In situ observations of Stygiomedusa gigantea
Citation
Lindsay D, Van de Putte A (2019). In situ observations of Stygiomedusa gigantea. SCAR - AntOBIS. Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/ixtssp accessed via GBIF.org on 2020-06-04. accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-05-16.Description
This dataset was provided by Dhugal Lindsay (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)). The data is extracted from a paper by Mark C. Benfield (Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, Louisiana State University) and William M. Graham (Dauphin Island Sea Lab and University of South Alabama). Four individuals of the large scyphozoan jellyfish Stygiomedusa gigantea were observed in the northern Gulf of Mexico over 2005 – 2009 by industrial remotely operated vehicles as part of the SERPENT Project. One of these observations included the symbiotic Bythitid fish Thalassobathia pelagica. Prior to these observations, neither S. gigantea nor T. pelagica had been observed in, or collected from the Gulf of Mexico. In order to summarize the available information on S. gigantea, we located 110 observations obtained over 110 years (1899 – 2009) representing 118 individual specimens of this species from around the world. The resulting dataset confirms that this species is cosmopolitan occurring with records from all Oceans except the Arctic. While the depth range of the four Gulf of Mexico specimens was bathypelagic, there appears to be a pattern of S. gigantea occurring in mesopelagic and epipelagic depth zones at high latitudes, particularly in the Southern Ocean and mesopelagic and bathypelagic depths at mid- and low-latitudes. This pattern may be related to the meridional vertical distribution of temperature or perhaps avoidance of light levels that could degrade porphyrin pigments. There was no evidence that this species migrates vertically. Two of the individuals in the Gulf of Mexico appeared to be actively clinging to subsea structures and we speculate that this is a consequence of its normal mode of feeding which may entail using its large oral lobes to hold on to, and trap prey.Additional info
marine, harvested by iOBISTaxonomic Coverages
urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:135220
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Scyphozoa [Jellyfish]rank: class
Geographic Coverages
PS, Southern Ocean
Bibliographic Citations
Contacts
Dhugal Lindsayoriginator
position: Research Scientist
Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology
email: dhugal@jamstec.go.jp
Anton Van de Putte
metadata author
position: Project Manager
Antarctic Biodiversity Information Facility (ANTABIF)
email: antonarctica@gmail.com
homepage: http://data.biodiversity.aq
William Graham
author
Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Bruno Danis
custodian steward
Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; Departement Educatie en Natuur; Afdeling Zoetwaterbiologie
email: bruno.danis@sciencesnaturelles.be
Davy Fiankan
custodian steward
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
email: info@vub.ac.be
Mark Benfield
author
Louisiana State University; Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences
Davy Fiankan
custodian steward
Vrije Universiteit Brussel
email: info@vub.ac.be
Anton Van de Putte
administrative point of contact
position: Project Manager
Antarctic Biodiversity Information Facility (ANTABIF)
email: antonarctica@gmail.com
homepage: http://data.biodiversity.aq