User:RecullenUSC23/Catostylidae

Catostylidae Claus (1883)
This article consists of some classifications, locations, and characteristics of the Suborder Daktyliophorae in addition to the Family of Cnidarians named Catostylidae that is the main focus of this article.

Description
Daktyliophorae is a suborder of Cnidarians. There are 48 species of Daktyliophorae, in 15 genera and 5 families. It includes groups like Lychnorhizidae Haeckel (1880), Catostylidae Claus (1883), Rhizostomotoidea Cuvier (1800), and Lobonemidae Stiasny (1920).

According to the Encyclopedia of Life, Suborder Dactyliophorae have the following 6 attributes, including:

The Family of Catostylidae of Cnidarians are distinguishable by their small size and bell-shaped dome. They have eight stubby oral arms that contain networks of receptor cells for various functions and also contain eight rhopalia, light-sensing organs that have canals extending to the bell. They move by contracting their circular and radial muscles to create a jerking motion that propels them through the water. They have very little to no ability to control their direction, so they mostly move with the tides and currents. Also, other important ecological attributes, along with those above belonging to Suborder Dactyliophorae, are identified including:
 * Body Symmetry: Radially Symmetric
 * Cellularity: Multicellular
 * Mineralized Tissue Contains: Calcium Sulfate Hemihydrate
 * Reproduction: Sexual reproduction
 * Trophic Level: Carnivore
 * Visual Systems: Photoreceptor Cells


 * Ecomorphological Guild: Planktonic
 * Habitat: Marine, Canal, Benthic
 * Water Depth: 20m

Catostylidae has 5 Genus groups:


 * Acromitoides Stiasny (1921)
 * Acromitus Light (1914)
 * Catostylus Agassiz (1862)
 * Crambione Maas (1903)
 * Crambionella Stiasny (1921)

Among these groups, there are countless species that have all been identified since the late 19th century. Most species that have been identified and study belong to the 'blue blubber jelly' genus, Catostylus. As of April 17, 2023, there have been 1,529 observations on iNaturalist including many of the species that fall into that genus as well.

Research Data
In regards to specific species of the Catostylus mosaicus species, it has been said that "von Lendenfeld (1884) reported C. mosaicus of two distinct colour types: a blue morph in Port Phillip and a brown morph in Port Jackson. He considered the geographic, environmental, and morphological differences sufficient to recognize two varieties, possibly species: a blue ‘conservativa’ and brown ‘symbiotica’. The names were attributed on the basis that the blue form ‘conserved the habits of its ancestors’ while the brown colour was due to 'yellow cells known as Zooxanthellae’. The validity of these varieties is questionable on several grounds. First, colour is geographically inconsistent. Although brown morphs were never found in Port Phillip, von Lendenfeld (1884) reported blue morphs in the vicinity of Sydney, albeit occasionally and in low frequency. Blue medusae are also common, along with a ‘milky-white’ morph, in Queensland’s waters (Southcott, 1982). Second, colour may have been temporarily inconsistent. Quoy & Gaimard (1824) originally described C. mosaicus in Port Jackson as ‘toute blanche ou plutôt glauque’ i.e. all white or rather dull blue-green. von Lendenfeld (1884) himself noted, when proposing the two varieties, that all prior descriptions from Sydney were of blue to grey medusae, not the bright brown medusae despite their colour being ‘so very striking’. Third, C. mosaicus in Port Jackson may be variegated, from bread-white through blue to coffee coloured (von Lendenfeld, 1884; Mayer, 1910). Finally, the difference in colour may not be attributable to the establishment of sym- bioses with zooxanthellae (Kingsford et al., 2000; Pitt, 2000). Neither Mayer (1910) nor Kramp (1961, 1965) recognized the varieties proposed by von Lendenfeld (1884) in their monographs on the medusae".

When considering other species of the Catostylus genus, "Catostylus tagi is a common Scyphozoa in the Tagus estuary (Portugal), where juveniles and adults have been observed (GelAvista citizen science project). In the present study, we describe for the first time the complete life cycle of C. tagi based on fertilisation trials conducted in the laboratory. Additionally, we conducted a preliminary evaluation of the ecology of the species through assessments of the effect of: (i) temperature and salinity on the planula stage (pre-settlement survival, settlement and metamorphosis) and (ii) temperature and diet regimes on polyp asexual reproduction. Finally, we pioneer an overview of the spatial and seasonal distribution of C. tagi along the Tagus estuary showing the potential of the medusa stage to a broad range of temperature and salinity values. The present observations indicate a high tolerance and plasticity of the species, contributing to a better understanding of the biology and ecology of C. tagi. The euryhaline and eurythermal characteristics displayed by the planulae and reflected by the temporal and spatial distribution of medusae in the Tagus estuary are advantageous for future C. tagi aquaculture, research and production. Further studies must be conducted on the polyp and ephyra stages to determine critical environmental factors affecting asexual reproduction and growth. Finally, studies such as the one we present here are essential for evaluating the response of C. tagi to climate change, as well as predicting any temporal and geographic spreading of the species".