New records of scyphomedusae from Pakistan coast: Catostylus perezi and Pelagia cf. noctiluca (Cnidaria: Scyphozoa)

Abstract

Jellyfish are generally unfavourably known by their negative impact on human activities related to the sea such as fishing, aquaculture and tourism (Purcell et al., 2007). Among the cnidarian jellyfish groups (known as medusozoans), the class Scyphozoa Goette, 1887 comprises about 200 described species occurring in all oceans (Mianzan & Cornelius, 1999; Daly et al., 2007). Scyphozoan jellyfish are important macrozooplankton predators, unique due to their large size and beautiful colour patterns (Cornelius, 1997). They play a significant role in marine food webs, not only predating on several groups (Purcell, 1997) but also serving as food for many marine animals (Arai, 2005). In different countries, some scyphomedusae species are also consumed by humans as a delicacy food (Hsieh et al., 2001; Omori & Nakano, 2001). The group presents venomous species that sometimes even cause severe medical problems to humans (Burnett, 2001). The occurrence of large populations or blooms (Graham et al., 2001; Miranda et al., 2012) in coastal waters can cause disturbance in fishing activities (Purcell et al., 2007; Nagata et al., 2009). For the coast of Pakistan (North Arabian Sea) there are only two reports mentioning scyphozoan jellyfish species, both rhizostomes (Tahera & Kazmi, 2006; Muhammed & Sultana, 2008): Rhizostoma pulmo (Macri, 1778) and Catostylus mosaicus (Quoy & Gaimard, 1824). Here we report the occurrence of another scyphomedusae for Pakistan, and a discussion concerning previous identification of Catostylus mosaicus.