Chen Xiaoyin, Hu Zhijie, Zhan Zifeng, Chen Yaojun, Mu Sirong, Xing Bingpeng, Xu Kuidong
Laboratory of Marine Organism Taxonomy and Phylogeny, Qingdao Key Laboratory of Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Shandong Province Key Laboratory of Experimental Marine Biology, Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Qingdao 266071, China.
Third Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Nature Resources, Xiamen 361102, China.
Biology (Basel). 2025 May 29;14(6):632. doi: 10.3390/biology14060632.
A new species of jellyfish, Chen, Hu & Xing sp. nov., is described from the East China Sea based on an integrative approach combining morphological and molecular data. Specimens were collected from coastal waters and cultured in the laboratory to observe their complete life cycle, including polyps, ephyrae, and medusae. Distinct morphological features such as the blue lappet stems in ephyrae, white warts on the exumbrella, and multiple short club-shaped appendages on the mouth arms distinguish the new species from its congeners. Phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial (, ) and nuclear (, ) gene markers confirmed its taxonomic distinctiveness, with and markers providing the most resolution. The study highlights the importance of combining life history observations with molecular tools for accurate jellyfish taxonomy and provides a revised identification key for the genus . This discovery contributes to the understanding of jellyfish biodiversity in the East China Sea and offers a baseline for future ecological and biogeographic studies.
基于形态学和分子数据相结合的综合方法，从中国东海描述了一种新的水母物种，即陈氏、胡氏和邢氏新物种（Chen, Hu & Xing sp. nov.）。标本采自沿海水域，并在实验室中培养以观察其完整的生命周期，包括水螅体、碟状体和水母型。碟状体中蓝色垂片茎、伞面上的白色疣以及口腕上的多个短棒状附属物等独特的形态特征使其与同属其他物种区分开来。基于线粒体（ ， ）和核基因（ ， ）标记的系统发育分析证实了其分类学独特性，其中 和 标记提供了最高分辨率。该研究强调了将生活史观察与分子工具相结合对于准确的水母分类学的重要性，并为该属提供了修订后的鉴定检索表。这一发现有助于了解中国东海的水母生物多样性，并为未来的生态和生物地理学研究提供了基线。
