Euphysora Maas, 1905

Wang, Xuefeng, Lin, Kun, Xu, Zhenzu, Guo, Donghui & Huang, Jiaqi, 2019, Some new Hydroidomedusa (Cnidaria) from the northern South China Sea, Zoological Systematics 44 (3), pp. 191-205 : 200

Genus Euphysora Maas, 1905

Euphysora Maas, 1905: 6–7 ; Huang, 1999: 435–441; Xu & Huang, 2003: 136–144; Bouillon et al., 2006: 230; Xu et al., 2014: 369. Type-species: Euphysora bigelowi Maas, 1905 .

Diagnosis. The genus can be recognized by usually with 3 short or rudimentary tentacles and one long principal tentacle, which differs from others in both size and structure.

Remarks. The genus Euphysora Maas, 1905 has a complex taxonomic history and had been treated as the synonym of Corymorpha M Sars, 1835 ( Hartlaub, 1907; Mayer, 1910; Brown, 1916; Uchida, 1927; Kramp, 1961; Sassaman & Rees, 1978; Petersen, 1990; Schuchert, 1996; Bouillon & Boero, 2000). In 2006, Bouillon et al. revalidated the genus Euphysora because following features differing from the genus Corymorpha : hydranth with numerous oral capitate tentacles in irregular whorls; aboral tentacles filiform; medusae with 3 short or rudimentary marginal tentacles, and one long principal tentacle with single row of adaxial cnidocyst knobs differs from both size and structure. We agree with Bouillon et al. (2006). However, the systematic position of genus Euphysora requires additional life cycle data of various species.

Only 25 valid species of Euphysora are reported ( Huang, 1999; Bouillon & Boero, 2000; Xu & Huang, 2003, 2006; Bouillon et al., 2006; Du et al., 2012; Xu et al., 2014), of which 19 species are reported in China seas.