Cassiopea andromeda (Forsskål, 1775) in the Gulf of Kutch, India: initial discovery of the scyphistoma, and a record of the medusa in nearly a century

Abstract

Background: Cassiopea andromeda is reported here after long gap of almost a century from the Gulf of Kutch, Gujarat. This is the first record of scyphistoma form of the species from India and first record of the medusa from the Arambhada coast. Results: An upside down scyphozoan jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda belong to family Cassiopeidae. Identification and description of medusa and scyphistomae were given based on morphological characters. Conclusions: This paper discusses about the variation in colour form, aggregation of medusae and morphology of polyp.

The puzzling occurrence of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa) along the Brazilian coast: a result of several invasion events?

“…These records, however, are tied to an outdated taxonomic knowledge (species diversity) of the genus where there is no clear consensus about which species are invaders (Holland et al 2004, Graham and Bayha 2007, Morandini et al 2017, Ohdera et al 2018, Jarms and Morandini 2019. Since a reliable identification of the species in this genus is only possible with the use of molecular data, owing to the phenotypic plasticity of these jellyfish (Holland et al 2004, Morandini et al 2017, Maggio et al 2019, most of the records that are not based on this marker cannot be trusted (e.g., Çevik et al 2006, Keable and Ahyong 2016, Prasade et al 2016, Cillari et al 2018.…”

First record of upside-down jellyfish <em>Cassiopea andromeda</em> (Forskål, 1775) (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa: Rhizostomeae: Cassiopeidae) from Sri Lanka

“…Also, this medusa was morphologically identified and reported previously in India as C. andromeda var. maldivensis by Browne (1916) and Rao (1931); and as C. andromeda by Menon (1930Menon ( , 1936, Venkataraman et al (2012), and Prasade et al (2016). Records on the Gulf of Mannar belong to Indian waters are out from Sri Lankan EEZ.…”

Does seawater acidification affect zooxanthellae density and health in the invasive upside‐down jellyfish, Cassiopea spp.?

“…are already expanding in several coastal areas. First accounts of the presence of individuals of the genus Cassiopea have recently been reported in Australia (Keable & Ahyong, ), Hawaii (Holland et al, ), and India (Prasade et al, ), as well as multiple invasions in Turkey (Çevik, Erkol, & Toklu, ; Gülşahin & Tarkan, ; Özgür & Öztürk, ). Jellyfish increases may be linked to climate change or ecological release from competitors (Brodeur, Mills, Overland, Walters, & Schumacher, ; Brodeur, Sugisaki, & Hunt, ).…”

“…Invasions of Cassiopea spp. have been documented worldwide, including Australia (Keable & Ahyong, ), Brazil (Morandini, Stampar, Maronna, & Silveira, ), Hawaii, USA (Holland et al, ), India (Prasade, Nagale, & Apte, ), and Turkey (Özgür & Öztürk, ).…”