Medusae can be conspicuous and abundant members of seafloor communities in deep-sea benthic boundary layers. The epibenthic trachymedusa, Ptychogastria polaris Allman, 1878 (Hydrozoa: Trachylina: Ptychogastriidae) occurs in the cold, high latitude systems of both the northern and southern hemispheres, with a circumpolar distribution in Arctic and sub-Arctic areas, and disjunct reports of a few individuals from Antarctica. In January-February 2010, during benthic megafaunal photosurveys in three subpolar fjords along the West Antarctic Peninsula (Andvord, Flandres and Barilari Bays), P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe calanoid copepod genus Pleuromamma is easily distinguished from all other copepods by the presence of a rounded, dark-red cuticular structure ( = pigment knob) that protrudes from the left or right side of the second thoracic segment in both sexes. The present study of the pigment knob reveals a complex ultrastructure consisting of various cell types within three distinct areas that are bathed by hemolymph from the lateral sinus. The knob is covered by a greatly expanded cuticle through which a pore passes.
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