Species of Acryptolaria Norman, 1875 (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Lafoeidae) collected in the Western Pacific by various French expeditions, with the description of nineteen new species Author Peña Cantero, Álvaro L. Instituto Cavanilles de Biodiversidad y Biología Evolutiva, Universidad de Valencia / Fundación General, Universidad de Valencia, Apdo. Correos 22085, E- 46071 Valencia (Spain) alvaro. l. pena @ uv. es pena@uv.es Author Vervoort, Willem National Museum of Natural History, P. O. Box 9517, NL- 2300 RA Leiden (The Netherlands) vervoort @ naturalis. nnm. nl text Zoosystema 2010 2010-06-30 32 2 267 332 http://www.bioone.org/doi/abs/10.5252/z2010n2a5 journal article 8099 10.5252/z2010n2a5 f76e17a3-3bc3-43a8-ae33-6655aba3fa57 1638-9387 4521008 Acryptolaria niobae n. sp. ( Figs 19 ; 30 ; 32C ; Table 20 ) TYPE MATERIAL . — Loyalty Islands . BIOCAL 1, stn DW 08, 20°34.351’- 20°35.092’S , 166°53.904’- 166°54.051’E , 435 m , 12.VIII.1985 , 1 stem c. 23 mm high, holotype (MNHN-Hy.2009-0167). Norfolk Ridge. CHALCAL 2, stn DW 76, 23°40.50’S- 167°45.20’E , 470 m , 30.X.1986 , 1 stem 25 mm high, paratype (MNHN-Hy.2009-0156, slide); 1 stem 35 mm high, paratype (RMNH-Coel. no. 35020, slides 448). OTHER MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Loyalty Islands . BIOGEOCAL, stn CP 290, 20°36.01’- 20°37.26’S , 167°03.34’- 167°03.60’E , 920- 760 m , 27.IV.1987 , 1 basally broken, unbranched stem c. 15 mm high (MNHN-Hy.2009-0155, slide). Norfolk Ridge. BIOCAL 1, stn DW 66, 24°55.435’- 24°54.849’S , 168°21.678’- 168°21.995’E , 515- 505 m , 3.IX.1985 , 1 stem c. 16 mm high in slide (MNCN 2.03/398). ETYMOLOGY. — The specific name niobae is a dedication to Níobe Peña Sancho, daughter of the first author. It is a noun in female genitive. ECOLOGY AND DISTRIBUTION. — Acryptolaria niobae n. sp. originates from the Loyalty Islands and the Norfolk Ridge areas where it was collected at depths between 435 and 920 m . DESCRIPTION Stems up to 23 mm high, very scarcely branched ( Fig. 32C ); the largest stem with just a primary branch giving rise to a secondary one. Branches with an inconspicuous zigzag arrangement ( Fig. 19A ). Hydrothecae alternately arranged in approximately one plane ( Fig. 19A ), tubular ( Fig. 19 ), cylindrical in distal fourth, diameter slightly decreasing basally and reaching minimum diameter a little above the point where the hydrotheca becomes adnate. At that point the hydrotheca widens slightly and contributes to the formation of an expanded part of the branch ( Fig. 19C ); the diameter at adnate part remains roughly uniform ( Fig. 19 ). Free part of hydrotheca basically straight, strongly directed outwards due to sharp inflection at the point where the hydrotheca becomes free. Hydrotheca adnate for approximately one-fifth of its adcauline wall (adnate/free ratio 0.2); that wall straight at adnate part and straight or slightly convex at its free portion; abcauline wall slightly concave, straight at distal part. Hydrothecal aperture circular, oblique and directed upwards, forming an angle of c. 45° with long axis of internode. Rim even, frequently with a few short renovations ( Fig. 19A ). FIG. 18. — Acryptolaria minuta Watson, 2003 , branch fragments showing hydrothecal arrangement and hydrothecae: A , B , from MUSORSTOM 6 stn DW 481; C , D , from BIOCAL 1 stn DW 37; E , from MUSORSTOM 6 stn DW 406. Scale bar: 250 μm. Large nematocysts relatively large and bananashaped ( Fig. 30 ). Coppinia not found. REMARKS Acryptolaria niobae n. sp. is a very peculiar species.It resembles A. infinita n. sp. in the long hydrothecae and in the colony structure, having only few ramifications and branches with a slight zigzag disposition. Nevertheless, they are distinguishable by several features.First of all the hydrotheca in A. infinita n. sp. is smoothly curved outwards,lacking the characteristic widening at the point where hydrotheca and branch meet observed in A. niobae n. sp. Moreover, in A. infinita n. sp. the hydrotheca is approximately cylindrical at the free portion and much larger. They also differ in the size of the nematocysts, which are much smaller in A. infinita n. sp. (14.8 × 8.1 Μm), and in the extremely small adnate portion of the hydrotheca in A. niobae n. sp.