Freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbyi Lankester, 1880 (Hydrozoa, Olindiidae): 50 years' observations in Serbia

Abstract

Detailed and relevant limnological investigations of Serbian waters were initiated in 1958 and have continued to the present. During the period 1971-2008 we monitored biological elements as a part of working studies/projects, including the distribution of the freshwater jellyfish Craspedacusta sowerbyi Lankester, 1880. We observed over 500 sampling sites in running and standing waters. Specimens of this hydro-medusa were found in five of them. Throughout the period of investigation, only the medusae stages were observed. Our purpose in this paper was to provide data of the records and distribution of this limnomedusa during the period 1958-2008 in inland waters of Serbia. These observations should contribute to knowledge on the limnofauna not only of the Balkan Peninsula but Europe as a whole.

Keywords

• Freshwater jellyfish
• Craspedacusta sowerbyi Lankester 1880
• medusa stage
• distribution
• Serbia