Lat. Am. J. Aquat. Res., 46(2): 240-257, 2018 Scyphozoa and Cubozoa from southwestern Atlantic 240 1 DOI: 10.3856/vol46-issue2-fulltext-1 Review Medusae (Scyphozoa and Cubozoa) from southwestern Atlantic and Subantarctic region (32-60°S, 34-70°W): species composition, spatial distribution and life history traits Agustín Schiariti1,2, M. Sofía Dutto3, Daiana Y. Pereyra1 Gabriela Failla Siquier4 & André C. Morandini5 1Instituto Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo Pesquero (INIDEP), Mar del Plata, Argentina 2Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras (IIMyC), CONICET Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Argentina 3Instituto Argentino de Oceanografía (IADO), Área Oceanografía Biológica, Bahía Blanca, Argentina 4Laboratorio de Zoología de Invertebrados, Departamento de Biología Animal Facultad de Ciencias Universidad de la República, Montevideo, Uruguay 5Departamento de Zoología, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil Corresponding author: Agustin Schiariti (
[email protected]) ABSTRACT. In this study, we reported the species composition and spatial distribution of Scyphomedusae and Cubomedusae from the southwestern Atlantic and Subantarctic region and reviewed the available knowledge of life history traits of these species. We gathered the literature records and presented new information collected from oceanographic and fishery surveys carried out between 1981 and 2017, encompassing an area of approximately 6,7 million km2 (32-60°S, 34-70°W). We confirmed the occurrence of 15 scyphozoans and 1 cubozoan species previously reported in the region. Lychnorhiza lucerna and Chrysaora lactea were the most numerous species, reaching the highest abundances/biomasses during summer/autumn period. Desmonema gaudichaudi, Chrysaora plocamia, and Periphylla periphylla were frequently observed in low abundances, reaching high numbers only occasionally.