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Vampyrocrossota

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Vampyrocrossota
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hydrozoa
Order: Trachymedusae
Family: Rhopalonematidae
Genus: Vampyrocrossota
Thuesen, 1993
Species:
V. childressi
Binomial name
Vampyrocrossota childressi
Thuesen, 1993

Vampyrocrossota is a genus of hydrozoans of the family Rhopalonematidae.[1] The genus only contains one species, Vampyrocrossota childressi.[2] Unlike many hydromedusae, these animals do not have a sessile stage. Rather, they spend their entire lives in the water column as plankton. It is the only known species with a medusa that is truly black.[1]

Distribution

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Vampyrocrossota childressi has only been found in the Pacific Ocean off California and British Columbia.[3] This deep-sea animal lives between 600–1475 m depth.[1]

Etymology

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This species was named after James J. Childress, a marine biologist at the University of California, Santa Barbara who helped discover this jellyfish.[4]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Thuesen, E.V. 1993. Vampyrocrossota childressi, a new genus and species of black medusa from the bathypelagic zone off California (Cnidaria: Trachymedusae: Rhopalonematidae). Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 106 (1): 190-194. http://biostor.org/cache/pdf/a3/f3/cc/a3f3cc72a73958a5bc0da92920424458.pdf
  2. ^ Vampyrocrossota childressi Thuesen, E.V. 1993. Retrieved through: World Register of Marine Species.
  3. ^ Thuesen, E.V., 2003. Crossota millsae (Cnidaria: Trachymedusae: Rhopalonematidae), a new species of viviparous hydromedusa from the deep sea off California and Hawaii. Zootaxa, 309: 1-12 http://www.mapress.com/zootaxa/2003f/zt00309.pdf
  4. ^ "Biographical Etymology of Marine Organism Names". Retrieved 28 July 2012.