The Aquarium becomes home for jellyfish new to Russian waters
The hydrozoan jellyfish Tima Formosa has been caught in Russian waters for the first time! Now you can see it on display at the Primorsky Aquarium. Aquarists hope to breed this cnidarian that still has no common name in Russian.
“Specimens of Tima formosa that we have collected off the De Vries Peninsula are a very interesting and unusual find as this species has never been recorded from the waters of Primorye before,” said Marat Khaidarov, Head of the Department of Exotic Aquatic Species Husbandry. “In Russia, another species of this hydrozoan genus, Tima saghalinensis, is found in the Sea of Okhotsk but it prefers lower temperatures. Most likely, Tima formosa has been brought to Primorye with warm waters. Since we spotted specimens of different sizes – the smallest individuals had a bell of just two centimeters in diameter – the jellyfish might have arrived here prior to this year and reproduced in our waters located between De Vries and Sadgorod (translator’s note - a suburb of Vladivostok). To test this hypothesis, we will conduct a survey in the discovery area in late May-early June 2022.”
Primorsky Aquarium biologists will carry out an investigation of the collected jellyfish: genetic analysis will enable the specialists to confirm their species identity.
“The captured specimens of Tima formosa have laid a solid ground for research: this find will inevitably result in articles being published in scientific journals and presentations being delivered at scientific conferences,” stressed Marat Khaidarov. “We will also continue surveying the waters off the De Vries Peninsula: we have caught juvenile flame jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum) there previously, which lets us assume that these jellies breed in our waters. The shape of Uglovoi Bay whose waters wash the eastern coast of the peninsula, their low salinity and relatively high water temperatures create conditions favourable for reproduction of species uncommon to this area.”
General Information:
— Tima formosa is a species of hydromedusae - the group to which the clinging jellyfish (Gonionemus vertens) belongs as well.
— Unlike the clinging jellyfish, Tima formosa is harmless to humans.
— Tima formosa has long tentacles that look fragile but actually are quite solid.