Galapagos Species Database
The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.
Obelia alternata
Hidrozoo, Hydrozoa
Type locality: Galapagos Island in Floreana (Calder et al., 2021).
Domain
Eukaryota
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Hydrozoa
Order
Leptothecata
Suborder
Proboscoida
Family
Campanulariidae
Genus
Obelia
Species
alternata
Taxon category: Accepted
Note: Obelia alternata was often misidentified as O. dichotoma due to underestimation of species diversity. Distinctive features include geniculate stems and short, annulated hydrothecal pedicels. It is recognized as a valid species, known only from the Galapagos Islands, and was collected from Isla San Cristóbal (Calder, et al. 2021). Acc.name: Obelia dichotoma (Linnaeus, 1758) (Horton et al., 2021).
Origin: Native
Distribution: Galapagos Island in Post Office, South Seymour I (Fraser, 1938; Calder et al., 2003) and Isabela I (Fraser, 1948).
- Calder, D.R. Carlton, J. T., Keith, I., Larson, K., McCann, L., Geller, J., Wheelock, M., Choong, H. H. C., & Ruiz, G. M. (2021) Additions to the hydroids (Cnidaria, hydrozoa) of marine fouling communities on the mainland of ecuador and in the galapagos islands Aquatic Invasions, 16(2), 208–252. https://doi.org/10.3391/ai.2021.16.2.02
- Fraser, C.M. (1939) Distribution of the hydroids in the collections of the Allan Hancock Expeditions. Fraser, M. (1939). Distribution of the hydroids in the collections of the Allan Hancock Expeditions. In Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions. (Vol. 4, pp. 155–178).
- Freaser, McLean (1948) Hydroids of the Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions since March, 1938. Fraser, M. (1948). Hydroids of the Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions since March, 1938. In Allan Hancock Pacific Expeditions. (5th ed., pp. 179–334).
- Horton, T. Horton, T., Kroh, A., Ahyong, S., Bailly, N., Boyko, C. B., Brandão, S. N., Gofas, S., Hooper, J. N. A., Hernandez, F., Holovachov, O., Mees, J., Molodtsova, T. N., Paulay, G., Decock, W., Dekeyzer, S., Poffyn, G., Vandepitte, L., Vanhoorne, B., Adlard, R., ... Zhao, Z. (2021) World Register of Marine Species. Available from https://www.marinespecies.org at VLIZ.
You are welcome to download and use the information found in this page, acknowledging its source.
This page should be cited as follows:
"Galapagos Species Database, Obelia alternata", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=19419. Accessed 30 October 2026.