Southern Ocean, in the McMurdo Sound (Browne 1910, Foster 1989, Larson and Harbison 1990), off Adélie Land (Toda et al. 2014), off Wilhelm II Land at Gauss Station (66.03°S, 89.63°E) (Vanhöffen 1912), in Prydz Bay (Hosie 1999a, Hosie 1999b) and in the Weddell Sea (Kramp 1957a); New Zealand (Bouillon 1995, Schuchert 1996); Madagascar (Kramp 1965); Papua New Guinea (Bouillon et al. 1988).

Original description after Browne (1910) (basionym Koellikeria maasi Browne, 1910) (Fig. 2A-B): Bell-shaped medusa, with very thick, higher than broad (up to 9 mm wide and 10 mm high), umbrella with a rounded summit; four broad radial canals, adjacent to the ectodermal lining of the sub-umbrella, attached at the base of the stomach; radial grooves in the wall of the sub-umbrella, adjacent to the radial canals; large and cross-shaped stomach, interior covered with minute endodermal papillae, with a slender mesogleal strand running along the centre of the papilla; four dichotomously branched perradial oral tentacles inserted above the mouth rim, the number of branches increasing with age (two-three times dichotomously branched for young stage, at least seven times branched in adult stage), distal branches terminating with small nematocyst-covered cap; mouth circular and simple; four perradial gonadal masses, covering nearly entirely the outer wall of the manubrium; eight groups of solid marginal tentacles (four perradial and four interradial), the number of tentacles in each group increasing with age, with three to seven tentacles in the perradial groups and three to five tentacles in the interradial groups, the middle tentacle per group being the longest, with the middle tentacle of the perradial groups being longer than the middle one of the interradial groups; no ocelli present. Characters gleaned from species’ illustrations (for which the adult drawing was based on several specimens): mesogleal thickness between the ex- and sub-umbrella on the top of the bell ca. one fourth of the height of the ex-umbrella in young specimens and ca. half the height in adults; manubrium size ca. one third the height of the sub-umbrella in young specimens, ca. half the height in adults. Type locality: McMurdo Sound (78°49’S, 166°20’E), Antarctica.

Figure 2.  

Koellikerina maasi. A, B. Drawing from the original species description by Browne (1910) of a specimen in an early developmental stage (A) and an adult specimen (B) from McMurdo Sound, Antarctica; C. Drawing of a specimen (bell height 11 mm) from Gauss Station, Antarctica (Vanhöffen 1912); D. Drawing of a specimen from New Zealand (Schuchert 1996, Suppl. material 1), scale bar 1 mm; E, F. Specimen MCMEC2019_Koellikerina_maasi_a observed on 26/11/2019; apico-lateral (E) and oral-lateral (F) views. Pmc: perradial mesogleal convexity with ovoid yellowish nodule. E-F photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Additional information from specimens from the Southern Ocean: from Gauss Station (0-385 m depth) (Vanhöffen 1912) (Fig. 2C), adult specimen preserved in formalin, 11 mm high × 10 mm wide, sub-umbrella 7 mm high × 8 mm wide, mesogleal thickness between the ex- and sub-umbrella on top of the bell of 4 mm (ca. one third of the bell height), stomach not on peduncle (i.e. “Magenstiel” in the German original version) 2.5 mm high × 4 mm wide, gonads separated perradially and folded interradially, stomach and tentacle bulbs red in living specimens, but turned yellow once preserved in formalin, no ocelli (i.e. “Ozellen”), oral tentacles five times dichotomously branched, perradial tentacle bulbs with seven marginal tentacles, with middle tentacle the longest (ca. three times longer and thicker than the surrounding second-largest tentacles), interradial bulbs with five dissimilar tentacles. Young specimen of 1 mm in length, beginning of mouth-tentacles present in little buds at the perradial mouth corners, colour of four perradial tentacle bulbs, stomachs and radial canals yellow, perradial tentacle bulbs with one middle-sized and two smaller tentacles and two weak indications of additional tentacles, four smaller interradial tentacle groups consisting of three tentacles and without indications of two additional tentacles; Weddell Sea (Kramp 1957a), description matching the original one of Browne (1910).

Additional information on specimens identified as same species from outside the Southern Ocean: from west coast of Madagascar (Kramp 1965), diameter 8 mm, height 9 mm, slight indication of a gastral peduncle, description otherwise matching with Browne (1910), Vanhöffen (1912) and Kramp (1957a); from Papua New Guinea (Bouillon et al. 1988), gastric endoderm showing villi (also found in K. constricta, K. fasciculata, K. octonemalis and K. ornata); from New Zealand (Schuchert 1996) (Fig. 2D), two specimens examined, 9 mm diameter, description similar to Browne (1910), except for the gonads, that formed irregular vertical folds, which may have been caused by the fixation.

Literature giving diagnostic characters without describing new specimens: Bouillon (1995), Kramp (1961), Kramp (1968), O'Sullivan (1982).

Description and comments on observed material (Fig. 2E-F): N = 2 in 2018, N = 1 in 2019.

New undescribed characteristics: Ex-umbrella not smooth, showing small concavities and warts; the radial canals departing from the manubrium bend downwards, extending over four small perradial mesogleal convexities with ovoid yellowish nodules, before bending back up again to run over the ectodermal cavity of the sub-umbrella to the bell rim. These perradial mesogleal convexities are similar to those seen in the Leptothecate medusa Modeeria rotunda Quoy & Gaimard, 1827 (Pagès et al. 2006).

Characteristics differing from previous descriptions: mesogleal thickness between the ex- and sub-umbrella on the top of the bell ca. one fourth of the height of the ex-umbrella, similar to the drawing of the New Zealand specimen of Schuchert (1996) (Fig. 2D), but narrower compared to the descriptions by Browne (1910) and Vanhöffen (1912); manubrium size ca. one third of the height of the sub-umbrella, whereas ca. half the height for Browne (1910); triangular tentacular bulbs with tentacles arranged linearly as described by Browne (1910), whereas the diagnosis of Kramp (1968) mentions triangular bulbs in the text, but the dichotomous key (p. 35) reports them to be linear. We ascertain, based on the present live material, that they are indeed triangular.

Southern Ocean, in the McMurdo Sound [described by Browne (1910) as a juvenile Perigonimus sp. according to Larson and Harbison (1990), Browne (1910)], off Adélie Land (Toda et al. 2014), in the Weddell Sea (Grossmann 2010, Pagès and Schnack-Schiel 1996) and in the Powell Basin (Kaufmann et al. 2011). It was also reported from the Mediterranean by Bouillon et al. (2000).

