| Summary: | This work is a supplement of our previous study (Schuchert & Collins, 2021) on hydromedusae observed and collected during night-time dives in the Gulf Stream off Florida. Close-up photos and collection of selected specimens for DNA extraction and 16S barcode sequencing permitted us to distinguish 49 distinct morphotypes or species of hydromedusae. Eighteen of them are new additions to the ones reported in our 2021 paper. Seven potential species of the 49 were only identified to the genus level, one to the family level. Two new species are described: Zancleopsis grandis sp. nov. and Melicertum tropicalis sp. nov. 16S sequences permitted us to identify the previously unknown subadult medusa of Podocoryna martinicana Galea & Ferry, 2013. Three species are new records for the Northwest Atlantic: Leuckartiara adnata Pagès, Gili & Bouillon, 1992, Corymorpha valdiviae (Vanhöffen, 1911), and Cnidocodon leopoldi Bouillon, 1978. The 16S data indicated the potential presence of cryptic species in Thecocodium quadratum (Werner, 1965), Laodicea undulata (Forbes & Goodsir, 1853), Orchistoma pileus (Lesson, 1843), and Pseudaegina rhodina (Haeckel, 1879).
|
|---|