Diplulmaris antarctica

Diplulmaris antarctica
Diplulmaris antarctica offshore from McMurdo Station, Ross Island.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Scyphozoa
Order: Semaeostomeae
Family: Ulmaridae
Genus: Diplulmaris
Species: D. antarctica
Binomial name
Diplulmaris antarctica
Maas, 1908

Diplulmaris antarctica is a species of jellyfish in the family Ulmaridae.

Distribution

This species is found in Antarctica including the Antarctic Peninsula in continental shelf waters near the surface.

Description

This species grows to approximately 4 cm wide.[1] Diplulmaris antarctica has 16 - 48 laterally compressed, white tentacles. It has reddish-orange stomach gastrodermis and flilled oral arms of the same colour.

This jellyfish is normally infested with Hyperiella dilatata. These hyperiid amphipods appear as white dots on the surface of the bell, and do not appear to eat the medusa.[2]

Diet

Diplulmaris antarctica feeds on copepods, euphausiid larvate, medusae, ctenophore, fish larvae, and molluscan pteropods such as Clione antarctica[3] and Limacina antarctica.[3]

References

  1. http://www.sealifebase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=44408
  2. "eScholarship: Cnidaria – Scyphozoa: jellyfish". Repositories.cdlib.org. 1998-04-01. Retrieved 2010-07-30.
  3. 3.0 3.1 Larson R. J. & Harbison G. R. (1990). "Medusae from Mcmurdo Sound, Ross Sea including the descriptions of two new species, Leuckartiara brownei and Benthocodon hyalinus". Polar Biology 11(1): 19-25. doi:10.1007/BF00236517.

Further reading