Original description after Larson and Harbison (1990) (Fig. 3A): Conical umbrella with a pointed projection of variable height (dimensions of holotype: 10 mm high × 9 mm wide); thick mesoglea; velum narrow, thin, and transparent; four large perradial tentacles, tapering and not laterally compressed, which are coiled when contracted; salmon-coloured perradial tentacle bulbs; up to 28 short “rudimentary” tentacles (i.e. because they have the same form as marginal tentacles in their early development stage; Russell 1953), growing in succession and clasping the ex-umbrella [sic: being clasped by the ex-umbrella], with the oldest interradial tentacles extending the furthest out on to the ex-umbrella; relatively large manubrium, with the height larger than half the height of the sub-umbrella; mesenteries well-developed; large crenulated lips; orange-brown gonads, covering the interradial surface of the manubrium, each gonad harbouring a pair of longitudinal folds adjacent to the interradii, forming a continuous interradial groove, with a few isolated folds in the adradii which are mostly orientated perradially; no ocelli or spurs. Type locality: near McMurdo Station, Antarctica.

Figure 3.  

Leuckartiara brownei. A. Line drawing of the holotype (bell height 10 mm) (Larson and Harbison 1990, Suppl. material 2) sampled in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica; B. Line drawing from a specimen (bell height 7 mm) from the Mediterranean Sea (modified from Bouillon et al. 2000); C-E. Specimen MCMEC2019_Leuckartiara_brownei_ a observed on 16/11/2019: lateral view (C), lateral view while contracting and apical view (E); F. Oral-lateral view of a specimen MCMEC2019_Leuckartiara_brownei_b observed on 29/11/2018. Scale bars A and B 1 mm. C-E photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Additional information on specimens identified as same species from outside the Southern Ocean: from the Mediterranean Sea (Bouillon et al. 2000) (Fig. 3B), height 7 mm, specimen not further described, but drawing available.

Literature giving diagnostic characters without describing new specimens: Pagès et al. (1992), Schuchert (2007), Bouillon et al. (2004).

Description of and comments on observed material (Fig. 3C-F): N = 2 in 2018, N = 1 in 2019. The morphology of our observed specimens matched closely those from previous descriptions. The height of the apical pointed projection ca. 15-20% of the bell height, corresponding to the “variable height” from the original description (Browne 1910). Number of gonadal folds 4-5 within the same specimen. Differences or additional information found compared to past descriptions were the following: the mesenteries extended to ca. 80% of the stomach height, whereas, in the original description (Browne 1910), they were described as “well developed” and shown to extend to ca. half the height of the stomach in the line drawing (Fig. 3A), while in Bouillon et al. (2000), the mesenteries were omitted from the drawing (Fig. 3B); coiling of the four main tentacles; the rudimentary tentacles, when of a certain length, can fold in half, with the distal half of the tentacle extended back downwards on to the ex-umbrella and the fold reaching up to 1/4 of the bell height, suggesting they are adnate to around half their length.

Cosmopolitan (OBIS 2020). In the Southern Ocean: in the McMurdo Sound (Foster 1989, Larson and Harbison 1990), in the Bellingshausen Sea (Kramp 1957a), Croker Passage (Panasiuk-Chodnicka and Żmijewska 2010), in the Weddell Sea (Pagès and Schnack-Schiel 1996, Grossmann 2010), in Prydz Bay (Hosie 2012, Hosie 1999c, Hosie 1999a), off Adélie Land (Toda et al. 2014) and eastern Southern Ocean (south of 35°S, between 15°W and 160°E) (Navas-Pereira and Vannucci 1990).

Original description after Quoy and Gaimard (1833) (basionym Carybdea bitentaculata Quoy & Gaimard, 1833) (Fig. 4A): umbrella consisting of two parts, with a heart-like, marquee-shaped upper part and a more flared, undulated (i.e. “limbe” in the original French version), lower part; two thin, long, rigid tentacles, with inside looking hollow, bending like horns and leaving from the junction between the two umbrella parts, penetrating deep inside the umbrella; large stomach, located deep in the umbrella, harbouring eight manubrial pouches; colour of the bottom of the medusa white or a red-gold yellow; colour of the tentacles reddish at the tip, greenish in the middle. Type locality: Ambon Bay, Indonesia.

Figure 4.  

Solmundella bitentaculata. A. Drawing from the original description as Carybdea bitentaculata from Indonesia (Quoy and Gaimard 1833); B. Drawing of another specimen from Indonesia (Maas 1905); C. Photographed specimen from Eastern Pacific (bell diameter 3.5 mm) (Bigelow 1909); D. Drawing of a female specimen as Solmundella mediterranea from Florida (Mayer 1910); E. Drawing of a specimen as Aeginopsis mediterranea from the Mediterranean Sea (Müller 1851); F. Drawing of a specimen from Japan (height 8.5 mm) (Uchida 1928); G. Drawing of a specimen as Solmundella henseni from Florida (Maas 1893); H-I. Specimen MCMEC2018_Solmundella_bitentaculata_a observed on 27/11/2018: lateral view (H) and oral-lateral view (I). I-J photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Additional information from specimens from the Southern Ocean: There is currently only one species of Solmundella, though historically they were long dissociated into the species S. bitentaculata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1833) and S. mediterranea (Müller, 1851), which were subsequently synonymised (Kramp 1955, Thiel 1936, Kramp 1961). From McMurdo Sound (Browne 1910), reported as “S. mediterranea”, umbrella (up to seven mm wide) little broader than high, with a rather flat top, about on the level of the exit of the tentacles. Many small clusters of ectodermal cells scattered over the ex-umbrella, especially noticeable near the margin of the umbrella, containing many well-defined granules and generally harboured amongst those cells are a number of nematocysts. Four peronial grooves in the wall of the umbrella, cutting deep into the jelly at the margin of the umbrella, but of variable length and depth, with very conspicuous rudimentary grooves in each of the perradii without tentacles. The peronial band in each of the perradii without tentacles, runs alongside the sub-umbrella and turns off at the level of the stomach to the ex-umbrella, where there is a small funnel-shaped pit, showing a fair amount of variation. Gonads confined to the pouches of the stomach, but can extend over the lower part of to the stomach, nearly up to the mouth. Mouth circular. Tentacles 4-7 times as long as the umbrella diameter, of max. 40 mm in length. Margin of the umbrella invariably curled up. Up to eight sensory organs. Four minute interradial bulbs on the margin; from Gauss Station as S. bitentaculata, up to nine mm in diameter, one sensory organ (i.e. “Sinneshöcker” in the German original version) per quadrant, flanked by two or three rhopali [sic] (Vanhöffen 1912) (DL comment: probably a mis-interpretation and there was actually one tentacle bulb per quadrant, flanked by two or three statocysts).

