Laodicea fijiana Agassiz & Mayer, 1899

Buecher, Emmanuelle, Goy, Jacqueline, J, Mark & Gibbons, 2005, Hydromedusae of the Agulhas Current, African Invertebrates 46, pp. 27-69 : 59-60

Laodicea fijiana Agassiz & Mayer, 1899

Laodicea fijiana: Agassiz & Mayer 1899: 163 , pl. 3, figs 9, 10; Kramp 1961: 140; 1968: 66, fig. 171.

Description: Two specimens from two stations. Saucer-shaped umbrella, much broader than tall, without apical projection; up to 2.5 mm in diameter. Exumbrella surface smooth. Mesoglea thin, but rigid. Velum narrow. Peripheral canal and four radial canals present; radial canals narrow, with smooth margin, unbranched; without centripetal canals. With more than 60 marginal tentacles connected to peripheral canal, arising from small, slightly swollen bulbs on umbrella margin. Tentacles long, hollow, unbranched, filiform. Margin without atentaculate swellings or warts; marginal cirri absent. Tentacle bulbs without spurs or lateral cirri, excretory papillae or pores absent. Cordyli present, few in number, irregularly distributed between tentacles. Manubrium quadrate, small, bearing short perradial lobes, not connected to radial canals by mesenteries. Mouth simple, short, quadrate, with slightly crenulated lips. Gastric peduncle absent. Without statocysts. With ocelli on some tentacular bulbs. With four gonads, sinuous and folded,

arising from complex lateral diverticula on subumbrella surface of radial canals, extending from manubrium along variable length of radial canals.

Material examined: H5060, H5061.

Comments: Seven species are recognised as valid by Bouillon and Boero (2000 b). These can be separated by the relative size of the gastric lobes, by the number of tentacles and cordyli, and by the presence/absence of abaxial spurs on the marginal bulbs. Ocelli may be present or absent. Only L. undulata ( Forbes and Goodsir, 1851) has previously been recorded from the Indian Ocean.

Distribution: Fiji Archipelago. This is the first record from the Indian Ocean. Neritic.