Notes on some sertulariid hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the tropical western Pacific, with descriptions of nine new species
Author
Galea, Horia R.
text
European Journal of Taxonomy
2016
2016-08-02
218
1
52
journal article
21896
10.5852/ejt.2016.218
cba502b0-cc06-4252-94f1-3eda754e8183
2118-9773
3840195
A4D7AA38-D18F-4604-A5E0-D965637BD9F8
Gonaxia
cf.
errans
Vervoort, 1993
Fig. 4
E–F
Gonaxia errans
Vervoort, 1993: 154
, figs 23a–d, 24a–c.
Material examined
BATHUS
2: Stn. CP737, two stem fragments, 13 and
9 mm
high, the former corresponding to the middle part of a colony, while the latter is likely the distalmost end of (another?) colony; both are sterile; several broken cladia are also present (MNHN-IK-2012-16534).
Remarks
The pattern of cladial arrangement on the stem in this scarce material seems to follow a rather peculiar sequence: each equivalent of internode (the nodes are inconspicuous) has a proximal apophysis with its associated axillar hydrotheca, two alternate hydrothecae above, as well as a second, distal apophysis (on the side opposite to the former) with its associated axillar hydrotheca; the same sequence is repeated on the following “internode” but, there, it is the opposite image of the preceding one. In the distalmost part of one of the available colony fragments, two successive cladia occur on the same side, and are separated on the opposite side by a single stem hydrotheca. According to
Vervoort (1993)
, the cladial arrangement is varied, with “zero to three hydrothecae between two successive apophyses”, which is apparently the case in the present material.
The shape of the hydrothecae also fits the original description of
G. errans
, though they are comparatively shorter in the material in hand (free adaxial side
335–365 µm
, adnate adaxial side
280–300 µm
, abaxial side
490–510 µm
), but seem to have almost the same width (maximum width
205–220 µm
, diameter at aperture
165–175 µm
) as in Vervoort’s samples. Consequently, the present material is provisionally assigned to
G. errans
.
Geographical distribution
New Caledonia
(present study), Norfolk Ridge (
Vervoort 1993
).