Thalassocalyce

Thalassocalyce inconstans
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Ctenophora
Class: Tentaculata
Order: Thalassocalycida
Madin & Harbison, 1978
Family: Thalassocalycidae
Madin & Harbison, 1978
Genus: Thalassocalyce
Madin & Harbison, 1978
Species:
T. inconstans
Binomial name
Thalassocalyce inconstans
Madin & Harbison, 1978

Thalassocalyce is a genus of ctenophore, or comb jellies, known from the California Coast, Gulf of Mexico, and west north Atlantic.[1] It is represented by a single species, Thalassocalyce inconstans, which is the only species in the family Thalassocalycidae and the order Thalassocalycida.[2] T. inconstans is a pelagic ctenophore typically occurring in upper-mesopelagic depths, but has been observed at depths up to 3,500 m in Monterey Canyon.[3]

Due to their fragility, gelatinous zooplankton are inherently difficult to sample by traditional methods (i.e. net tows),[4] and among ctenophorans Thalassocalyce inconstans is especially fragile having thin, flaccid tissues, likely contributing to broad under-sampling.[2][3] The individual collection of undamaged specimens via scuba and novel instrumentation (e.g. Remotely Operated Vehicles, submersibles, and imaging systems) has allowed for more robust investigation of T. inconstans.[2][5]

  1. ^ "WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species". www.marinespecies.org. Retrieved 2015-10-29.
  2. ^ a b c Madin, L. P., and G. R. Harbison. "Thalassocalyce inconstans, new genus and species, an enigmatic ctenophore representing a new family and order." Bulletin of Marine Science 28.4 (1978): 680-687.
  3. ^ a b Swift, H. F., Hamner, W. M., Robison, B. H., & Madin, L. P. (2009). Feeding behavior of the ctenophore Thalassocalyce inconstans: revision of anatomy of the order Thalassocalycida. Marine biology, 156(5), 1049-1056.
  4. ^ Harbison, G. R., Madin, L. P., & Swanberg, N. R. (1978). On the natural history and distribution of oceanic ctenophores. Deep-Sea Research, 25(3), 233-256.
  5. ^ Luo, Jessica Y., Benjamin Grassian, Dorothy Tang, Jean-Olivier Irisson, Adam T. Greer, Cedric M. Guigand, Sam McClatchie, and Robert K. Cowen. (2014) Environmental drivers of the fine-scale distribution of a gelatinous zooplankton community across a mesoscale front. Marine Ecology Progress Series 510: 129-149.