Additional information from specimens from outside the Southern Ocean: Solmundella bitentaculata is a cosmopolitan species, which may actually be composed of multiple cryptic species (Lindsay et al. 2017). We, therefore, only give here a non-exhaustive list of descriptions of specimens from localities outside the Southern Ocean: in the Mediterranean Sea as Aeginopsis mediterranea (Müller 1851) (Fig. 4E) and S. mediterranea (Metchnikoff 1886, Haeckel 1879) and in the Adriatic Sea (Neppi and Stiasny 1913); Atlantic Ocean: Canary Islands as Aeginella bitentaculata (Haeckel 1879), West Africa (only size of specimens given) (Kramp 1959), Florida current as Solmundella henseni (Maas 1893) (Fig. 4G), Tortugas, Florida (Mayer 1910) (Fig. 4D), in Straits of Florida (Bigelow 1918) and middle and Southern Atlantic (between the latitudes 12°N - 63°S and longitudes 68°W - 21°E) (Thiel 1936); Pacific Ocean: Indonesia (Maas 1905) (Fig. 4B), Sea of Okhotsk and East China Sea (size only) (Bigelow 1913), Yellow Sea (Ling 1937), Japan (Uchida 1928) (Fig. 4F), north-east Australia (size only) (Blackburn 1955, Kramp 1953), Chile (size only) (Kramp 1952) and Eastern Pacific (Bigelow 1909) (Fig. 4C); Indian Ocean: Chagos Archipelago and Seychelles as S. mediterranea (Browne 1916) and off Madras, India (Menon 1932).

Characteristics of the observed material differing with previous descriptions (Fig. 4G-I): N = 1 in 2018. The shape of the bell (height 2/3 of width) was similar to the original description (i.e. upper marquee-shaped part and lower flatter part) (Fig. 4A) and, therefore, also similar to the drawings of Maas (1905) (Fig. 4B, from Indonesia) and Mayer (1910) (Fig. 4D, Florida), but differed from the rounder bell shape drawn by Müller (1851) (Fig. 4E, Mediterranean Sea), by Uchida (1928) (Fig. 4F, Japan) and the photograph in Bigelow (1909) (Fig. 4C, Eastern Pacific). Length of tentacles ca. four times bell height. Our specimen had stomach pouches showing jagged edges, whereas the shape of the stomach pouches of all previously described S. bitentaculata and synonyms was either omitted (e.g. Menon 1932, Browne 1910, Quoy and Gaimard 1833) or represented with smooth edges (e.g. Uchida 1928, Mayer 1910). Although hard to discern, it seems there are four tentacle buds with two statocysts between each one, matching the description by Browne (1910). The ex-umbrella was comprised of a pointed apical portion and a flared bell rim. No yellow or red colouration was observable.

Description of and comments on observed material: N = 1 in 2019 (Fig. 5). Although it is hard to tell whether the medusa is bell-shaped or actually flattened but contracted, the “gonads” confined to the radial canals indicate that the observed specimen likely belongs to the order Leptothecata (or the accepted alternative synonym "Leptomedusae") (Bouillon et al. 2006). The presence of one manubrium excludes the family Sugiuridae and the gonads not extending on the manubrium excludes the family Tiarannidae. Four radial canals, gonads thin and located midway along the radial canals, four tentacle bulbs located perradially on the rim of the bell, one short tentacle per tentacle bulb, with nematocysts concentrated in tentacle's distal tip, medusa transparent, except for white-yellow gonads and manubrium. Diagnostic characters that could not been verified for further classification of the medusa: shape of manubrium, statocysts, cordyli, ocelli, gastric peduncle, tentacle bulbs and tentacular expansions. This medusa morphotype does not appear in the list of Larson and Harbison (1990) for medusae reported from the Ross Sea and we could not identify any other described species with the same morphological characteristics in the wider literature.

Figure 5.  

Leptomedusa species A (specimen MCMEC2019_Leptomedusa_sp_A_a) observed on 14/11/2019: oral-lateral view. Photo courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Description of and comments on observed material: N = 1 in 2019 (Fig. 6). This medusa showed the typical characteristics of the order Leptomedusae: flattened umbrella and gonads confined to the radial canals (Bouillon et al. 2006). The following families were excluded, based on the following observed diagnostic characters: only one manubrium (Sugiuridae), presence of statocysts or cordyli (Orchistomidae, Melicertidae and Dipleurosomatidae), gonads not extending on manubrium (Tiarannidae). Transparent medusa, four radial canals; 28 tentacles, short and white, with the inside of tentacle bulb light orange; sometimes one rudimentary tentacle bulb between each pair of tentacles; gonads very thin and linear located on the lateral canals, ca. one third of the radial canals away from the bell margin and length ca. one fifth of the length of the radial canal. Diagnostic characters that could not be definitively verified for further classification of the medusa: distinction and structure of statocyst or cordyli, gastric peduncle and manubrium connection to sub-umbrella. It resembles Cosmetirella simplex Browne, 1910, which was described with 32 tentacles or more and which is currently regarded as synonymous with Cosmetirella davisii (Browne, 1902) [basionym Tiaropsis davisii Browne, 1902], which was described by Browne (1902) with about 80 tentacles around a 11 mm wide umbrella. When Kramp (1930) synonymised the species, he recognised a smaller growth form from the Antarctic with fewer (28-48) tentacles (i.e. C. simplex) and a larger form from the sub-Antarctic with more (56-150) tentacles (C. davisii + C. kerguelensis). Until these forms can be definitively assigned to the same species using molecular techniques, we tentatively assign the present individual to C. simplex, noting that, although cirri apparently are not present, we were unable to count the number or observe the type of statocysts for a definitive species identification.

Figure 6.  

Leptomedusa species B (specimen MCMEC2019_Leptomedusa_sp_B_a) observed on 22/11/2019: oral view (A-B) and oral view when contracted (C). Abbreviation: g, gonad. Photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Antarctica: Ross Sea from under the ice (Totton 1965), from the Antarctic convergence to the south of the Bellingshausen and Weddell Seas (Mackintosh 1934), Croker Passage in the Antarctica Peninsula (Hopkins 1985, Panasiuk-Chodnicka et al. 2014, Panasiuk-Chodnicka and Żmijewska 2010), Drake Passage (Panasiuk et al. 2018), South Georgia Island (Alvariño 1981, Hardy and Gunther 1935), Weddell Sea (Pagès and Kurbjeweit 1994, Pagès and Schnack-Schiel 1996, Pagès et al. 1994, Panasiuk et al. 2018, Pugh et al. 1997), Falkland Islands (Alvariño 1981), Lützow-Holm Bay (Toda et al. 2010), Gauss Station (Moser 1925), D’Urville Sea (Grossmann 2010, Toda et al. 2014), Cosmonaut and Cooperation Seas (Margulis 1992), off the southern Victoria Land coast (71°2’S, 166°24’E) (Alvarino et al. 1990), east Antarctic (90°E) (Totton 1965); north of the Antarctic Convergence (54°6’S, 119°54’W) (Alvarino et al. 1990); Southern Chilean Fjords (Palma 2006); South Atlantic Ocean (Panasiuk et al. 2018), Argentina continental shelf (Araujo et al. 2013) and San Matias Gulf (Guerrero et al. 2013); New Zealand (Cairns et al. 2009).

