New record of Nausithoe werneri (Scyphozoa, Coronatae, Nausithoidae) from the Brazilian coast and a new synonymy for Nausithoe maculata.

The order Coronatae (Scyphozoa) includes six families, of which Nausithoidae Haeckel, 1880 is the most diverse with 26 species. Along the Brazilian coast, three species of the genus Nausithoe Kölliker, 1853 have been recorded: Nausithoe atlantica Broch, 1914, Nausithoe punctata Kölliker, 1853, and Nausithoe aurea Silveira & Morandini, 1997. Living polyps (n = 9) of an unidentified nausithoid were collected in September 2002 off Arraial do Cabo (Rio de Janeiro, southeastern Brazil) at a depth of 227 m, and have been kept in culture since then. We compared these specimens with three species cultured in our laboratory: Nausithoe aurea (from Ilhabela, São Paulo, Brazil), Nausithoe maculata Jarms, 1990 (from Cuba and Puerto Rico), and Nausithoe werneri Jarms, 1990 (from the Atlantic Ocean off Morocco and from the Mediterranean Sea). The criteria used for comparison were: main aspects of the morphology, life cycle, and DNA sequences (18S, 28S, and COI). The results indicate that the unidentified polyps belong to N. werneri. Furthermore, N. aurea is considered a junior synonym of N. maculata.