Additions to the hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the fjords region of southern Chile
Author
Galea, Horia R.
Author
Försterra, Günter
Author
Häussermann, Verena
text
Zootaxa
2007
1650
55
68
journal article
10.5281/zenodo.179758
29c278c7-d88d-4826-8596-ff4b78f396aa
1175-5326
179758
Thuiaria polycarpa
Kirchenpauer, 1884
(fig. 3A–H, fig. 4A–E, table 3)
Thuiaria polycarpa
Kirchenpauer, 1884
: 27
, pl. 13 fig. 3;
Nutting, 1904
: 65
, pl. 8 figs 7–9;
Bedot, 1925
: 248
.
Parathuiaria polycarpa
Leloup, 1974
: 26
, fig. 21.
Material examined
. Stn. PNH –
20.iii.2007
, Chiloé Island, Puñihuil,
41°55.743’ S
,
74°02.202’ W
,
5 m
, large pebbles: numerous stems with and without gonothecae (
MHNG
INVE
54636).
Type
locality
. Valparaíso,
Chile
.
Description
. Colonies erect, irregularly pinnate, up to
4 cm
high, arising from a tubular, creeping and anastomosing stolon. Main stem upright, unbranched, rigid; indistinctly divided into internodes by slightly transverse constrictions of perisarc that vary in location; stem with a short, naked, basal portion, followed by main part bearing hydrothecae and cladia. Perisarc thick, brown, becoming thinner and colorless towards extremities of colony. Cladia arising at obtuse angle (45–60°) below stem hydrothecae, evenly spaced, pointing upwards, slightly directed toward anterior or posterior sides of stem, occasionally branched, with up to 2nd order branches. Both stem and cladia with two rows of hydrothecae, these generally strictly opposite, more rarely subopposite (compare figs 3E, 3F). Apical part of one hydrotheca not reaching base of next one above, pairs being slightly but distinctly separated. Hydrothecae long, tubular, with distal end bent outward; adnate for 2/3–3/4; abcauline wall with perisarc thickening below aperture; free adcauline wall slightly flared distally (fig. 3G). Hydrothecal aperture nearly round, parallel to stem axis, with circular, abcauline operculum; rim with no renovations. Hydranths with 16–18 filiform tentacles; presence of an abcauline caecum could not be checked in this preserved material.
FIGURE 3
.
Thuiaria polycarpa
Kirchenpauer, 1884
(A to H). A: General view of several colonies. B: Fragment of stem giving off cladia in opposite pairs. C: Basal part of stem with origin of unpaired cladium. D: Fragment of cladium in lateral view. E: Fragment of cladium with pairs of opposite hydrothecae. F: Fragment of cladium with hydrothecae slightly subopposite. G: Detail of the hydrothecal shape. H: Position of hydrothecae within a pair. Scale bars: 1 cm (A), 1 mm (B), 500 µm (C-F), 400 µm (G), 200 µm (H).
Gonothecae generally arising below stem hydrothecae, but also present on cladia; pear-shaped; perisarc colorless, lateral wall with 4–5 slight undulations, never delimited by deep constrictions; a short apical collar present, provided with a variable number of conspicuous internal projections of perisarc; color brown, contrasting with rest of gonotheca; easily visible laterally (fig. 4C), but more obvious in frontal view (fig. 4D). Gonothecal aperture closed by a thin, transparent membrane. Gonothecae, female in present material, containing one large, oval egg. Male gonothecae not observed, unknown.
Remarks
.
Leloup (1974)
erected the new genus
Parathuiaria
to accommodate those hydroids having hydrothecae in opposite pairs, a hydrothecal aperture devoid of an operculum (as in
Synthecium
Allman, 1872
), and gonothecae arising below the stem hydrothecae (as in
Thuiaria
Fleming, 1828
). However, inspection of our material revealed the presence of an abcauline opercular flap in the hydrothecae. The operculum is very thin, transparent, and most often totally adherent to the hydrothecal opening in fixed material. In some cases, the fixation process preserved the hydrothecae with the operculum opened, and its presence is incontestable in this case. It is possible that Leloup either overlooked the operculum or studied material in inadequate condition, especially that originating from station
M102
.
Moreover, this species was also briefly described by
Nutting (1904)
, who placed it without reservation in the genus
Thuiaria
. Nutting did not give information about the operculum in his description of the species, but mentioned it in the diagnosis of the genus (p. 61). It seems reasonable to assume that an abcauline operculum was present in Nutting’s material.
