Abstract

We identified 36 species of cnidarians (27 hydromedusae, 9 siphonophores) collected from the Moraleda, King, Darwin, and Pulluche channels, located in southern Chile. The hydromedusae Gossea brachymera, Hybocodon unicus, and Sarsia coccometra, and the siphonophores Rosacea cymbiformis and R. plicata were recorded for the first time in the southern channels. Diversity values were higher for Hydromedusae (2.66 bits) than for Siphonophorae (1.15 bits). The largest aggregates were found in the Moraleda and Pulluche channels, with densities that exceeded 7,000 ind-1000 m-3. The vertical distribution of the dominant species showed Solmundella bitentaculata to be located near the surface (0-20 m), whereas Sphaeronectes gracilis, Muggiaea atl