Original description after Moser (1925) (Fig. 7A-B): The original description is convoluted with much misapplied terminology, which was clarified and represented by Totton (1965), whose description we present below. Syntypes locality: Gauss Station (66.03°S, 89.63°E), Antarctica.

Figure 7.  

Pyrostephos vanhoeffeni. Drawing from the original account by Moser (1925) of a juvenile specimen (length ca. 25 mm) missing the pneumatophore and distal end (A) and a piece (length 6 mm) of another specimen including the nectosome with pneumatophore, but missing nectophores and a part of the siphosome (B), from Gauss Station, Antarctica. C-F. Specimen MCMEC2019_Pyrostephos_vanhoeffeni_b observed on 29/11/2019: whole specimen (C), apex nectosome (D), part of nectosome when contracting (E) and pneumatophore (F). G-H. Siphosome of specimen MCMEC2019_Pyrostephos_vanhoeffeni_a observed on 25/11/2019. Abbreviations: g., gastrozooids; nc., nectophore; ne., nematocysts; os., ostium; os. v., ostial velum; ol., oleocyst; pn., pneumatophore; s. b. z., siphosomal budding zone; t, tentacles. C-H photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Description after Totton (1965) of specimens at longitude 90°E, just off the Antarctic continent and from the Ross Sea from under the ice: we updated the terminology to describe Siphonophorae as in Pugh (2019). Pneumatophore: apex not pigmented. Nectosome: relatively long, two rows of nectophores. Nectophores: minimum 20 mm in length, carried on narrow muscular lamellae, which are inserted into a long bow-shaped mantle (i.e. “pallial”) canal that lies in a groove on the pedicular side (i.e. “adaxial side” in original description) of the nectophore. The pedicular canal (i.e. “adaxial canal”) bifurcates almost at once to form the upper (i.e. “dorsal”) and lower (i.e. “ventral”) radial canals. The two lateral radial canals arise separately from the upper canal and take an outward and ascending course on the pedicular nectosac-wall to cross over on to the lateral wall of the same. Here, each form first a small downward loop and then the main downward, lateral loop. After crossing under a fold in the lateral wall, each makes a final downward loop to run to the circular canal round the ostium. The lower radial canal is generally straight, but may have a few small bends. The upper canal usually has three or four more marked bends on the upper part of the nectosac. Nectosac has inpushing of the proximal (i.e. adaxial) side of its median part, absence of musculature from the median wall part similar to Bargmannia spp. or Marrus spp. Siphosome: dioecious (single-sexed), gonophores budding from one another to form small bunches, with male gonophores sausage shaped (size at maturity 1.3 × 0.5 mm) or female gonophores ovoid (0.5 mm in diameter), containing three to five eggs arranged meridionally and giving external appearance of the seams of a football. Continuous ventral line of budding gastrozooids (on the unsegmented stem), with young gastrozooids having an almost cylindrical basigaster and a conventional tentacle arising from a point very close to the junction of the basigaster with the pedicel (or pedicle). Mature gastrozooids (15 × 2 mm) spindle-shaped, consisting of three sections: the basigaster, the main stomach and a proboscis. Endodermal wall of the stomach vacuolated and consisting of four main types of cells. Each vacuole (ca. 0.07 mm in diameter) surrounded by 4-5 smaller more irregular vacuolated cells and forming transparent patches visible through the stomach wall. Small darker conical-shaped secretory cells (smaller than the large vacuoles) present in endoderm, located at the intersection of several cell boundaries, with their hemispherical surfaces projecting into the lumen of the gastrozooid and carrying stiff cilia (ca. 0.01 mm in length), similar to those described in the palpons of Apolemia by Willem (1894). Tentilla, up to 50 per tentacle. Hypertrophy of axial canal develops thickened mesogloeal walls and appears to form the extensile part of the cnidobattery, which has not been noted in any other species. It probably acts as an extensor on activation of the mechanism when the proximal end of the cnidoband breaks away from the pedicel and the whole cnidoband turns end to end and is flung on to the prey. In an early growth stage, the axial canal of a tentillum runs uniformly from the tentacle axis to the tip of the straight and short terminal filament. From the proximal end of this terminal filament, a diverticular canal of the axial canal runs back towards the pedicel alongside the proximal part of the axial canal. The epidermis on the opposite side to the axial canal of this diverticular canal forms the cnidoband. As growth proceeds, the lumen of the diverticular canal that lies under the cnidoband, comes to exceed the diameter of the axial canal and forms the cavity of the saccus. Five to seven lateral ovoid nematocysts (0.28 × 0.04 mm), located at the base of the tentillum’s saccus (i.e. "cnidosac"), which do not enter the wall of the saccus through the pedicel until the terminal filament, still in its straight uncoiled condition, reaches almost 0.5 mm in length. These nematocysts contain a large central structure which is probably the shaft with spines. The bracts (after Moser 1925) up to 23 × 14 mm in size, very thick, flat underneath, convex above,and proximally coming to a long point much broadened distally and irregularly toothed. The bracteal canal is slender, drawn out and ends some distance from the distal end, the latter seems to be three pointed. In early growth stages, a shallow horizontal pocket is found on the upper side between the lateral pair of points. The palpons (i.e. oleocysts) seem to be arranged at the dorsal edges of the ventral tract of siphosomal appendages, as if to buoy up the stem. Colour: stem orange in adults, vermilion in juveniles; nectophores wine red in adults, pink in juveniles; ostia carmine; gastrozooids golden red with fiery red mouth; cnidosacs fiery red.

Description of and comments on observed material (Fig. 7C-H): N = 3 in 2018, N = 4 in 2019. Pneumatophore: non-retractable transparent tube (Fig. 7F). Nectosome: up to 12 pairs of nectophores (Fig. 7C), lacking axial wings. A colony was observed jetting backwards (https://youtu.be/YE50FZg8mpU, https://youtu.be/uc6cP0YSrwc) by angling the ostial velum of the nectophores to deflect extruded water anteriorally (Fig. 7E). A similar velum alteration during forward and reverse swimming was previously observed in the physonect Nanomia bijuga (Mackie 1964, Costello et al. 2015). Ostium colourless (Fig. 7D). Siphosome (Fig. 7G-H): gastrozooids elongated, transparent and pink, oleocysts spherical to fusiform, oleocyst cavity transparent and bright red, the colour red being the brightest at the stem end of the oleocyst. Distal ridges of the bracts appear to be lined with nematocysts. Tentacles either contracted between the bracts or hanging down the siphosome with numerous white tentilla per tentacle. The number of pairs of nectophores vs. the minimum number of cormidia were counted for four individuals: 3p/31, 10p/27, 8p/12 and 12p/45.

