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UTAS Home > IMAS Home > Image Key > Cnidaria >  Liriope tetraphylla

Liriope tetraphylla

Chamisso & Eysenhardt (1821)

Download a fact sheet for Liriope tetraphylla (PDF 267KB)

Taxonomy

Phylum Cnidaria
Class Hydrozoa
Order Trachymedusa
Family Geryoniidae
Genus Liriope
Species tetraphylla

Size

  • Umbrella 10-30 mm wide

Distinguishing characteristics

  • Umbrella almost hemispherical
  • Jelly thick, especially in apical region
  • Marginal nematocyst ring present, with 4 perradial and 4 interradial short nematocyst tracks on exumbrella
  • Velum well developed
  • Usually with 4 straight radial canals, 1-3 short blind centripetal canals in each quadrant and broad ring canal
  • Manubrium on long gastric peduncle, 1-3 times umbrella height
  • Mouth with 4 simple or slightly crenulated lips
  • Subumbrellar portion of radial canals with 4 gonads, variable in shape and size
  • 4 long hollow perradial marginal tentacles with nematocyst rings
  • 4 small solid interradial tentacles with adaxial nematocyst clusters
  • Manubrium, gonads and marginal tentacles rose-red or green when alive

Distribution

  • Warm and tropical oceanic waters where it floats in great shoals near surface

Ecology

  • Holopelagic
  • Epipelagic
  • Medusae are present throughout year, but local occurrence determined by hydrographic conditions

References

  • Bouillon, J., C. Gravili, et al. (2006). "An introduction to Hydrozoa." Memoires du Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle 194: 1-591.
  • Gibbons, M. (2012) pers.comm.
  • Marine species identification portal (2011) http://species-identification.org/index.php