A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON THE HYDROMEDUSAE FAUNA OF THE CHINA SEA AREAS

1.In the present paper,synthetic records of 138 species of the Hydromedusae from the China Sea Areas (Table 1.),belonging to 71 genera in 32 families,has been reported.There have been found 55 species belonging to Anthomedusae,57 to Leptomedusae,8 to Limnomedusae,10 to Trachymedusae,and 9 to Narcomedusae.2.The number of species found along the coastal waters of China decreases with the increase of latitudes.According to the present records,there are 13 species found in the Pohai,55 in the Yellow Sea,95 in the East China Sea Areas,95 in the South China Sea.Based on the Zoogeographical distribution of the Hydromedusae of the China Sea Areas,23 species are West-Pacific-elements,25 are Indo-West Pacific elements,34 are Atlantic and Pacific elements,and 56 are widely distributed over the three great oceans.