''Manania handi'' is a species of

stalked jellyfish Stauromedusae are the stalked jellyfishes. They are the sole living members of the class Staurozoa and belong to the medusozoa subphylum of Cnidaria. They are unique among medusa jellyfish in that they do not have an alternation of polyp and med ...

found in the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of North America. This species can be found in shallow waters at low tide on soft substrates such as seagrass (''

Phyllospadix ''Phyllospadix'', surfgrass, is a genus of seagrass, a flowering plant in the family Zosteraceae, described as a genus in 1840. ''Phyllospadix'' grows in marine waters along the coasts of the temperate North Pacific. It is one of the seagras ...

''), but the related '' M. gwilliami'' have also been recovered at depths of >10 metres. This may reflect that

intertidal The intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore, is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide (in other words, the area within the tidal range). This area can include several types of habitats with various species ...

specimens represent the fringes of a population that is typically more commonly found in the

subtidal The neritic zone (or sublittoral zone) is the relatively shallow part of the ocean above the drop-off of the continental shelf, approximately in depth. From the point of view of marine biology it forms a relatively stable and well-illuminated ...

zone. ''Manania handi'' reaches a length of up to 4 cm, but the diameter of the bell at the oral end is relatively narrow at approximately 2 cm in fully-grown specimens. Distinctive pigment bands along the calyx and the relatively short stalk (or peduncle) distinguish it from related '' Manania'' species. ''Manania handi'' is also described typically as green with cream coloured gonads and vivid white nematocyst vesicles. However the colour patterns of M. handi can vary from brownish-yellow to vivid green. The name "''handi''" refers to Cadet Hand, major professor of G.F. Gwilliam and co-author with Gwilliam on a number of studies describing Stauromedusae species.

Gallery

File:Floopy Manania.jpg, Juvenile ''Manania handi'' specimen File:Spread Manania.jpg, Juvenile ''Manania handi'' specimen File:6 or-Manania handi.tif, ''Manania handi'' showing the pigment bands along the calyx

Disambiguation

In Gwilliam (1956), this species is referred to as "''Manania prasinus''."

References

Haliclystidae {{Staurozoa-stub