Morphology and molecular analyses of a new Clytia species (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Campanulariidae) from the East China Sea
He, J.; Zheng, L.; Zhang, W.; Lin, Y.; Cao, W. (2014). Morphology and molecular analyses of a new Clytia species (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Campanulariidae) from the East China Sea. J. Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. 95(2): 289-300. https://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315414000836
In: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom. Cambridge University Press/Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom: Cambridge. ISSN 0025-3154; e-ISSN 1469-7769, more
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| Keywords |
Clytia Lamouroux, 1812 [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Author keywords |
Clytia, new species, morphology, molecular analysis, |
| Authors | | Top |
- He, J.
- Zheng, L.
- Zhang, W.
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| Abstract |
The near-cosmopolitan genus Clytia is abundantly found in coastal waters, but difficulties of identification in this genus make nearly all species records of medusae suspect. Complex life histories, ambiguous taxonomic characters, and phenotypic plasticity pose serious problems for accurate species-level identifications and future revisions of Clytia species. In the present study, morphological investigations and molecular analyses of Clytia specimens from the coastal waters of the East China Sea revealed Clytia gulangensis sp. nov. as a new species. DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene supported the new species as a separate species within Clytia, and phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial 16S rDNA and nuclear 18S rDNA further confirmed this new species to be a distinct lineage. Moreover, detailed observation of medusae and polyps of this species showed sufficient morphological differences from other Clytia species for a diagnosis. Our results indicated that life cycle and DNA-based studies should be a standard approach in future biodiversity investigations of Clytia species. |
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