Check List 19(1): 57-62, doi: 10.15560/19.1.57
New records of Tripedalia cystophora Conant, 1897 (Cubozoa, Carybdeida) along the southeastern Florida coastline
Angela D. Witmer‡, Thomas C Chesnes‡, Zachariah Miller§, Scott Tedford|, Alaina C. Bell¶‡ Palm Beach Atlantic University, West Palm Beach, United States of America§ Loxahatchee River Environmental Control District, Jupiter, United States of America| Martin County Public Works, Stuart, United States of America¶ Florida Department of Environmental Protection, North Palm Beach, United States of America
Corresponding author: Angela D. Witmer ( angela_witmer@pba.edu ) Academic editor: Ricardo González-Muñoz © Angela D. Witmer, Thomas Chesnes, Zachariah Miller, Scott Tedford, Alaina C. Bell. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Citation:
Witmer AD, Chesnes TC, Miller Z, Tedford S, Bell AC (2023) New records of Tripedalia cystophora Conant, 1897 (Cubozoa, Carybdeida) along the southeastern Florida coastline. Check List 19(1): 57-62. https://doi.org/10.15560/19.1.57 |  |
Abstract
Regional changes in coastal climates have recently resulted in many marine species expanding their natural ranges poleward. Among these newly migrating species is the Mangrove Box Jelly, Tripedalia cystophora Conant, 1897 (Cubozoa, Carybdeida). Discovery of this tropical species on the western coast of Florida has been well documented, but records on the eastern coast of Florida are less definitive. We identified 99 individuals in southeast Florida, including adults of both sexes. Evidence of a stable, breeding population of this box jelly on the southeast Florida coast was indicated.
Keywords
Cubozoan, geographic distribution, Caribbean, range expansion