We conclude that the genus
Parathuiaria
Leloup, 1974
should be regarded as a synonym of
Thuiaria
, and we reassign this species to it, as
T. polycarpa
Kirchenpauer, 1884
. However, the presence of an abcauline caecum in retracted hydranths, a distinguishing character of the genus
Thuiaria
(differentiating it from
Salacia
Lamouroux, 1816
), could not be checked in the present material.
Previous descriptions of
T. polycarpa
(
Kirchenpauer 1884
,
Nutting 1904
,
Leloup 1974
) have stated that both stem and branches were divided into internodes of varied length (comprising 2–3 pairs of hydrothecae) by means of transverse nodes, the last being only slightly marked. In our material too, the nodes are only very slightly marked, being more distinct in some parts of colonies and undetectable in others. This difference, as in other
Sertulariidae
, can certainly be attributed to intraspecific or environmental variation.
Nutting (1904)
noted that the hydrothecae are in strictly opposite pairs. However, in his figure 8 (plate VIII), at least one pair has slightly subopposite hydrothecae. This situation was also found in our material (see fig. 3F).
Leloup (1974)
observed that hydrothecae in his specimens were slightly displaced toward the anterior face of the main stem, but in our case they are strictly coplanar (see fig. 3D).
Gonothecae were absent in material examined by
Kirchenpauer (1884)
, as well as in Nutting’s (1904) specimens. They were briefly described for the first time by
Leloup (1974)
.
Leloup (1974)
raised the question of the synonymy between
T. polycarpa
and
T. doliolum
Kirchenpauer, 1884
, but the absence of gonothecae in the
type
material of the former prevented him from drawing a firm conclusion. In our opinion the two species seem to be separate, a conclusion supported by some arguments indicated in descriptions and figures given by Kirchenpauer himself. The most obvious difference relates to the shape of gonotheca. Those of
T. polycarpa
have slightly undulated walls, while those of
T. doliolum
possess
ca
9–10 deep, transverse annuli (
Kirchenpauer 1884, pl. 14 fig. 4b
). Moreover, in the latter species, gonothecae seem to arise only from the cladia (see p.117 and pl. 13 fig. 4), while in
T. polycarpa
they are borne mainly on the stem and only rarely on cladia (present observations). Still concerning the gonothecae, Kirchenpauer wondered why E. F. Pöppig (Leipzig), who collected the material and named both species, choose the name “
polycarpa
” (from the Greek words “Karpos” or “Carpus”, which mean fruit) to describe a specimen devoid of gonothecae. Additionally, the cladia in
T. doliolum
arise from the stem in opposite pairs and are unramified even in mature, fertile material, while in
T. polycarpa
they are either borne singly on one side of the stem or in opposite pairs, and may occasionally give rise to secondary branches. A final argument supporting the separation of these two concerns their geographical distribution,
i.e.
T. polycarpa
was collected along the Pacific coast of
Chile
, while
T. doliolum
originates from the Cape of Good Hope,
South Africa
.
Hydroid epibionts
.
Campanulina pumila
(
Clark, 1875
)
,
Obelia geniculata
(
Linnaeus, 1758
)
.
World distribution
. Known only from
Chile
.
Records from
Chile
. Valparaíso (
Kirchenpauer 1884
), Chacao Channel (
Leloup 1974
), Puñihuil, Chiloé Island (present study).
Ecology
. This species was previously found growing on pebbles at a depth of
40—100 m
(
Leloup 1974
). Our material was collected at a depth of
5 m
, also on a substrate of pebbles (
ca
20 cm
of diameter each).
TABLE 3
. Measurements of
Thuiaria polycarpa
Kirchenpauer, 1884
(in µm). 1Approximate dimensions.
Stem internodes |
Chile, present study |
Chile, Leloup (1974) |
– length |
variable |
– |
– diameter Hydrotheca |
250–260 |
– |
– length abcauline side |
340–384 |
– |
– length adnate adcauline side |
466–520 |
400–500 1 |
– length free adcauline side |
192–203 |
– |
– diameter of aperture – diameter at base |
203–219 159–192 |
– – |
Gonotheca |
– length |
1943–2086 |
2000–2500 1 |
– maximum width – diameter at aperture |
928–957 486–543 |
1000 1 500–660 1 |
– collar height |
86–100 |
– |
Genus
Amphisbetia
L. Agassiz, 1862
|
Amphisbetia
operculata
(Linnaeus, 1758)
(fig. 4F, table 4)
|
Sertularia operculata
Linnaeus, 1758
: 808
;
Hincks, 1868
: 263
, pl. 54;
Bale, 1884
: 67
, pl. 6 fig. 1, pl. 19 fig. 3;
Allman, 1888
: 61
, pl. 30 figs 1, 1A;
Hartlaub, 1905
: 664
, figs Y4, Z4, A5, B5, C5;
Blanco, 1976
: 38
.
