Horia R., 2007, Hydroids and hydromedusae (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the fjords region of southern Chile, Zootaxa 1597 (1), pp. 1-116 : 29-30

Euphysa aurata Forbes, 1848

(fig. 7I, pl. 1K)

Euphysa aurata Forbes, 1848: 71 , fig. 3, pl. 13; Russell 1953: 90, figs 35E, 38, pl. 3 fig. 2; Kramp, 1959: 85, fig. 29; 1961: 36; 1968: 10, fig. 11; Brinckmann-Voss, 1970: 16, figs 12–15; Russell, 1970: 238; Fagetti, 1973: 36, pl. 1 fig. E; Goy et al., 1991: 104, fig. 9; Pagès et al., 1992: 20, fig. 19; Schuchert, 2001a: 42, fig. 29; Bouillon et al., 2004: 101, fig. 54A–D.

Corymorpha aurata: Naumov, 1969: 228 , figs 95–96.

Material examined. Plankton — off the Huinay Scientific Field Station , 13.i.2006 and 08, 09, 18, 19.ii.2006, 50–0 m, several medusae ( MHNG INVE 49035 ) .

Type locality. Brassay Sound , Shetland Islands .

Remarks. Only the medusa of this species was collected in the study area. Both the hydroid and the developmental stages of the medusa were described by Russell (1953). More recent redescriptions of the polyp stage are found in Naumov (1969) and Schuchert (2001a). Mature medusae from plankton are 2.9 mm high, 2.2 mm in width. Cnidome:

a) stenoteles, undischarged (9.8–11.6) x (9.1–9.5) µm, discharged (7.9–8.8) x (6.3–7.9) µm, on tentacles;

b) desmonemes, undischarged (7.0–7.4) x (5.3–5.6) µm, on tentacles.

World distribution. This species has a cosmopolitan distribution ( Pagès et al. 1992).

Records from Chile. Medusae examined here were from fjord Comau. Additional records are those of Fagetti (1973), who found the medusa in Valparaíso Bay, and Palma et al. (2007) with records from the southern channels (between the Gulf of Corcovado and Pulluche-Chacabuco channels).