Crambionella is a genus of Cnidarians belonging to the family Catostylidae.[1] The genus is distinguishable from other Castostylid species by a terminal club on each oral arm without filaments and a canal system featuring a narrow, wide-meshed intra-circular network of interconnected vessels. These vessels solely communicate with the ring canal and not with the radial canals. Four species belong to the genus Crambionella (Stiasny, 1921): C. annandalei (Rao, 1931), C. helmbiru (Nishikawa, Mulyadi & Ohtsuka, 2014), C. orsini (Vanhöffen, 1888) and C. stuhlmanni (Chun, 1896).[2]C. orsini is the type species for the genus.[3]
Species of Crambionella can be found throughout the Indian Ocean ranging from South Africa to Java. All 4 species can be found during the summer and winter in their respective habitats.[1] Many nations bordering the Indian Ocean harvest Crambionella species for food, with Japan, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and Myanmar being significant consumers.[4]
Crambionella along with other species of jellyfish in the classes Scyphozoa, Cubozoa and Hydrozoa are integral components of marine biodiversity.[5] Their capability to cycle nutrients and swiftly store carbon through decomposed blooms underscores their significance as a crucial component of the ocean environment.[6] Jellyfish blooms can have negative impacts as well, particularly those of scyphozoan jellyfish. There is a link to the decline of coastal marine ecosystems, with reports of increased occurrences globally, potentially stemming from overfishing and human activities.[7][8] Blooms can have negative economic impact by disrupting various industries such as commercial fisheries, tourism, and coastal power production, as seen in the significant presence of C. orsini in the Iranian fishing grounds in May 2002.[7]