Amphisbetia operculata
:
Ralph, 1961
: 775
, fig.
8I
–K;
Vervoort, 1972
: 98
;
Leloup, 1974
: 25
;
Millard, 1975
: 251
, fig. 83A–E;
Cornelius, 1979
: 254
, fig. 6;
Stepanjants, 1979
: 62
, pl. 11 fig. 1A–G;
Morri & Boero, 1986
: 58
, fig. 36;
Gili
et al
., 1989
: 97
, fig. 23A;
El Beshbeeshy, 1991
: 130
, fig. 30;
Cornelius, 1995b
: 30
, fig. 4;
Vervoort & Watson, 2003
: 109
, fig. 21A–C;
Bouillon
et al
., 2004
: 177
, fig. 95G–I;
Vervoort, 2006
: 264
.
Dynamena operculata
:
Naumov & Stepanjants, 1962
: 89
;
Naumov, 1969
: 357
, fig. 220, pl. 7 fig. 1.
Material examined
. Stn.
HER
–
12.iii.2007
, Raul Marin, Las Hermanas,
43°46.285’ S
,
73°02.632’ W
,
15 m
: two young, sterile stems, 3.0 and 3.5 mm high, respectively (
MHNG
INVE
54637), epizoic on
Obelia dichotoma
(
Linnaeus, 1758
)
.
Type
locality
. “
In Oceano,
” no distinct
type
locality specified (
Linnaeus, 1758
).
FIGURE 4
.
Thuiaria polycarpa
Kirchenpauer, 1884
(A to E). A: Fragment of stem with gonotheca. B: Various shapes of the gonotheca. C: Apical part of gonotheca, lateral view. D: Aperture of gonotheca, view from inside. E: Undischarged nematocysts from tentacles of hydranth.
Amphisbetia operculata
(Linnaeus, 1758)
(F). F: Whole stem. Scale bars: 1 mm (B), 500 µm (A), 300 µm (F), 200 µm (C), 100 µm (D), 10 µm (E).
TABLE
4
. Measurements of
Amphisbetia operculata
(
Linnaeus, 1758
)
(in µm). 1Tip of outer spine to inner corner.
Chile, present study |
Ralph (1961) |
Naumov (1969) |
Stepanjants (1979) |
Gili
et al
. (1989)
|
El Beshbeeshy Cornelius (1991) (1995b) |
Internodes |
– length |
412–600 |
430–750 |
– |
– |
400–450 |
441–735 – |
– diameter |
62–74 |
– |
– |
– |
95–100 |
117–254 – |
– diameter at node |
49–63 |
90–210 |
– |
– |
– |
– – |
Hydrothecae |
– length1 |
319–350 |
250–280 |
– |
– |
– |
294–393 300–430 |
– length adnate adcauline side |
154–186 |
– |
230–260 |
150–240 |
200–230 |
– 160–230 |
– length free adcauline side |
89–113 |
– |
80–110 |
170–210 |
– |
– 60–100 |
– length abcauline side |
300–324 |
– |
230–260 |
380–410 |
320–340 |
– – |
– maximum width |
105–113 |
– |
– |
– |
– |
95–122 – |
– aperture diameter |
129–149 |
93–140 |
– |
70–126 |
190–210 |
– 90–140 |
Remarks
. The present material comprises two young stems, one with the hydrothecae subopposite (fig. 4F), the other with the hydrothecae alternate. For a recent description of this species, see
Cornelius (1995b)
.
World distribution
. Widely distributed in temperate to tropical coastal waters, to latitude
ca
55° in the Southern Hemisphere and
ca
60° in the Northern (
Cornelius 1995b
).
Records from
Chile
. Dungeness Point (
Hartlaub 1905
), Chiloé Island, Chacao Channel, Gulf of Ancud, Gulf of Corcovado (
Leloup 1974
), Raul Marin (present study).