Distribution of hydromedusae along the south west coast of India

Abstract

Fifty-one species of hydromedusae were identified from the collections of 2 cruises of Blue Fin (February and April, 1970) off the south west coast of India. Aglaura hemistoma, Liriope tetraphylla, Solmundella bitentaculata, Eucheilota menoni and Cytaeis tetrastyla were the common species in order of their abundance. A. hemistoma was found in all the collections. With regard to most of the species, the maximum number of specimens were noticed off Cochin. A. hemistoma, L. tetraphylla and S. bitentaculata showed aggregation above the thermocline. Most of the species were distributed throughout the water column and thermocline did not act as a barrier in their distribution