ORDER
Limnomedusa
FAMILY
Olindiidae
TAXONOMY
Oceania phosphorica Delle Chiaje, 1841, Mediterranean Sea.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
None known.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Hydroid: the polyps have not been yet found in field. Weill (1936) described from laboratory observations a small solitary hydranth without tentacles enclosed in a cylindrical or irregularly curved hydrothecae covering more than half its length, and much longer than the polyp itself; mouth distal surrounded by large cnidocysts.
Medusa: umbrella 0.78–1.5 in (40–60 mm) wide, almost hemispherical, mesoglea fairly thick; 11–19 centripetal canals per quadrant; 30–60 primary tentacles; usually two ecto-endodermal statocysts at base of each primary tentacle; 100–120 secondary tentacles; 100–170 marginal clubs.
DISTRIBUTION
Atlantic and the Mediterranean. (Specific distribution map not available.)
HABITAT
Lives near the bottom or at the surface near shores.
BEHAVIOR
Lives usually fixed to algae or Posidonia.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Feeds on small planktonic organisms.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Dioecious, the sex cells are released in the sea; the planula gives rise to a reduced polyp stage.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Not listed by the IUCN.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
The sting of the medusae may cause skin irritations.
