''Atorella'' is a genus of
crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, parti ...
jellyfish
Jellyfish, also known as sea jellies or simply jellies, are the #Life cycle, medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, which is a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animal ...
. It is the only genus in the
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...
family Atorellidae and includes five species.
Members of this family are known from the eastern coast of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
and the western coast of
Panama
Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...
.
[
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Characteristics
Members of this genus are characterised by having exactly six tentacles
In zoology, a tentacle is a flexible, mobile, and elongated organ present in some species of animals, most of them invertebrates. In animal anatomy, tentacles usually occur in one or more pairs. Anatomically, the tentacles of animals work main ...
and six rhopalia
Rhopalia (singular: rhopalium) from Ancient Greek ῥόπαλον (''rhópalon'') 'club' are small sensory structures of certain Scyphozoan (true jellyfish) and Cubozoan (box jellyfish) species.
Description
The structures typically occur in mul ...
, twelve marginal lappets and twelve pedalia. The bell ranges from in diameter. The bell is colourless and transparent and the four orange gonads
A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland and sex organ that produces the gametes and sex hormones of an organism. Female reproductive cells are egg cells, and male reproductive cells are sperm. The male gonad, the testicle, ...
can be seen inside. The mouth has four lips.
Species
The World Register of Marine Species
The World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) is a taxonomic database that aims to provide an authoritative and comprehensive catalogue and list of names of marine organisms.
Content
The content of the registry is edited and maintained by scien ...
lists the following species:-
*'' Atorella arcturi'' Bigelow, 1928
*'' Atorella japonica'' Kawaguti & Matsuno, 1981
*'' Atorella octogonos'' Mills, Larson & Young, 1987
*'' Atorella sibogae'' Leloup, 1937
*'' Atorella subglobosa'' Vanhöffen, 1902
*'' Atorella vanhoeffeni'' Bigelow, 1909
References
Coronatae
Scyphozoan genera
{{Scyphozoa-stub