Revised descriptions of the nematocysts and the as

Authors: Anneke Heins Thomas Glatzel Sabine Holst

Publish Date: 2015/03/14

Volume: 134, Issue: 3, Pages: 351-366

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Abstract

Our investigations on different developmental stages of the jellyfish Cassiopea andromeda Forskål 1775 provide updated descriptions of nematocyst types and asexual reproduction modes which were documented by drawings and highresolution photographs In contrast to previous studies that only described three types of nematocysts we revealed five types aisorhizas Oisorhizas euryteles large oval birhopaloids and small lemonshaped birhopaloids Comparisons of undischarged and discharged capsules revealed significantly smaller capsule volumes 48–51  in the latter We provide capsule lengths and widths ranges for each capsule type undischarged and developmental stage We demonstrate that for most capsule types the calculated capsule volumes were positively correlated with the progressing development and increasing size of the five developmental stages namely bud polyp strobila ephyra and medusa Oisorhizas were only present in the latter three stages probably due to a change in diet related to a changing life style Besides asexual reproduction by swimming buds and monodisc strobilation common in rhizostome Kolpophorae we documented lateral polyp budding for the first time in this taxon Our results demonstrate that cultivating living specimens facilitate detailed descriptions of nematocysts and reproductive modes in metagenetic cnidarians which cannot be achieved by studies on preserved materialWe thank PD Dr Gerhard Jarms University of Hamburg and Dr Lutz Fischer Klimahaus Bremerhaven for providing us with Cassiopea andromeda polyps and medusae We are grateful to Sarah F Sparmann for English language revision and thank the two reviewers for helpful comments to improve the manuscriptAll applicable international national and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed All procedures performed in studies involving animals were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted This article does not contain any studies with human participants performed by any of the authors Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study

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