Granrojo

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Granrojo

Image:Http://thescyphozoan.ucmerced.edu/tSimage/Tib granrojo2.jpg

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Scyphozoa
Order:	Scyphomedusae
Family:	Ulmaridae
Genus:	Tiburonia
Species:	T. granrojo

Binomial name

Tiburonia granrojo
Matsumoto, 2003

Granrojo or big red, Tiburonia granrojo, is a recently discovered jellyfish of the family Ulmaridae, the only member of its genus yet identified. It is one of the largest sea jellies and unusual in a number of ways. Tiburonia granrojo live at ocean depths of between 600 and 1500 metres and have been found across the Pacific Ocean in the Sea of Cortez, Monterey Bay, Hawaii and Japan. They grow to between 60 and 90 cm (2 to 3 feet) in diameter and have thick fleshy oral arms in place of the long tentacles found in most jellies. The entire jellyfish is deep red in color.

To date, only 23 members of the species have been found and only one, a small specimen (under 15 cm) has been retrieved for further study. Several high resolution videos of granrojo have been taken by remote controlled submarines. Its discovery was announced by George Matsumoto and colleagues in Marine Biology in 2003.

[edit] References

Matsumoto, G. I., Raskoff, K. A., & Lindsay, D. J. (2003). Tiburonia granrojo n. sp., a mesopelagic scyphomedusa from the Pacific Ocean representing the type of a new subfamily (class Scyphozoa : order Semaeostomeae : family Ulmaridae : subfamily Tiburoniinae subfam. nov.). Marine Biology, 143, 73-77.