Southern Ocean: off Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula (Maas 1908), Ross Sea (USNM 53827, 58897) (Larson 1986, Browne 1910) and north of Ross Sea (62.408°S, 159.608°W, USNM 58895), Bellingshausen Sea (Larson 1986), Davis Sea (Larson 1986), off Dumont d’Urville (Thiebot et al. 2016, Toda et al. 2014), Gauss Station (as Ulmaropsis drygalskii, Vanhöffen 1908), off cape Adare (Browne 1910) and in Prydz Bay (Australian Antarctic Data Centre 2018a, Hosie 1999b, Hosie 1999a). Although also reported from Madagascar (Richmond 1997) and the Indo-Pacific (van der Land 2008), these records are deemed unreliable and were probably misidentifications of Diplulmaris malayensis Stiasny, 1935.

Original description after Maas (1908) (Fig. 8A,Fig. 9A): medusa with 16 rhopalia, 16 tentacles and 32 marginal lappets, regularly alternating, with narrow canals, ramified at the periphery, connected through a circular canal. Early stage (15 mm diameter) (Fig. 8A): short manubrium, with quadrangular basal part more developed than its lips, the latter with little incisions, interradial arcs carrying the gastric filaments highly visible, also indicating the radius of the gonads, recognisable by a notch of the sub-umbrella with ectoderm and endoderm. Gastro-vascular system not consisting of pockets, but of real canals, due to the width of the merging anastomoses (i.e. “cathamnes” in the original French version). Two types of canals extend from the coronal base of the stomach (i.e. “basigaster coronaire”), distinctively separated at their origin: the canals in the radius of the 16 rhopalia and those in the radius of the tentacles, the former being separated close to their origins by anastomoses into a larger principal radial canal and into two lateral canals. The canals in the radius of the tentacles are divided into eight larger canals, similar to the canals in the axis of the rhopalia, with these eight canals being narrower in the axis of the less-developed tentacles compared to those in the axis of the largest tentacles. All those radial canals are reunited by a narrow continuous circular canal, which does not extend into the lappets themselves. The 16 statocysts are typically club-shaped and regularly placed. Of the 16 tentacles, eight are large and of equal size, the other eight are smaller and of inequal size. The bell margin is incised into 16 large primary lappets at the radius of the tentacles, with these incisions being the deepest in the radius of the eight large tentacles, whereas the eight other incisions at the smaller tentacles are shallower and more unequal, with some barely incised at all. The 16 incisions in the radius of the statocysts are shallower, but of equal depth, dividing each primary lappet into two secondary ones. Adult stage (35-40 mm diameter, description based on one quadrant) (Fig. 9A): the incisions are more or less equal and the difference in size amongst tentacles is less marked. The disc grew mainly in the area located between the stomach and the periphery of the lappets. The canals were elongated and became single lanes of communication between the central sinus and the peripherical network, the latter being formed due to the increased complexity of the canal branches without significant growth, the mesh becoming, therefore, more irregular. Gonads more distinct. Type locality: Antarctica, off Anvers Island (during the French Antarctic Expedition with the "Français " vessel).

Figure 8.  

Juvenile Diplulmaris antarctica. A. Drawing from the original description (modified from Maas 1908) of a juvenile specimen (diameter 15 mm), oral view, from off Anvers Island, Antarctica; B. Drawing of a specimen in an early (left) and more advanced (right) ephyra stage from the Ross Sea, Antarctica (modified from Browne 1910); C-E. Juvenile specimen MCMEC2019_Diplulmaris_antarctica_b observed on 30/11/2019: apico-lateral view (C), lateral view (D), apico-lateral view when contracted (E) and apical view (F). G-H Juvenile specimen MCMEC2019_Diplulmaris_antarctica_c observed on 1/12/2019: apical view (G) and oral-lateral view (H). C-H photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Figure 9.  

Adult Diplulmaris antarctica. A. Drawing from the original description by Maas (1908) of a bell portion of an adult specimen (diameter 35-40 mm), oral view, from off Anvers Island, Antarctica; B. Photography of sub-umbrella view of the gastrovascular canals of a specimen (diameter 18 cm) from McMurdo Sound (Operation Deep Freeze II station 61-D) (Larson 1986); C-D. Drawing of the sub-umbrella view of a specimen (diameter 10 cm) from McMurdo Sound (Operation Deep Freeze II station 61-D) (Larson 1986); E-F. Sub-umbrella (E) and apicular (F) views of an adult specimen MCMEC2019_Diplulmaris_antarctica_a observed on 16/11/2019 eating a Beroe sp. Gv: gastrovascular canal, rc: ring canal, rh: rhopalium, te: tentacle. E-F photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Additional information from specimens from the Southern Ocean: from Gauss Station as Ulmaropsis drygalskii (Vanhöffen 1908), description matching with the original of Maas (1908), 96 bases of canals leaving the stomach. Meta-ephyra stage: for medusa of 15 mm diameter, the beginning of the formation of lateral canals emerging from the canal in the axis of the rhopalia can be observed, at 17 mm diameter, these lateral canals are more defined and, by 22 mm diameter, two pairs of lateral canals are present, although the anastomoses for these canals are still missing; from the Ross Sea (Browne 1910) (Fig. 8B), ephyra stage (smallest 4-5 mm in diameter), with 16 fairly long arms divided into two flat lobes, 32 straight unbranched radial canals, 16 of which directly run from the stomach to the rhopalia and alternating with 16 in the axis of the tentacles, the latter developed slightly later than the rhopalial canals. Tentacles in rudimentary stage, either as bulb-like buds, tapering elongated buds or minute tentacles. In the smallest ephyra, only four of those tentacular buds present and an additional 12 buds develop, in irregular intervals and without any definite order, as the medusa grows. Stomach small and circular, with four gastric filaments (number increasing as medusa grows), with one filament in each group much longer than the others in the early developmental stages. Mouth simple large opening, without any definite lips or arms, which appear later. Ex-umbrella covered with small clusters of nematocysts, which, in later stages, will be confined to the aboral side of the marginal lobes. Circular canal formed by outgrowths from the radial canals and formed before the branches of the rhopaliar canals begin to develop. Meta-ephyra stage (15-25 mm diameter) similar to Maas (1908). Adult stage (three specimens of diameter between 60-75 mm, none of which were complete), umbrella thin, margin of the mouth studded with warts and short protuberances containing nematocysts, stomach is a flat circular cavity (size 2/3 of umbrella diameter), covered in a moderately thick layer of mesoglea on its lower side. Radial canals as described by Maas (1908). Gonads narrow band on the outer side of the gastric filaments, protruding from the stomach and hanging down from the sub-umbrella and becoming broader and sinuously folded when further developed. Tentacles hollow and laterally compressed, especially in their basal portions, but the distal portion is rounder and tapers off to a slender tip. Along the whole inner side of the tentacle runs a band, closely studded with nematocyst clusters. In fully-grown tentacles, the inner cavity has transverse folds. Number of rhopalia and tentacles same as Maas (1908). Rhopalia not well-protected, situated on the wall of the niche formed by the marginal lobes and pointing upwards to the aboral side of the umbrella. Rhopaliar canal, leading from the circular canal to the sense organs, broad and flat. Over the rhopaliar canal and on the surface of the umbrella, a small patch of darkly-coloured cells is present, forming a rudimentary dorsal sensory pit, which is occasionally absent. Ex-umbrella side of marginal lobes covered in numerous warts containing nematocysts. Lobes show slight variation in shape and fill up the space between the sense organs and the tentacles; from the Bellingshausen Sea, Ross Sea and Davis Sea (Larson 1986) (Fig. 9B-D), adult stage (bell diameters 90-180 mm), umbrella mesoglea thin, ex-umbrella smooth, rounded or pointed marginal lappets, 16 rhopalia alternating with 1-3 marginal tentacles. Tentacles (number between 16 and 48), laterally compressed, with abaxial nematocyst warts along their length. Four oral arms, frilled, curtain-like, length ca. equal to bell diameter, lip margin studded with nematocyst papillae. Four gonads, everted and sac-like. Gastrovascular canals between 32-96. Rhopaliar canals 16, with 1-5 interjacent tentacular canals between each rhopalium. All canals proximally unbranched for inner 1/2- 2/3 of length, distally anastomosing in an irregular network. Ring canal near umbrella margin. Colour: umbrella colourless, tentacles whitish, gastrodermis of stomach and of oral arms reddish-orange.

