Pretty but do not touch. The "blue button jellyfish" Porpita porpita are not in fact true #jellyfish, but are rather in class #Hydrozoa as a small colony of specialized individuals (outer individuals contain the tentacles with stinging nematocysts). The taxonomy is complicated, but they belong to an order of athecate hydroids (Anthoathecata). This grouping has gone through lots of changes in taxonomy, so textbooks can be quite varied. #MarineBiology
https://www.npr.org/2023/07/09/1186664798/blue-button-jellyfish-texas-beaches?utm_medium=JSONFeed&utm_campaign=news&utm_source=press.coop

#NewSpecies
New corymorphid from “Ghost Bay”, Southeast Asia just surfaced!

Corymorpha tropica

Treatment: http://treatment.plazi.org/id/039B9453-1D1D-FFD3-D2C0-FAB45DB2A892
Publication: http://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5254.4.1
#Zootaxa

#FAIRdata
#science #taxonomy #ecology #biodiversity #nature #wildlife #conservation #animals #hydrozoa #medusa