Hydrozoa, Scyphozoa, and Cubozoa (Medusozoa)

Abstract

This paper presents a checklist of 84 medusozoan species recorded in Costa Rican waters, including the Costa Rican Dome, Golfo de Papagayo, Golfo de Nicoya, Golfo Dulce, Isla del Coco, and the Caribbean coast. The species comprise 3 classes, 2 subclasses, 40 families, and 63 genera. Among Hydrozoa, 21 species are new records to Costa Rican waters, and Tripedalia cystophora is a new record of Cubozoa to the Eastern Tropical Pacific ocean. Forty-four species (57%) of Hydrozoa were recorded in the Golfo de Papagayo, a coastal upwelling region in the northern Pacific of Costa Rica. Few species collected in the Costa Rica's Caribbean waters are also present in the country's Pacific coast. Additional surveys are needed to better understand Costa Rican marine gelatinous plankton diversity and ecology. Further studies should consider benthic habitats, coastal lagoons, and deep waters. Analysis of hydroids stages and their released medusa will also increase the number of species for both the Pacific and the Caribbean coasts.