Fifty years after the first report of freshwater medusae (Limnocnida indica) from Cauvery River in Krishanrajasagar Reservoir, there has been only one other published report of its occurrence in the Cauvery Basin at Hemavathi Reservoir, Kodagu District. Recent interest in freshwater photography has revealed three more locations in the Cauvery Basin where medusae are found. Medusae are often observed at these locations but are erroneously identified as invasive species. According to published literature, this is true of Craspedacusta sowerbii, a cosmopolitan species with only three confirmed reports from India. All these reports were from artificial structures such as ponds and aquaria. The native Limnocnida and exotic Craspedacusta can be distinguished from each other visually and with respect to temporal variation in the occurrence of their free swimming medusae. This short note is intended to shed light on the status, distribution, and field identification of L. indica, a species endemic to the Western Ghats of India.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.