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Patterns of morphological development in Scyphozoa ephyrae (Cnidaria, Medusozoa)

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Abstract

In order to investigate possible differences and patterns of body-plan morphogenesis among Scyphozoa, we described the morphology and development of the bell and oral arms of 11 species. We built a model for the development of the group and provide a guide for recognizing development stages. In general, the bell diameter was more efficient than age (days) to identify the stage of development, which suggests that the events of morphogenesis depend more on body size than on age. We used measurements of bell and oral arm to build growth curves and described the timing of developmental events (e.g., appearance of digitata, velar lappets and oral arms, filling of interlobe gaps) and patterns of morphogenesis (contour of marginal lappets, branching of oral arms, and presence of structures/appendages on the oral arms). The time until the appearance of digitata and velar lappets, the marginal lappet contour, and the presence of lateral folds in oral arms supported a phylogenetic relationship between the “Semaeostomeae” and Rhizostomeae (Dactyliophorae and Kolpophorae) lineages. “Semaeostomeae” jellyfish with digitata (family Ulmaridae) and differentiated velar lappets developed such structures at larger bell diameters than rhizostomes; only Dactyliophorae rhizostomes had serrated contour of the lappets; only species of Rhizostomeae showed development of the lateral folds; and only Ulmaridae and Rhizostomeae had differentiated appearance of the velar lappets. We propose a specific definition of oral arms that is based on morphological and functional features. Therefore, estimating development timing and describing the way that these structures develop can help to understand how jellyfish feeding strategies change during initial growth and how the changes in these structures can reflect the differences in feeding habits among the groups.

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Acknowledgements

We thank our colleagues from the Kitasato University School of Marine Biosciences (Japan) and the Cnidaria Laboratory at USP (Brazil), and the staff from the Enoshima Aquarium (Japan) for providing some specimens for our study. This is a contribution of NP-BioMar USP. We thank Edgar Gamero-Mora, Jonathan W. Lawley, Gerda Ucharm, Takashi Murai, Alvaro Esteves Migotto, and Roland Halbauer for providing the representative figures of Cassiopea sp.; Catostylus mosaicus; Aurelia malayensis; Cotylorhiza tuberculata and Rhopilema esculentum; Mastigias papua, Phyllorhiza punctata, and Lychnorhiza lucerna; and Chrysaora plocamia, respectively. We also thank two anonymous referees for insightful comments on the manuscript.

Funding

MAJ received a MSc scholarship from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP 2015/25142-8, 2016/24801-0), Programa de Excelência Acadêmica da Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES PROEX). ACM was funded by FAPESP (2015/21007-9) and the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq 309440/2019-0).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, trav. 14, n. 101, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil

    Mayara de A. Jordano & André C. Morandini

  2. School of Marine Biosciences, Kitasato University, 1–15–1, Kitasato, Sagamihara, Kanagawa, 252–0373, Japan

    Hiroshi Miyake

  3. Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Av. Itália, km 8, Rio Grande, RS, 96203-000, Brazil

    Renato M. Nagata

  4. Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, Rodovia Manuel Hipólito do Rego km 131.5, São Sebastião, SP, 11612-109, Brazil

    André C. Morandini

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  1. Mayara de A. Jordano
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  2. Hiroshi Miyake
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  3. Renato M. Nagata
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  4. André C. Morandini
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Correspondence to Mayara de A. Jordano.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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No approval of research ethics committees was required to accomplish the goals of this study because experimental work was conducted with unregulated invertebrate species.

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MAJ, RMN, and ACM conceived the study and acquired the necessary funding; MAJ conducted the experiments, data collection, analyzed data, and produced all figures. MAJ, HM, RMN, and ACM collaborated equally on writing and approved the final manuscript.

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Jordano, M.d.A., Miyake, H., Nagata, R.M. et al. Patterns of morphological development in Scyphozoa ephyrae (Cnidaria, Medusozoa). Mar. Biodivers. 52, 31 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12526-022-01269-1

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