Additional information from specimens from outside the Southern Ocean: to our knowledge, no specimens have been described outside the Southern Ocean. The records from Madagascar (Richmond 1997) and the Indo-Pacific (van der Land 2008), are not accompanied by photographs or morphological descriptions and, although the sketch/illustration of "Diplulmaris antarctica" in Richmond (1997) shows the characters of the genus, both records are deemed mis-identifcations of Diplulmaris malayensis Stiasny, 1935, or another presently undescribed congener. Expatriation of Southern Ocean species is not unknown, so further surveys in southern Africa, Chile or New Zealand should carefully investigate the species-specific characters.

Comments on observed material: N = 3 in 2019 [two juveniles (Fig. 8G-H) and one adult specimen (Fig. 9E-F), based on the ramification of peripheral canals]. Bell diameter of one juvenile specimen, ca. 50 mm; ex-umbrella covered in warts and cnidocysts, these warts being large and pointy in young medusa and smaller and rounder in the adult specimen; dorsal surface of marginal lappets covered in cnidocysts; transparent tubular gastric filaments rooted at the four corners of the manubrium; gastrodermis of adult orange; oral arms transparent, length ca. same as bell radius, with frilled edges; tentacles white with yellow segmented dorsal side; hyperiids attached to ex-umbrella; small transparent Beroe sp. in stomach of adult specimen.

Description of the genus Beroe: sac-like bodies without tentacles or tentacle sheaths, very large mouth and stomodaeum, eight meridional canals, connected orally and a row of branched papillae in a figure of eight at the aboral pole (Licandro and Lindsay 2017). The identification of Beroe species can be very difficult, as of the current 27 described species (WoRMS Editorial Board 2020), many have only been superficially described and the number of synonyms is likely very high (Harbison et al. 1978). We, therefore, only report the morphological characteristics of the three Beroe species reported for the Southern Ocean (Table 1), namely: Beroe compacta Moser, 1909 from Gauss Station (e.g. Moser 1909) (Fig. 10D) and Eastern Antarctica (e.g. Grossmann 2010), "Beroe cucumis" from the Antarctic Peninsula (e.g. Friedlander et al. 2020) and Gauss Station (e.g. Moser 1909) and "B. ovale" in the northern Ross Sea (e.g. Ocean Survey 20/20 2013). O'Sullivan (1986) also mentioned that B. forskalii was recorded from the Antarctic Peninsula in Chun (1880), within his monograph on ctenophores from the Gulf of Naples and surrounding waters, but we were unable to find such a geographical record in that manuscript. A photograph of a 64 mm-long Beroe species from the Danco coast of the Antarctic Peninsula (64.65˚S, 61.916˚W) appears in Figure 3 of Whelan et al. (2017). It is whitish, but appears to have yellowish-brown pigment around the mouth and in the distal halves of the meridional canals, with the diverticula not anastomosing. Only a single photograph is presented, without notes on morphology, but the nuclear 18S ribosomal RNA sequence (MF599315) should allow subsequent authors to characterise it. In any case, the comb rows are too short and too long, respectively, for it to be assignable to the present Beroe sp. A or B. Regarding "B. ovale" (Fig. 10a), apparently the Match Taxa tool in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS Editorial Board 2020) at that time was used to finalise the species assignment, but the rationale for identification has not been recorded. We consider it most likely that the recorded species resembled either B. ovata sensu Mayer, 1912 (Fig. 10c) = B. ovata Chamisso & Eysenhardt, 1821 = B. ovatus Bosc, 1802 or B. ovata sensu Chun, 1880 (Fig. 10b) = B. ovata Eschscholtz, 1829 = B. ovata Bruguière, 1789 [two different species - see Mills et al. 1996]. The WoRMS taxonomy for B. ovale Bosc, 1802 has been updated to the correct species epiphet (i.e. B. ovatus Bosc, 1802).

a

b

c

d

Figure 10.

Beroe species recorded from the Southern Ocean

a: Beroe ovatus Bosc, 1802, drawing (modified from Bosc 1802).  
b: Beroe ovata sensu Chun, 1880, drawing of an adult specimen from the Gulf of Naples, Mediterranean Sea (modified from Chun 1880).  
c: Beroe ovata sensu Mayer, 1912 drawing of a specimen from St. Mary’s River, Maryland (modified from Mayer 1912).  
d: Beroe compacta Moser, 1909 drawing (length 2.5 mm) from Gauss Station, Antarctica (modified from Moser 1909).  

A similar brownish-orange undescribed Beroe species has been observed in Antarctica, in the Ross Sea (Brueggeman 1998) (Fig. 11d) and in the Weddell Sea (photographed by ©Ingo Arndt, https://www.mindenpictures.com/search?s=Ingo+Arndt+beroe). Another pink-orange Beroe was collected and photographed off Argentina, but the specimen was too damaged to properly identify (see Figure 2F in Schiariti et al. 2021).

a

b

c

d

e

f

Figure 11.

Specimens of Beroe sp. A observed in the Ross Sea. a-c and e-f photos courtesy: E. Cimoli; d photo courtesy: Shawn Harper.

a: Adult specimen observed on 16/11/2019 (MCMEC2019_Beroe_sp_A_a)  
b: Adult specimen in apico-lateral view observed on 16/11/2018 (MCMEC2018_Beroe_sp_A_c)  
c: Adult specimen in lateral view observed on 16/11/2018 (MCMEC2018_Beroe_sp_A_c)  
d: Adult specimen observed at Little Razorback Island, Ross Sea, on 02/12/2010 (LRISH2010_Beroe_sp_A_g).  
e: Juvenile specimen MCMEC2019_Beroe_sp_A_b in stomodeal view observed on 30/11/2019.  
f: Juvenile specimen MCMEC2019_Beroe_sp_A_b observed on 30/11/2019.  

