jellyfish
Jellyfish and sea jellies are the informal common names given to the medusa-phase of certain gelatinous members of the subphylum Medusozoa, a major part of the phylum Cnidaria. Jellyfish are mainly free-swimming marine animals with umbrella- ...
from warmer parts of the East Atlantic Ocean and since the 2000s also found in the
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...
. It is the only member of the family
Catostylidae
Catostylidae is a family of jellyfish. Members of this family are characterized by their thick, sausage-like oral arms.
Description
Members of the family Catostylidae are small marine jellyfish with domed bells. The eight short oral arms are bro ...
that is found in Europe.Parracho, T.; and Z. Morais (2015). Catostylus tagi: partial rDNA sequencing and characterisation of nematocyte structures using two improvements in jellyfish sample preparation. J Venom Anim Toxins Incl Trop Dis. 21: 40. It has
collagen
Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole ...
in its bell which is currently being researched to see if it has
biomedical
Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)
uses as an
intercellular matrix
In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), also called intercellular matrix, is a three-dimensional network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins and hydroxyapatite that provide str ...
. The species is named after the
Tagus
The Tagus ( ; es, Tajo ; pt, Tejo ; see #Name, below) is the longest river in the Iberian Peninsula. The river rises in the Montes Universales near Teruel, in mid-eastern Spain, flows , generally west with two main south-westward sections ...
river.
Description
Typical ''
Catostylus
''Catostylus'' is a genus of jellyfish in the family Catostylidae.
Species
The following species are recognized in the genus Catostylus.Catostylus tagi. Zooplankton of the South Atlantic Ocean. Marine Species Identification Portal. Retrieved 15 June 2019. ''C. tagi'' has
gonad
A gonad, sex gland, or reproductive gland is a mixed gland 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, produces sper ...
s along the edge of its stomach in an X shape. It has the octant formation typical of ''Catostylus'' jellies, the height of the octants are also variable.
Food
Eats both
zooplankton
Zooplankton are the animal component of the planktonic community ("zoo" comes from the Greek word for ''animal''). Plankton are aquatic organisms that are unable to swim effectively against currents, and consequently drift or are carried along by ...
and
phytoplankton
Phytoplankton () are the autotrophic (self-feeding) components of the plankton community and a key part of ocean and freshwater ecosystems. The name comes from the Greek words (), meaning 'plant', and (), meaning 'wanderer' or 'drifter'.
Ph ...
, certain crustaceans, small fish, and marine snow.
Biomedical use
Its bell collagen is currently being researched for use as an
intercellular matrix
In biology, the extracellular matrix (ECM), also called intercellular matrix, is a three-dimensional network consisting of extracellular macromolecules and minerals, such as collagen, enzymes, glycoproteins and hydroxyapatite that provide str ...
. The collagen is made up of 1/3 glycine and the most of the rest is water and other
amino acid
Amino acids are organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups. Although hundreds of amino acids exist in nature, by far the most important are the alpha-amino acids, which comprise proteins. Only 22 alpha am ...
s, its amino acid content is very small. The collagen is denatured as soon as it reaches .
References
*Boltovsky, T., Bernardo Abiahy, Viviana A. Alder, Martin V. Angel, Renate Bernstein, Dennis Binet, Demetrio Boltovsky, Jean Bouillon, Janet Bradford-Grieve, John-Paul Casanova, Paul Cornelius, Jose R. Dadon, Christina Deponte, Graciela B. Esnal, Maria Alamo, Adilson Fransozo, Mark Gibbons, Ray Gibson, and Cristoph Helemben. "Marine Species Identification Portal : Catostylus tagi." Marine Species Identification Portal : Catostylus tagi. UNESCO, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 2014.