Unpacking the red jellyfish world

Tariq Kabil

Red jellyfish known as "red jellys" are mostly small and dark red in color, and they are common near the sea floor in the vibrant Monterey Bay, and although researchers at the Monterey Bay Aquatic Research Institute have noticed them decades ago, we know little about it yet. , Nor about its role in the food chain.

But George Matsumoto, a biologist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and his research team, uncovered the complex "Red Jellys" family tree, and he presented in the January / January 2020 issue of the Frontiers of Marine Science journal "Marine Science" a key to helping scientists to Differentiate between its different types.

Taxonomic difference
It is known that the jellyfish from the mollusk follows invertebrates, and its shape is a transparent disk, and gelatinous texture, and it has long, thin limbs called "worms" and it moves in the water by constricting its body and then extending it, and the movement of the water current helps it to transfer long distances.

There are many types of it, including small red jellyfish "Red Jellys" that live on the high seas, with a flat or hemispherical canopy, and the number of their palms varies from 8 to 32 depending on the species.

Several small "Red Gillies" types have been described and re-branded over the past 20 years, which has led to some confusion. Matsumoto noticed this taxonomic difference when he revised his colleagues' research paper, and found literature indicating that the classification of the proposed species was based on an incomplete animal description.

Identification
"When you describe an animal, you collect samples of a particular animal from the group you described and put them in a museum, so you and others can go back and look at them as a reference," Matsumoto said.

The "specimen" museum specimen is known as a distinctive specimen from a living organism that officially regulates the scientific name of this organism, and it is an example that defines the distinctive features of this taxon.

The taxon is a scientific designation that collects living organisms based on a detailed description that was published based on a typical sample usually available to scientists for examination in a large museum or scientific institution.

Matsumoto traveled to the Smithsonian Institution to examine the type of specimens concerned, and discovered that only one specimen was used to identify more than one species of jellyfish. That is why he started combing the video database of the Monterey Bay Aquatic Research Institute to identify the species that appeared in previous videos.

Over the next four years, his research team took additional video footage and collected a large number of samples to analyze the genomes to determine the true Red Giles identities. Which despite its similarities, it was possible to distinguish different types based on their appearance and form.

Great example
The researchers validated nine Red Gillies species in Monterey Bay, which are divided into three genera: "crosota, pentocodone, pectis".

The "crosota" species sometimes boasts wild-looking claws that resemble a fireworks explosion, and swims with strong pulses. Often he sees "pentocodone" as a UFO swaying just above the sea floor. While Pactis is recognized by the pointed tip of the bell, it takes short breaks between pulses.

Based on morphological identification and genomic analysis, researchers have created a new temporary genetic tree, and Matsumoto considers this experiment as a great example of implementing a scientific methodology at work to try to correct matters. And he thinks that this is the way science should work.

With further research, the classifications of these species may change again, but for the time being we are at least one step away from understanding the true identities of the small "Red Gillies".