Names of hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) established by Charles McLean Fraser (1872 - 1946), excluding those from Allan Hancock Expeditions
Author
Calder, Dale R.
Author
Choong, Henry H. C.
text
Zootaxa
2018
2018-10-02
4487
1
1
83
journal article
29136
10.11646/zootaxa.4487.1.1
939f52d6-d58b-4a22-8aec-dd5c6a591067
1175-5326
1456161
524B23B9-8EAA-4BD6-8937-A1B8F1C057B9
Cladocarpus longipinna
Fraser, 1945a
Cladocarpus longipinna
Fraser, 1945a
: 22
, figs. 3a–d.
Holotype
.
USNM
43465:
USA
,
Louisiana
, R/V
Pelican
Sta. 13, Gulf of
Mexico
,
29°20’N
,
88°16’W
, 0
5 February 1938
, one colony, ca.
7 cm
high when extended, in good condition, with gonophores and antler-shaped phylactocarpia, labelled “
type
”; ethanol.
Type
locality.
USA
,
Louisiana
: R/
V
Pelican
Sta.
13,
29°20’N
,
88°16’W
, 33 fm (
60 m
) (
Fraser 1945a
).
Current status.
Valid.
Remarks.
Fraser (1945a)
described
Cladocarpus longipinna
from a fragmentary colony (“Fragment of colony,
4 cm
, was not branched;…”). The specimen, in collections at the NMNH (USNM 43465), was designated by him as the “
type
” of the species. While currently listed as a
syntype
in the current online database of the NMNH, a single colony is present and it is regarded here as the
holotype
.
No
other
type
specimens of
C. longipinna
are known to exist.
The specific name
longipinna
, derived from a combination of the Latin words
longus
(long) and
pinna
(feather), is taken to be a noun in apposition. Its ending therefore need not agree with the gender of the generic name with which it is combined (ICZN Art. 34.2.1). The name is misspelled (as both “
longispina
” and “
longispinna
”) on several labels accompanying the
holotype
, but the binomen is written as “
Cladocarpus longipinna
” on a small label in Fraser’s handwriting and in the published account of the species.
Cladocarpus longipinna
is an obscure species known primarily from the original description and from the
holotype
colony. According to
Fraser (1947a)
, it resembles
C. septatus
Nutting, 1900
, but differs in having a polysiphonic stem, longer and more slender hydrothecae with a greater number of small marginal cusps, and simpler phylactogonia. After examining the
holotype
, we question whether the hydrocaulus is truly polysiphonic. The species is currently recognized as valid (
Bouillon
et al
. 2006
;
Calder & Cairns 2009
; WoRMS), although further study of its taxonomic status is warranted.