Description of and comments on observed material (Fig. 11): N = 3 in 2018 and N = 4 in 2019. Body shape long and oval (body length ca. 2.4 times body width), eight comb rows above the meridional canals, starting close to the aboral end, of equal length ca. 2/3 of the body length [ca. 85 comb plates per row in Little Razorback Island LRISH2010_Beroe_sp_A_g specimen], meridional canals extend past the oral end of the comb rows, space between comb plates short (space between four comb plates ca. equal to length of comb plate); white and brownish-orange divertula without anastomoses; orange-brown stomodeum, its length nearly full body length. None of the currently described Beroe species found in the Southern Ocean matched with the description of our specimens (Table 1). Although colour supposedly is of little taxonomic significance to distinguish between Beroe species (e.g. Arai 1988, Quoy and Gaimard 1824), it is the first time that brownish-orange specimens have been formally described for this genus in the Southern Ocean (Table 1). Observed swimming or immobile at any depths between the seafloor and the surface ice cover, orientated either horizontally or vertically (with aboral end pointing up or down).

First reported observation.

Description of and comments on observed material: N = 1 in 2019 (Fig. 12). Body length ca. 35 mm, body shape oval (body length ca. 1.5 times body width); colour transparent to milky white; length of comb rows 1/4 of the body length; ca. 22 comb plates per comb row; space between five comb plates ca. equal to width of comb plate and length of comb plates four times the width of a comb plate; length of meridional canals full body length; length stomodeum ca. equal to body length; no diverticula; small yellow round deposits located within the walls of the meridional canals (could be gonads, sperm, eggs or oil droplets). None of the currently described adult Beroe species found in the Southern Ocean matched with the description of our specimen (Table 1); however, the lack of colour and the shortness of the comb rows vs. body length could indicate our specimen was a juvenile. Indeed, despite the colour of juvenile individuals being rarely included in the description or re-description of Beroe species, when reported, juveniles are either colourless (e.g. B. abyssicola Mortensen, 1927), transparent (e.g. B. ovata sensu Chun, 1880 and B. pandorina Moser, 1903) or of lighter colour (e.g. B. abyssicola in Arai 1988) compared to intraspecific adults. Shorter comb rows vs. body length in larvae or young specimens compared to adults have been reported for B. campana (Komai 1918), B. forskalii (Moser 1903), B. gracilis (Künne 1939), B. mitrata (Moser 1907), B. ovata sensu Mayer, 1912 (Mayer 1912) and B. ramosa (Komai 1921). However, even when shorter, the comb length in juveniles of the Beroe species listed above usually extended up to half the body length. Therefore, the comb row length of our observed species is unusually short, regardless of its life stage and, therefore, likely it is a Beroe species not yet reported to occur in the Southern Ocean.

Figure 12.  

Beroe sp. B specimen MCMEC2019_Beroe_sp_B_a observed on 15/11/2019: lateral views (A-B) and oral view (C). Photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Antarctica: Ross Sea [photographed by ©Shawn Harper in Brueggeman (1998)], Gauss Station (Moser 1909), north of Prydz Bay (Australian Antarctic Data Centre 2019, Australian Antarctic Data Centre 2018b, Australian Antarctic Data Centre 2018c, Hosie 1991, Hosie 1999b) and west of Cape Adare (Crossley and Hoddell 2017).

Original description after Moser (1909) (Fig. 13A-B): length specimens 2-13 mm, body slim, slightly flattened at the stomodaeal region. Two keels at the aboral pole (i.e. “Sinnespol” in the German original version), the body gradually widening from the mouth onwards when viewed from the substomodeal plane, while appearing cylindrical and tapered towards both ends when viewed from the subtentacular plane. Lip-shaped protuberance (i.e. “Sinneskörper”) near statocyst missing. The keels are wide and short, similar to those of Callianira antarctica, but much shorter compared to those of Callianira bialata. The oval opening of the tentacle sheath is located laterally directly under the blunt tips of the keels, lower compared to C. antarctica. The comb rows lie on strong protruding meridional ridges, between which the body surface is concave. The comb rows are very long, with the substomodeal comb rows running from the height of the statocyst to one-fifth of the body length from the oral end, whereas the shorter subtentacular comb rows run from slightly deeper in the base of the wings to one-quarter of the body length from the oral end. The comb plates (i.e. “Schwimmplättchen”) lie on strongly protruding basal swellings (i.e. “Basalwülsten”); they are narrow and very long, the longest comb plates found in the aboral third of the body, from where they shorten fairly quickly in length towards the aboral pole and gradually shorten towards the oral pole. The space between the comb plates of the substomodeal comb rows is wider compared to the subtentacular ones. Two long polar plates slide between the aboral ends of the substomodeal comb rows. Mouth small and is bound by two lips lying in the stomodaeal plane. Stomach very slim and long (length ca. 4/5 body length), with short swellings. Perradial canals (i.e. “Trichtergefäß”) short, rather thick pipes. Statocyst exposed. The adradial canals (i.e. “adradialen Gefäße”) enter the meridional canals (i.e. “Meridionalgefäße") at the same height as the infundibulum (i.e. “Trichter”). Tentacle bulbs short and wide, located very low, at the same height as the infundibulum, between the infundibulum and the body wall. The tentacle bulbs are pointed orally, split aborally into two short tips and have in their middle, both proximally and distally, each a short cone, from which the tentacle arises. Tentacle sheath (i.e. “Scheide”) short and very wide, with small oval openings near the tip of the keels. Colour not stated, likely colourless. Compared to C. antarctica, the only other Callianira species reported from the Southern Ocean (e.g. Kaufmann et al. 2011, Moser 1909, Scolardi et al. 2006, Sherlock et al. 2011), according to Moser (1909), C. cristata has narrower and extremely long comb plates and the tentacle sheath opening is closer to the tip of the keels and it has longer tentacle bulbs. Type locality: Gauss station (66.03˚S, 89.63˚E), Antarctica.

Figure 13.  

