Edgar Gamero Mora, Allen G. Collins, Sheldon Rey Boco, Serafin Mendez Geson, Andre C. Morandini
Morphological variability within Cassiopea is well documented and has led to inaccuracies in the establishment of species boundaries in this taxon. Cassiopea medusae specimens from the Western Pacific (Japan and the Philippines) were analysed using multiple lines of complementary evidence, including types of cnidae, macro-morphology and molecular data. These observations lead to the recognition of two distinct species: Cassiopea mayeri, sp. nov. and a previously synonymised variety now raised to species level (Cassiopea culionensis, stat. nov.). These species can be distinguished from each other using morphological features. Herein, sexually dimorphic traits are included for the first time in the descriptions of Cassiopea species. Nematocyst types not previously observed in the genus are also reported. Molecular analyses, based on individual and combined markers (16S + cytochrome c oxidase I, COI), also support two distinct species; they are not sister taxa, and both are nested together within a clade of other Cassiopea members from the Australian and Indo-Pacific regions. Species richness is underestimated in the Western Pacific region, and integrative approaches are helpful to reveal and describe species. The systematics of Cassiopea is far from completely understood, but the present study represents an important further step. http://www.zoobank.org/References/B1A66787-009D-4465-954A-412C6878FCB4. © 2022 CSIRO. All rights reserved.
Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociencias, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rua do Matao Travessa 14, Sao Paulo, 05508-090, Brazil; Natl. Systematics Lab. of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, 20013-7012, WA, United States; School of Environment and Science and Australian Rivers Institute-Coasts and Estuaries, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, 4215, QLD, Australia; Marine Biology Section, University of San Carlos, Cebu City, Philippines; Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de Sao Paulo, Rodovia Dr Manoel Hipolito Do Rego, Sao Sebastiao, 11612-109, Brazil
