Cyanea (cnidarian)


Cyanea is a genus of jellyfish, primarily found in northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and southern Pacific waters of Australia and New Zealand, there are also several boreal, polar, tropical and sub-tropical species. Commonly found in and associated with rivers and fjords. The same genus name has been given to a genus of plants of the Hawaiian lobelioids, an example of a parahomonym.

Species

The taxonomy of Cyanea species has seen increased scrutiny in recent years. Early zoologists suggested that all species within the genus should be treated as one. Recent molecular and integrative taxonomic studies have refuted this assertion as the scyphozoan community has restored many of the previous species. For example, in the North Sea, the lion's mane jellyfish and the blue jellyfish appear as distinct species. On the East Coast of the United States there are at least two co-occurring species, C. fulva and C. versicolor. Cyanea may be a species complex of recently diverged species.