Nausithoe werneri Jarms, 1990

Molinari, Clarissa G., Collins, Allen G. & Morandini, André C., 2023, A morphological review of the jellyfish genus Nausithoe Kölliker, 1853 (Nausithoideae, Coronatae, Scyphozoa, Cnidaria), Zootaxa 5336 (1), pp. 1-32 : 26

Nausithoe werneri Jarms, 1990

( Fig. 17 )

Nausithoe werneri Jarms, 1990: 12–17 , figs 1–7, pls I–III.

Holotype ZMH C11530 .

Material examined: ZMH C10693 (four specimens from Portugal, no information on depth), ZMH C10602 (eight specimens from Morocco 1967, no information on depth), more than 27 specimens kept in culture (polyps from Morocco 1980, depth: 800–3,000 m; Mediterranean Sea 2008, depth: 200m; and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 2002, depth: 200–227 m) .

Diagnosis: medusa—hyperdome bell, translucid, with straw hat shape; polyp—solitary with 8 cusps per whorl.

Description: Based on original description and own observations. Adult medusae 5.7–12 mm in diameter with 3.85–7.74 mm of this the central disc, with a high translucid hyperdome bell with straw hat shape; marginal lobes partially overlapping, rounded; tentacles up to 7 mm long; rhopalia with statocyst and ocelli; rounded, brown/ yellowish, gonads located above the coronal groove (dioecious). Polyp solitary; 2.56–31.43 mm in total length; aperture diameter 0.33–1.65 mm; 0.08–0.40 mm diameter just above the basal disc; 8 cusps per whorl and a maximum of 14 whorls, cusps have additional teeth on the surface; 40–50 tentacles; over 100 ephyrae per strobilation.

Type locality: Morocco coast, 415–420 m depth .

Distribution: NE Atlantic Ocean, SW Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Arctic Ocean.

Remarks: Examined specimens with a thimble-shaped transparent central disc, with 4 to 8 gastric filaments, which made their identification as N. werneri possible. Gonads are round and yellowish, located under or outside the coronal grove. Maximum diameter of specimens was 7 mm and tentacles were up to 3 mm long. All specimens from Brazil were males.

Figures

FIGURE 17. Nausithoe werneri. A—Side view of adult medusa showing the hyperdome bell; illustration from Jarms 1990. B—Aboral view of male medusa from laboratory culture showing the gastric filaments (gf), the gonads (g) and the wide marginal lappets (ml) overlapping. C—Aboral view of medusa (ZMH C10693) showing the coronal groove (cg), gastrovascular cavity (gc) and marginal lappets (ml); D—Oral view of medusa (ZMH C10602), emphasizing the mouth (mo), gonads (g) and tentacles (t).