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
Bougainvillia inaequalis
Fraser, 1944a
Bougainvillia inaequalis
Fraser, 1944a
: 51
, pl. 5, figs. 20a–c.
Syntypes
.
AMNH 3247
:
USA
,
Louisiana
, off “
Passa Loutre
” (
Pass
a
Loutre
),
5 miles
(
8 km
) NNE, 15 fm (
27 m
),
23 January 1931
, four monosiphonic colonies or colony fragments, in fair condition, up to
8 mm
high, with tattered hydranths, without gonophores, coll.
M. Burkenroad
; formalin, now in ethanol.
AMNH 3248
:
USA
,
Louisiana
,
East Bay
,
May 1930
, one polysiphonic colony, in fair condition but much fragmented and tangled, with hydranths, with gonophores, coll.
M. Burkenroad
; formalin, now in ethanol.
AMNH 3251
:
USA
,
Louisiana
, off “
Passa Loutre
” (
Pass
a
Loutre
), 15 fm (
27 m
), 1930, numerous (>100) fragments of a colony or colonies, in poor condition, up to
1.8 cm
high, with very few hydranths, without gonophores, coll.
M. Burkenroad
; formalin, now in ethanol.
Lectotype
, by present designation.
AMNH 3248
:
USA
,
Louisiana
,
East Bay
,
May 1930
, one polysiphonic colony, in fair condition but much fragmented and tangled, with hydranths, with gonophores, coll.
M. Burkenroad
; formalin, now in ethanol.
Paralectotypes
.
AMNH 3247
:
USA
,
Louisiana
, off “
Passa Loutre
” (
Pass
a
Loutre
),
5 miles
(
8 km
) NNE, 15 fm (
27 m
),
23 January 1931
, four monosiphonic colonies or colony fragments, in fair condition, up to
8 mm
high, with tattered hydranths, without gonophores, coll.
M. Burkenroad
; formalin, now in ethanol.
AMNH 3251
:
USA
,
Louisiana
, off “
Passa Loutre
” (
Pass
a
Loutre
), 15 fm (
27 m
), 1930, numerous (>100) fragments of a colony or colonies, in poor condition, up to
1.8 cm
high, with very few hydranths, without gonophores, coll.
M. Burkenroad
; formalin, now in ethanol.
Type
locality.
USA
,
Louisiana
:
East Bay
(
Fraser 1944a
).
Current status.
Valid.
Remarks.
Fraser (1944a)
described
Bougainvillia inaequalis
without designating name-bearing
types
. Nevertheless,
type
material of the species exists at the AMNH. One sample (AMNH 3248) is listed in the online database of the museum as the
holotype
, while another (AMNH 3247) is listed as a
paratype
. A third (AMNH 3251), not listed in the online database, is recorded on a card file as a
paratype
. The latter sample contains a label in Fraser’s handwriting, now much faded, supporting the
type
status of the material. As we interpret the Code (ICZN Art. 72.4.7), these three are
syntypes
. Hydroids of the species at the RBCM (BCPM 976-00181-001), collected
14 March 1946
from Aransas Bay,
Texas
(Arai 1977), are not part of the
type
series. Neither is a collection at the NMNH (USNM 51999) from Grand Isle,
Louisiana
, a location not included in the
type
locality.
No
type
material of
B. inaequalis
was located in online databases of other museums.
Of the
syntypes
listed above, the
lectotype
selected here (AMNH 3248) clearly corresponds best with the species as described by
Fraser (1944a)
. As noted above, it has been listed in the past, incorrectly, as the
holotype
. Although the specimen is fragmentary and in only fair condition, hydranths and gonophores are present on parts of the colony. The
lectotype
collection also contains stems of a tubulariid. Our
lectotype
designation restricts the
type
locality of
B. inaequalis
to East Bay,
Louisiana
,
USA
. Hydroids in the other two vials (AMNH 3247, AMNH 3251) are
paralectotypes
.
Notes on card files at the AMNH indicate that the
syntypes
were examined decades ago by William J. Rees (
1913–1967
), who concluded that materials in two of the samples (AMNH 3247, AMNH 3251) probably belong to a different species from that in the third (AMNH 3248). In our opinion, however, all are conspecific. Although we are somewhat less certain about the identity of hydroids in AMNH 3247, we believe they are simply younger specimens.
Bougainvillia inaequalis
is listed as valid in works such as
Vannucci & Rees (1961)
,
Cairns
et al
. (2002)
,
Calder & Cairns (2009)
, and WoRMS.
Deevey (1950)
questioned its validity, noting that it seemed to intergrade with
B. carolinensis
McCrady, 1859
.
Defenbaugh & Hopkins (1973)
, following
Fraser (1944a)
, distinguished
B. inaequalis
from
B. carolinensis
and
B. rugosa
Clarke,
1882
in having much wrinkled perisarc on stem and branches. That character is indeed striking, as apparent in the
lectotype
colony examined here and as illustrated in
Fraser (1944a
: pl. 5, figs. 20b, c). The nominal species is maintained in this work as valid, although further taxonomic studies of its trophosome and gonosome are warranted. In being an insufficiently described species, with its medusa stage unknown, records of
B. inaequalis
from
New
Zealand
are doubtful (
Schuchert 1996
).