Abstract
The near-cosmopolitan genusClytiais abundantly found in coastal waters, but difficulties of identification in this genus make nearly all species records of medusae suspect. Complex life histories, ambiguous taxonomic characters, and phenotypic plasticity pose serious problems for accurate species-level identifications and future revisions ofClytiaspecies. In the present study, morphological investigations and molecular analyses ofClytiaspecimens from the coastal waters of the East China Sea revealedClytia gulangensissp. nov. as a new species. DNA barcoding based on the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene supported the new species as a separate species withinClytia, and phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial 16S rDNA and nuclear 18S rDNA further confirmed this new species to be a distinct lineage. Moreover, detailed observation of medusae and polyps of this species showed sufficient morphological differences from otherClytiaspecies for a diagnosis. Our results indicated that life cycle and DNA-based studies should be a standard approach in future biodiversity investigations ofClytiaspecies.
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