The non-Siphonophoran Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Salento, Italy with notes on their life-cycles: an illustrated guide
Author
Gravili, Cinzia
Author
Vito, Doris De
Author
Camillo, Cristina Gioia Di
Author
Martell, Luis
Author
Piraino, Stefano
Author
Boero, Ferdinando
text
Zootaxa
2015
3908
1
1
187
journal article
42365
10.11646/zootaxa.3908.1.1
6f1d1977-6b97-4789-828c-76ed250cf1ae
1175-5326
242729
D6AD2B49-170B-4D9C-84AA-DBE0FEEAD8BE
Halecium nanum
Alder, 1859
Fig. 64
A–C
See
Cornelius (1995)
for a complete synonymy.
FIGURE 64.
Halecium nanum
:
A
, part of colony;
B
, hydrotheca renovations and hydranth;
C
, female gonotheca (A, C redrawn and modified after Cornelius 1995 by C.G. Di Camillo; B drawn by F. Boero). Scale bars: A, B, 500 µm; C, 250 µm.
Material examined.
HCUS-S 0 71 (Hydrozoa Collection, University of Salento—fauna of the Salento Peninsula).
Description
(based on our own observations;
Calder 1991
;
Cornelius 1995
):
Hydroid.
Colonies erect; hydrocauli monosiphonic, up to
3 mm
, unbranched or irregularly branched in several planes, sometimes dichotomously, internodes borne laterally at upper part of previous internode, narrowed, curved and with several basal annulations, distally smooth, without distinct nodes; primary hydrotheca at distal end of each internode, sessile, shallow, walls frequently thick and diverging, but not everted at the rim, secondary hydrothecae provided with hydrophores also basally annulated. Gonophores sac-shaped, borne on short pedicels arising on lateral apophysis to the hydrothecae, one side of gonotheca with 2 closely appressed tubes largely immersed in gonothecal wall and annulated, each topped by a hydrotheca provided with hydranth, opposite side of gonotheca convex.
Cnidome.
Microbasic euryteles and mastigophores.
Habitat
type
.
Shallow water species (
Boero & Fresi 1986
;
Calder 1991
).
Substrate.
Algae,
Posidonia
, barnacles.
Seasonality.
April–December (
Boero & Fresi 1986
); February (Puce
et al
. 2009; De Vito 2006; this study); April, August (De Vito 2006; this study) in the Mediterranean Sea.
Reproductive period.
Unknown.
Distribution.
Eastern and western Atlantic, Mediterranean, Pacific (Stechow 1925;
Yamada 1959
;
Cornelius 1995
;
Medel & López-González 1996
; Watson 1996; Medel
et al.
1998;
Medel & Vervoort 2000
; Bouillon
et al.
2004; Puce
et al.
2009).
Records in Salento.
Rare at: La Strea, Porto Cesareo (
Faucci & Boero 2000
); Costa Merlata, Otranto (
Fraschetti
et al
. 2002
); Grotta del Ciolo (Denitto
et al
. 2007;
Moscatello & Belmonte 2007
); Otranto (De Vito 2006; Gravili 2006;
Gravili
et al.
2008a
; this study). Other Apulian records: Gargano (
Fraschetti
et al
. 2002
).
Remarks.
The colony somewhat resembles that of
H. lankesteri
(for details see
Schuchert 2005b
).
References.
Schneider (1898)
,
Motz-Kossowska (1911)
,
Picard (1958a)
,
Boero (1981a
,
b
), Boero
et al.
(1985),
Boero & Fresi (1986)
,
Llobet
et al.
(1986)
,
García-Rubies (1987)
,
Medel & López-González (1996)
, Medel
et al.
(1998),
Piraino
et al.
(1999)
,
Faucci & Boero (2000)
,
Medel & Vervoort (2000)
,
Fraschetti
et al.
(2002)
, Bouillon
et al.
(2004), De Vito (2006), Gravili (2006), Denitto
et al.
(2007),
Moscatello & Belmonte (2007)
,
Gravili
et al.
(2008a)
, Puce
et al
. (2009).