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A jellyfish-eating sea anemone (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) from Palau: Entacmaea medusivora sp. nov.

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  • IX. Evolution and systematics
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Abstract

Entacmaea medusivora sp. nov., a member of the family Actiniidae, inhabits Jellyfish Lake in Palau, western Caroline Islands, and eats the rhizostome jellyfish Mastigias papua. The anemone is azooxanthellate, despite its jellyfish prey containing symbiotic algae. Well fed anemones released ciliated planula-like larvae in the laboratory when maintained at more than 30 °C. It could not be determined whether the larvae, which usually settled around the parent within 24 h of release, were produced sexually or asexually.

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Author notes

  1. D. G. Fautin

    Present address: Department of Systematics and Ecology, Snow Museum, Snow Hall, University of Kansas, 66045, Lawrence, KS, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Invertebrate Zoology, California Academy of Sciences, 94118, San Francisco, CA, USA

    D. G. Fautin

  2. Department of Zoology, University of Georgia, 30602, Athens, Georgia, USA

    W. K. Fitt

Authors
  1. D. G. Fautin
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  2. W. K. Fitt
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Fautin, D.G., Fitt, W.K. A jellyfish-eating sea anemone (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) from Palau: Entacmaea medusivora sp. nov.. Hydrobiologia 216, 453–461 (1991). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00026499

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