Aequoreidae

Aequoreidae
Aequorea victoria (the "crystal jelly") with two amphipods
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Class:	Hydrozoa
Order:	Leptothecata
Family:	Aequoreidae Eschscholtz, 1829
Genera[1]
Aequorea Aldersladia Gangliostoma Rhacostoma Zygocanna

Aequoreidae is a family of hydrozoans, sometimes called the many-ribbed jellies or many-ribbed jellyfish.[2][3] There are approximately 30 known species found in temperate and tropical marine coastal environments.[4] Aequoreids include Aequorea victoria, the organism from which the green fluorescent protein gene was isolated.[5]

Polyps

Only the polyp stages of Aequorea species have been observed.[6] The colonies are covered with chitinous periderm and can be either prostrate or erect with weak or sympodial branching.[6] Young hydranths possess hydrothecae with a closing structure called operculum,[6] which consists of several relatively long triangular folds that meet together in the centre when a disturbed polyp contracts.[6] Because the operculum is quite fragile, hydrothecae of old polyps usually have only a small chitinous collar remaining.[6] Comparatively large cylindrical gonothecae are attached to the colony with a thin peduncle.[6] Commonly only one medusa develops in each gonotheca.[6]

Medusae

Mature aequoreid medusae are diverse in shape, from lens-like to conical, and in size.[4] The smallest, Aequerea parva is only 0.6 cm in diameter, while the largest, Rhacostoma atlanticum, can reach 40 cm in diameter.[4][6] The medusae of most species are between 5 and 15 cm in diameter.[4]

Genera

Aequoreidae includes the following genera:[1]

• Aequorea Péron et Lesueur, 1810 – ca. 20 valid species
• Aldersladia Gershwin, 2006 – 1 valid species
• Gangliostoma Xu, 1983 – 2 valid species
• Rhacostoma L. Agassiz, 1850 – 1 valid species
• Zygocanna Haeckel, 1879 – 5 valid species

See also

• Aequorea tenuis
• Aequorea victoria

References

1. Peter Schuchert (2011). Schuchert P (ed.). "Aequoreidae". World Hydrozoa Database. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved January 20, 2012.
2. "Many-ribbed Jellies (Family Aequoreidae)". iNaturalist Canada.
3. Pollock, Leland W. (November 5, 1998). A Practical Guide to the Marine Animals of Northeastern North America. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 9780813523996 – via Google Books.
4. Kramp, P. L. (1961). Synopsis of the medusae of the world. Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 40: 1–469. P. 203–212. The full text Archived 2011-09-30 at the Wayback Machine
5. Tsien, R. (1998). The green fluorescent protein. Annual Review of Biochemistry 67: 509–44. The full text. doi:10.1146/annurev.biochem.67.1.509.
6. Bouillon, J., Gravili, C., Pagès, F., Gili, J. M., Boero, F. (2006). An introduction to Hydrozoa. Mémoires du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle 194: 1–591, p. 276–278.