Callianira cristata. A-B. Drawing from the original description (specimen length 12 mm) (modified from Moser 1909) from Gauss Station, Antarctica: lateral view of the substomodeal plane (A) and the subtentacular plane (B); C-H. Specimen MCMEC2019_Callianira_cristata_a observed on 22/11/2018: lateral-substomodeal views (C-D, G-H) oral view (E) and latero-aboral view (F). The contrast and brightness of images G-H were strongly modified to reveal underlying morphological structures. Abbreviations: ad-c., adradial canal; c.g., ciliary groove; m., mouth; o.t.s., opening of tentacle sheath; pe-c., perradial canal; r., ridge; st., statocyst; ss-cr., substomodeal comb row; st-cr., subtentacular comb row; t.b., tentacle bulb. C-H photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Description and comments of observed material: N = 1 in 2019 (Fig. 13C-H). The morphological similarities observed compared to the original description of Moser (1909) were the following: body shape, keel length vs. total body length (including keel) 17%, opening of tentacle sheath located at the tip of the keels, length of substomodeal comb rows longer than subtentacular comb rows (ca. 25 vs ca. 17), comb plates laying on protruding basal swellings, long comb plates with the longest found in aboral third of the body (length of subtentacular comb plates 2.5 times the inter-comb plate distance in aboral third of body), mouth shape, slim and long pharynx (ca. 65% of body length), short and thick perradial canals, adradial canals entering meridional canals at the height of infundibulum, tentacle bulbs split aborally in two, tentacle arising from a short cone located at the middle of the tentacle bulb, polar plate length up to the second comb plate from the aboral end of the substomodeal comb rows. Dissimilarities: raised ridges present near statocyst (Fig. 13); many more comb plates per comb row, with ca. 25 comb plates (Fig. 12D) for substomodeal comb rows vs. 14 (Fig. 13A) on the drawing of Moser (1909); body colourless, except for dark purple tentacle bulb and tentacles, with numerous short light purple tentilla. New reported characteristics: six ridges (Fig. 13E), one between each substomodeal comb row and subtentacular comb row and also between adjacent substomodeal comb rows; ciliary groove running from the aboral end of the substomodeal meridional canals to the aboral pole (Fig. 13H); in the oral third of the body, space between two substomodeal comb plates ca. equal to width of comb. It is worth noting that the validity of the genus Callianira is currently under debate and in need of a thorough revision, as the arguments to join its first three species did not meet modern standards (Bennema and van Moorsel 2011). A recent phylogenetic study of Ctenophora, including Callianira antarctica, even suggested that Callianira should be excluded from the family Mertensiidae and should remain as incertae familae until further revision (Townsend et al. 2020).

first time observation.

Description of the family Mertensiidae: according to the key to Ctenophora by Licandro and Lindsay (2017), our observed specimens should be part of the Mertensiidae family, excluding the genus Lampea, based on the following morphological characters: Cydippida with presence of a pair of tentacles exiting aborally from opposite sides of the body, tentacles with tentilla, without oral lobes, tentacle sheath exits towards the aboral pole, tentacle attached at the aboral end of the tentacle bulb, type C internal canal structure. The body, however, is not laterally compressed. A recent phylogenetic study showed that the family Mertensiidae is non-monophyletic and, therefore, needs revision (Townsend et al. 2020). We provisionally place this species in the Mertensiidae sensu lato, which is also the current assignment of other such orphans, such as the Mertensiidae sp. of Wrobel and Mills (1998): cf. Figure 108. A record for a Mertensiidae sp. from the Danco coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, appears in Whelan et al. (2017) with the GenBank accession number MF599321. Figure 3 of the same paper apparently assigns this sequence to a 6.5 mm-long, whitish, elongated "Cydippida species Antarctica", but Table S1 in the supplementary material lists both a Mertensiidae sp. (64.65˚S, 62.396˚W) and a Cydippida sp. (63.439˚S, 55.453˚W) from Antarctica. Figure 2 in Whelan et al. (2017) refers to this sequence as Mertensiidae sp. Antarctica, while all other figures, including Figure 3 with the photograph, refer to this sequence as "Cydippida species Antarctica". Although the morphology of the animal in Figure 3 is vastly different from the undescribed species dealt with in the present paper, it is unclear whether the photograph assigned to the Mertensiid sequence in Whelan et al. (2017) is actually of that animal or whether it is a photo of something completely different. Photographs of "Mertensiid ctenophores" appear in Brueggeman (1998), but the tentacle bulbs lie parallel to the stomodeum in the first photo and the ridges are far more pronounced in the second photo compared to the present material. We, therefore, infer that other undescribed "mertensiid" species occur in the Ross Sea.

Comments on observed material: N = 4 in 2018 and N = 2 in 2019 (Fig. 14). Body nearly completely spherical, transparent; eight comb rows located equidistantly from each other, of same length, extending 90% of total body length, space between four comb plates ca. equal to width of comb plate, length of comb plates ca. three times inter-comb plate distance; type C internal canal structure (see Licandro and Lindsay 2017); tentacle bulb long (1/3 of total body length), orientated obliquely to the stomodeum (Fig. 14A) with aboral end located close to stomodeum, at one third from aboral end and oral end the furthest from the stomodeum, at one third of oral end, colour dark brown on the outside with salmon-coloured groove facing stomodeum; tentacles thick, dark red when leaving the aboral end of tentacle bulb, with light pink tentilla; tentacle sheath opening very long or situated within a deep lateral groove, running from close to polar plate (Fig. 14F) to about the height of the middle of the tentacle bulb; polar plate straight line; no ciliary ring encircling polar plate; two anal pores on both sides of statocyst; length of comb plates equal to six times the space between plates; stomodeum length up to aboral end of tentacle bulbs.

Figure 14.  

Mertensiidae sp. A. Lateral views (A-D), oral view (E) and aboral view (F) of specimens observed on 27/11/2018 (MCMEC2018_Mertensiidae_sp_A_c) (A) and 15/11/2019 (MCMEC2019_Mertensiidae_sp_A_a) (B-F). Abbreviations: ad-c., adradial canal; a.p., anal pore; c.g., ciliary grove; m., mouth; o.t.s.o., oral end opening of tentacle sheath; p.p., polar plate; s. o., tentacle sheath opening; st., statocyst; ss-cr., substomodeal comb row; st-cr., subtentacular comb row; t.b., tentacle bulb. C-H photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Mollusca was the third most-observed phylum (20% of all observations): Clione limacina antarctica (N = 2 in 2018, N = 1 in 2019) (Fig. 15), Spongiobranchaea australis (N = 1 in 2018) (Fig. 16), Limacina helicina antarctica (N = 2 in 2019) (Fig. 17),and various Gastropod larvae (N = 3 in 2018, N = 2 in 2019) (Fig. 18).

Figure 15.  

Clione limacina antarctica. A, B. Specimens observed on 29/11/2018; C. Specimen observed on 20/11/2019. Photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Figure 16.  

Spongiobranchaea australis. A, B. Specimens observed on 29/11/2018. Photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Figure 17.  

Limacina helicina antarctica specimen observed on 22/11/2019. Photo courtesy: E. Cimoli.

Figure 18.  

Gastropod larvae. A. Specimen observed on 16/11/2018; B. Specimen observed on 1/12/2018. Photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.

We observed a few amphilochid amphipods belonging to the family Eusiridae (N = 3 in 2018, N = 1 in 2019) (e.g. Fig. 19).

Figure 19.  

Eusirid amphipod specimen observed on 26/11/2019. Photo courtesy: E. Cimoli.

We observed one syllid polychaete in 2019, carrying a large yellow egg sac (Fig. 20).

Figure 20.  

Syllidae polychaete carrying a large yellow egg sac observed on 22/11/2019. Photos courtesy: E. Cimoli.