Celleporaria aperta (Hincks, 1882)

Fig. 10 A–F

Schizoporella aperta Hincks, 1882: 126, pl. 5, fig. 3.

Celleporaria aperta – Gordon et al. 2007: 49, fig. 2f–g.

Material

MALAYSIA: MSL BRY017a, Kuah jetty, Langkawi, fouling mussel shell attached to rope hanging from jetty.

Description

Colony encrusting, multiserial, becoming multilamellar through frontal budding. Basal autozooids (Fig. 10B) subhexagonal, 0.38–0.53 mm long by 0.20–0.28 mm wide; frontally budded autozooids (Fig. 10C) irregularly shaped, about 0.34 mm long by 0.28 mm wide; zooidal boundaries marked by fine fissures; frontal shield gently convex, smooth when first formed, becoming pustulose, peripheral ring of large subcircular areolar pores; orifice generally inclined distally, about 0.15 mm long by 0.13 mm wide, with a distinct rounded sinus (Fig. 10D), a pair of condyles present in proximal part of anter; two short, widely separated oral spines with closed ends can occur (Fig. 10D); ovicell hood-like (Fig. 10E), broad, about 0.10 mm long by 0.20 mm wide, surface with pustules, non-porous.Adventitious avicularia located suborally (Fig. 10 D–E), slightly eccentric to median axis, frontal plane almost perpendicular to surface of autozooid, small; rostrum rounded, tip dentate; cross-bar calcified. Interzooidal avicularia (Fig. 10F) distributed irregularly among frontally budded autozooids, variable in size, up to 0.32 mm long by 0.15 mm wide, distal end slightly raised; rostrum spatulate, rounded, distally dentate; cross-bar calcified, some with small lingulum; opesia semielliptical, wider than long.

Remarks

Malaysian specimens of Celleporaria aperta clearly show the dentate distal tips of the avicularian rostra (Fig. 10F), like those depicted by Hincks (1882: pl. 5, fig. 3), but not apparent in all material attributed to the species by subsequent authors. Hincks (1882: 126) gave the provenance of his material as “ Singapore or Philippines ” and the species is regarded as widespread in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific (Gordon et al. 2007).