Lipkea is a genus of stalked jellyfish. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Lipkeidae. Lipkea species lack tentacles at the end of their bell.
Genera and Species
According to the World Register of Marine Species, there are only three described
species in this family and genus:
-
Lipkea ruspoliana Vogt, 1886
-
Lipkea stephensoni Carlgren, 1933
-
Lipkea sturdzi (Antipa, 1893)
Distribution
According to the World Register of Marine Species
is the only species known from the waters off the coast of South Africa. The other
Lipkea species (
Lipkea ruspoliana and
Lipkea sturdzi) are found in the mediterranean sea. It is likely that there are undescribed specimens of Lipkea. For instance the images in the gallery below show
Lipkea with dense
nematocyst clusters (white spots) distributed throughout the oral surface, which are not characteristic of previous descriptions for the three described
Lipkea.
Gallery
File:Bell stalked jelly1.jpg|A Lipkea specimen with dense nematocyst clusters
File:Bell stalked jellyfish.jpg|A cluster of Lipkea
