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
Eucodonium brownei
Hartlaub, 1907
Fig. 12
See Schuchert (2009) for a complete synonymy.
Material examined.
HCUS-S 0 14 (Hydrozoa Collection, University of Salento—fauna of the Salento Peninsula)—medusa stage.
Description
(based on our own observations;
Russell 1953
;
Brinckmann-Voss 1970
; Schuchert, 2009):
Hydroid.
Unknown.
Medusa.
Umbrella nearly hemispherical, up to
1 mm
wide and high, with thin lateral walls and thickened jelly at apex; manubrium attached to a broad and well-developed gastric peduncle, mouth lips containing each a group of about 100 cnidocysts; 4 narrow radial canals and a circular canal; gonads encircling the manubrium without radial interruptions on mature specimens; velum broad; 4 small marginal bulbs; 4 marginal tentacles, cnidocysts along the entire tentacle surface and in terminal swellings; without apparent ocelli; immature animals produce secondary medusae via medusae buds on middle region of manubrium; mature animals without buds. Colours: manubrium blackish brown, marginal bulbs with blackish pigment granules; brownish swellings on tentacles.
Cnidome.
Microbasic euryteles on tentacles, heteronemes (microbasic euryteles?) from lips, desmonemes on tentacles.
Habitat
type
.
The medusa can be found close to the water surface (
Brinckmann-Voss 1970
,
1987
).
Seasonality.
July–August (own observations).
Reproductive period.
July–August, as mature medusae (own observations).
Distribution.
Atlantic, Indo-Pacific, Mediterranean (
Medel & López-González 1996
;
Schuchert 1996
, 2009;
Bouillon & Barnett 1999
; Bouillon
et al
. 2004;
Genzano
et al
. 2008
).
Records in Salento.
Rare at S.ta Caterina (Ionian Sea, Apulia).
Remarks.
A single medusa from a Salento plankton sample was examined in the present study. Gonad maturation and medusa budding depend on falling temperatures (
Brinckmann-Voss 1970
).
References.
Picard (1955)
,
Berhaut (1970)
,
Brinckmann-Voss (1970
,
1987
),
Goy (1970
,
1973
),
Benović & Lučić (1996)
,
Medel & López-González (1996)
,
Schuchert (1996
, 2009),
Bouillon & Barnett (1999)
,
Daly Yahia
et al.
(2003)
, Bouillon
et al.
(2004),
Genzano
et al
. (2008)
,
Touzri
et al.
(2010)
.