Table 3. Morphological characters examined for this study.
| Character | Chrysaora quinquecirrha | Chrysaora chesapeakei |
|---|---|---|
| Macromorphology | ||
| Bell diameter (average/median) | 114 mm (59–176 mm) | 62.2 mm (17–175 mm) |
| Tentacles/octant (average ± 95% CI) | 5.28 ± 0.45 | 3.07 ± 0.07 |
| Tentacles/octant (range) | 4.5–6.75 | 2.75–3.43* |
| Lappets/octant (average ± 95% CI) | 6.26 ± 0.46 | 4.08 ± 0.06 |
| Lappets/octant (range) | 5.5–7.75 | 3.75–4.8 |
| Maximum oral arm length (average ± 95% CI) | 1.24 ± 0.27 times BD | 3.00 ± 0.39 times BD |
| Maximum oral arm length (range) | 0.68–1.81 times BD | 1.21–5.58 times BD |
| Lappets in size classes | Yes, rhopalar lappets larger | No, lappets of similar size |
| Rhopalia number | 8 | 8 |
| Rhopaliar pits | Deep | Deep |
| Septa shape | Bent | Bent |
| Septa termination | Near tentacle | Near tentacle |
| Spiral oral arms? | No | No |
| Manubrium length | Elongated | Elongated |
| Manubrium mass | Light | Light |
| Warts/papillae | Inconspicuous | Inconspicuous |
| Maximum bell diameter | <20 cm^ | <20 cm^ |
| Bell mass | Light | Light |
| Dominant color | White, colorless | Variable, white, colorless or red/brown bell |
| Exumbrellar marks | Minor bell marks in some cases | Variable, red or brown star shape conspicuous in some cases |
| Oral arm color | None | Variable, oral arms can be colored red/brown |
| Quadralinga | None | None |
| Gonads in pouch? | Yes | Yes |
| Gonad shape | Not finger-like | Not finger-like |
| Cnidome | ||
| A isorhiza—length vs. width (avg) | 20.25 ± 0.38 × 11.27 ± 0.37 μm | 26.21 ± 0.50 × 19.74 ± 0.55 μm |
| A isorhiza—length vs. width (range) | 15.01–22.9 × 9.07–13.16 μm | 20.54–33.79 × 15.03–29.77 μm |
| a isorhiza—length vs. width (avg) | 8.27 ± 0.19 × 4.22 ± 0.07 μm | 7.88 ± 0.13 × 4.29 ± 0.07 μm |
| a isorhiza—length vs. width (range) | 6.56–9.77 × 3.65–4.95 μm | 6.32–9.9 × 3.59–5.46 μm |
| O isorhiza—length vs. width (avg) | 21.64 ± 0.38 × 18.92 ± 0.77 μm | 23.10 ± 0.43 × 20.75 ± 0.62 μm |
| O isorhiza—length vs. width (range) | 17.64–23.97 × 16.08–21.74 μm | 17.88–27.51 × 16.07–24.75 μm |
| Birhopaloids—length vs. width (avg) | 13.58 ± 0.19 × 8.09 ± 0.09 μm | 12.73 ± 0.22 × 8.29 ± 0.13 μm |
| Birhopaloids—length vs. width (range) | 12.31–14.86 × 6.96–8.90 μm | 10.96–15.27 × 7.1–10.23 μm |
Notes:
Characters in bold are species diagnostic. All macromorpholgical characters and character states (except maximum oral arm length) are taken from Gershwin & Collins (2002). Cnidome terminology is taken from Morandini & Marques (2010), with average examples in Fig. 8C and Fig. S1.
*
If two outlier specimens are included, the upper range is six tentacles/octant.
^
Although maximum bell diameter for Chrysaora quinquecirrha has been recorded as great as 40 mm (Gershwin & Collins, 2002; Morandini & Marques, 2010), no animals >20 mm were observed in this study.