Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

Obelia alternata Fraser, 1938

Hidrozoo, Hydrozoa

Type locality: Galapagos Island in Floreana (Calder et al., 2021).

Taxonomy

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

Distribution: Galapagos Island in Post Office, South Seymour I (Fraser, 1938; Calder et al., 2003) and Isabela I (Fraser, 1948).

References

  • 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.