Cubomedusae

• Class - Cubozoa (Werner 1975)
  
• Order - Cubomedusae (Haeckel 1877)
  
• Characteristics of the Order (from Kramp 1961)

Scyphomedusae with umbrella margin not cleft into lappets; with four interradial tentacles or groups of tentacles situated on gelatinous, wing-shaped or spatula-shaped structures (pedalia); with four perradial sense organs situated within niches on the sides of the bell; with four wide perradial sacs extending outwards from the central stomach into the subumbrellar cavity, incompletely separated by interradial septa; with four pairs of leaf-shaped gonads attached along the interradial septa and extending into the gastrovascular space; the opening of the bell cavity partly closed by an annular diaphragm (velarium).

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The taxonomic rank and phylogenetic position of the box jellyfishes has been much debated. They were originally considered to be an order (Cubomedusae Haeckel 1877) in the Class Scyphozoa (e.g. Mayer 1910; Kramp 1961). In the mid-1970's, however, they were given the status of a class (Cubozoa Werner 1975; see also Mianzan & Cornelius 1999) on the basis of morphological differences. Recent molecular data, however, raised a paradox in that Class Cubozoa was more closely related than Order Stauromedusae to the other scyphozoan orders Coronatae, Semaeostomeae, and Rhizostomeae, i.e. "Scyphozoa" was paraphyletic (e.g. Collins 2002). This issue has now been resolved with elevation of stauromedusae to Class Staurozoa (e.g. Marques & Collins 2004; Dawson in press). The list of families, genera, and species below is based largely on Kramp (1961), Southcott (1967), Pagès et al. (1992), Mianzan & Cornelius (1999), ZooBank, and the various recent publications of Gershwin. The group continues to be the subject of several morphological and molecular investigations which should help to clarify species relationships and boundaries.

Cubomedusae Species

Collections: M = morphology, D = DNA. Type = *

Key:

Family (5)

Carybdea sivickisi Stiasny 1926

• Genus (13)
  • Species (32) 

Carybdeidae

• Carybdea (Peron & Lesueur) 
  • marsupialis
  • rastoni (Collected in Sydney; 
  • sivickisi (picture on left)
  • xaymacana
    
• Tripedalia (Conant 1897)
• binata
• cystophora (picture on left; Conant 1897; collected in *Kakaban; D, M; Florida; D, M)
  

  Tripedalia cystophora Conant 1897

Alatinidae

(Gershwin 2005)

• Alatina (Gershwin 2005)
  
  • alata (Reynaud 1830; New Guinea D, M)*
    
  • grandis
  • madraspatana
  • mordens
  • moseri
  • pyramis (Haeckel 1880)
  • rainensis
  • tetraptera (Haeckel 1880)
    

    Tamoya haplonema (F. Müller, 1859)

• Manokia (Soutcott 1967)
  • stisnyi (Bigelow 1938)*

Tamoyidae

(Haeckel 1880)

• Carukia (Soutcott 1967)
  • barnesi (Southcott 1967)*
  • shinju (Gershwin 2005)
• Gerongia
  • rifkinae (Gershwin & Alderslade 2005)* 
• Malo (Gershwin 2005)
  • maxima (Gershwin 2005)
• Tamoya (Muller 1859)
  • haeckeli (Southcott 1967)
  • haplonema (pictured on left; Muller 1859 Japan; D, M)*

Chirodropidae

(Haeckel 1877)

• Chirodropus (Haeckel 1880)
  • gorilla
  • palmatus (Haeckel 1880)
  • sp. (Stiasny 1992)
• Chironex (Southcott 1956)
• 

  Chiropsalmus quadrumanus (F. Müller, 1859)
  • fleckeri (Southcott 1956; Townsville, D) *

Chiropsalmidae

(Thiel 1936)

• Chiropsalmus (L. Agassiz 1862)
  • alipes (Gershwin 2006)
  • maculatus (Cornelius et al. 2005)
  • quadrumanus (pictured on left; Müller 1859)*
  • zygonema
• Chiropsoides
  • buitendijki
  • quadrigatus
  • quadrigatus (pictured on left)
• Chiropsella (Gershwin 2006)
  • 

    Chiropsalmus quadrigatus Haeckel 1880
  • bronzie (Gershwin 2006) *

See Zoo Bank ([1]) for more information.

Compiled by M.N Dawson, L.A. Gershwin, G. Jarms, H. Mianzan, A.C. Morandini. Updated by M.N Dawson (August 2007). Further update pending.