Class Cubozoa

Originally included as an order of the class Scyphozoa (Jellyfish) the Cubozoa are now considered to warrant separate class status. As with the Scyphozoa the medusa is the dominant phase in the life cycle. They differ from Scyphozoa in that they have a velum like structure, the velarium, the bell has four flattened sides and a simple margin, and each polyp produces a single medusa by complete metamorphosis. The name refers to the cubic form of the organism. They occur in tropical and subtropical oceans. There is only one order, the Cubomedusae