A New Species of Eutiara, in the Pandeidae Family (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa: Anthoathecata) from Tahiti Island, French Polynesia

A new hydromedusa has been discovered off the coast of Tahiti in the waters of French Polynesia. The species belongs to the genus Eutiara, which prior to this study included two valid species. The third species described in this paper can be differentiated based on the specific form of the umbrella and its extensions of the tentacle bulbs, characteristic of the family Pandeidae as described by Russell (1953), Kramp (1959, 1961) and Bouillon et al. (2006). Long exumbrellar spurs extending above the tentacle bulbs are typical of the genus Eutiara but the eight tree-like ramified ribs, extensions of the exumbrellar spurs, which nearly cover the exumbrella, seem to be specific to this new species, Eutiara decorata.