Vol. 58, 2019

(update: 2019.11.13; 12.4)
 

Regenerative Capacity of the Upside-down Jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana

Edgar Gamero-Mora^1,*, Roland Halbauer², Vanessa Bartsch², Sérgio N. Stampar³, and André C. Morandini^1,4

¹Departamento de Zoologia, Instituto Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, Rua do Matão, travessa 14, n. 101, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP, 05508-090, Brazil. *Correspondence: Tel: +55 11 3091-7621. E-mail: egamero.mora@gmail.com
²Vienna Zoo, Maxingstraße 13b, 1130, Vienna, Austria. E-mail: R.Halbauer@zoovienna.at (Halbauer), vanessa_bartsch@hotmail.com (Bartsch)
³Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Laboratório de Evolução e Diversidade Aquática – LEDA, Universidade Estadual Paulista “Julio de Mesquita Filho” (UNESP), FCL/Assis, Assis, SP, 19806-900, Brazil. E-mail: sergio.stampar@unesp.br
⁴Centro de Biologia Marinha, Universidade de São Paulo, Rod. Manuel Hypólito do Rego, km 131.5, São Sebastião, SP, 11600-000, Brazil. E-mail: acmorand@ib.usp.br

Received 30 July 2019 / Accepted 30 October 2019
Communicated by James D. Reimer

This study provids the first observation that umbrellar tissue can lead to the formation of virtually all body structures in jellyfish of the order Rhizostomeae. The regeneration process was observed in two specimens of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana Bigelow, 1892, one housed at the Vienna Zoo, Austria and the other in a laboratory at the University of São Paulo, Brazil. The process was triggered by an injury and ended with the formation of two new sets of body structures. Our observation offers evidence that C. xamachana has a hidden regenerative capacity exceeding that previously recorded.

Key words: Bell tissue, Medusa, Scyphozoa, Regeneration, Wound healing.

Citation: Gamero-Mora E, Halbauer R, Bartsch V, Stampar SN, Morandini AC. 2019. Regenerative capacity of the upside-down jellyfish Cassiopea xamachana. Zool Stud 58:37. doi:10.6620/ZS.2019.58-37.