Phyllorhiza punctata von Lendenfeld, 1884

OLIVEIRA, OTTO M. P., MIRANDA, THAÍS P., ARAUJO, ENILMA M., AYÓN, PATRICIA, CEDEÑO-POSSO, CRISTINA M., CEPEDA-MERCADO, AMANCAY A., CÓRDOVA, PABLO, CUNHA, AMANDA F., GENZANO, GABRIEL N., HADDAD, MARIA ANGÉLICA, MIANZAN, HERMES W., MIGOTTO, ALVARO E., MIRANDA, LUCÍLIA S., MORANDINI, ANDRÉ C., NAGATA, RENATO M., NASCIMENTO, KARINE B., JÚNIOR, MIODELI NOGUEIRA, PALMA, SERGIO, QUIÑONES, JAVIER, RODRIGUEZ, CAROLINA S., SCARABINO, FABRIZIO, SCHIARITI, AGUSTÍN, STAMPAR, SÉRGIO N., TRONOLONE, VALQUÍRIA B. & MARQUES, ANTONIO C., 2016, Census of Cnidaria (Medusozoa) and Ctenophora from South American marine waters, Zootaxa 4194 (1), pp. 1-256 : 207

Phyllorhiza punctata von Lendenfeld, 1884

Synonyms in the area: Mastigias scintillae Moreira, 1961 .

Remarks: considered an invasive species in Atlantic waters (Graham et al. 2003; Bolton & Graham 2004). At the first invasion event in Brazil, the species was considered new to science (Moreira 1961) and suddenly disappeared. After more than 30 years, the species re-appeared and was studied and reported by Silveira & Cornelius (2000), Haddad & Nogueira Jr (2006), and Morandini et al. (2006b).

Distribution in South America: medusa—Atlantic Ocean, Brazil from 3°N to 27°S (Silveira & Cornelius 2000; Haddad & Nogueira Jr 2006; Morandini et al. 2006b; Silveira & Morandini 2011; Nogueira Jr. 2012).

Habitat: neritic species commonly found in estuaries and in coastal waters (Silveira & Cornelius 2000).