''Mastigias'' is a genus of true jellyfish in the family

Mastigiidae Mastigiidae is a family of true jellyfish. The family is native to the Indo-Pacific, but a species of '' Mastigias'' has been introduced to the West Atlantic, and '' Phyllorhiza punctata'' has been introduced to the West Atlantic and Mediterrane ...

. It contains seven described

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

. Members of this genus are found widely in coastal regions of the Indo-Pacific, including saline lakes of Palau (e.g.,

Jellyfish Lake Jellyfish Lake ( pau, Ongeim'l Tketau, lit=Fifth Lake) is a marine lake located on Eil Malk island in Palau. Eil Malk is part of the Rock Islands, a group of small, rocky, mostly uninhabited islands in Palau's Southern Lagoon, between Koror and ...

), but there are also records from the West Atlantic at Florida and Puerto Rico. The West Atlantic records are most likely the result of accidental introductions by humans.

Species

According to the '' World Register of Marine Species'', this genus includes seven

: * '' Mastigias albipunctatus'' * '' Mastigias andersoni'' * '' Mastigias gracilis'' * '' Mastigias ocellatus'' – golden medusa * '' Mastigias pantherinus'' * ''

Mastigias papua The spotted jelly (''Mastigias papua''), lagoon jelly, golden medusa, or Papuan jellyfish, is a species of jellyfish from the Indo-Pacific oceans. Like corals, sea anemones, and other sea jellies, it belongs to the phylum Cnidaria. ''Mastigias p ...

'' – spotted jelly * '' Mastigias siderea''

Synapomorphies

For reproduction, ''Mastigias'' pupua has adopted a mono-mode reproductive strategy that develops only free-swimming buds. ''Mastigias'' organisms also are able to produce swimming frustules, a hard and porous cell wall covering diatoms. Mastigias papua 04

Habitat

The genus ''Mastigias'' is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific, from Australia to Japan, and Micronesia to the Indian Ocean. However, most ''Mastigias'' organisms choose to live in landlocked marine lakes. Behavioral differences among this genus do occur with varying habitats. Marine lake ''Mastigias''' swim slower than their oceanic ancestors. The ''Mastigias'' genus may have to adapt to a habitat with warmer temperatures. With growing temperature deviation above the average, organisms within this genus have seen a decrease in population as well as growing mortality rates.

Interactions

Mastigias jellyfish have a symbiotic relationship with zooxanthellae living in host gastrodermal cells where they exhibit phased division. The ''Mastigias'' genus of jellyfish symbiotically produce ephyrae only in the presence of Symbiodinium, in a process called stobilation.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3298068 Mastigiidae Scyphozoan genera