Khulisa carolinae, Boonzaaier-Davids & Florence & Gibbons, 2020

Boonzaaier-Davids, Melissa K., Florence, Wayne K. & Gibbons, Mark J., 2020, Novel taxa of Cheilostomata Bryozoa discovered in the historical backlogs of the Iziko South African Museum, Zootaxa 4820 (1), pp. 105-133 : 116-118

Khulisa carolinae n. sp.

( Fig. 6 A–F, Table 5)

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Material examined. Holotype: SAMC-A029002 (in ethanol), station TRA 31 (34°49’S, 20°21.5’E), off Arniston, South Coast, South Africa, UCT Ecological Survey, trawl, depth 86 m, 9 September 1947. Additional material: SAMC-A 077262 (in ethanol), FAL 330. Additional comparative material: Cribrilina simplex, NHMUK 1963.3.20.2 (part of type), No. 27G, Still Bay, South Coast, South Africa, UCT Ecological Survey, 5 January 1932, no additional information. Cribrilaria africana, NHMUK 1983.11.5.75 (paratype), station SM 164 (33°04.6’S, 28°06.6’E), off East London, Southeast Coast, South Africa, RV Meiring Naude Survey, heavy dredge, depth 90 m, 26 May 1978. Cribrilaria innominata , SAMC-A 026567, station SM 163 (33°04.6’S, 28°06.6’E), off East London, Southeast Coast, South Africa, heavy dredge, depth 90 m, 26 May 1978.

Etymology. Named after the first author’s grandmother, ‘Ouma’ Caroline Keet (née Abrahams) (b. 1933). She deeply invested in her children’s education during the difficult circumstances of the ‘Apartheid’ Era; the strong role she plays in her family is hereby acknowledged.

Diagnosis. See genus.

Description. Colony encrusting; colour creamy white and translucent in ethanol preserved material. Zooids closely juxtaposed with vertical walls directly abutting each other. Autozooid elliptical to subrectangular, about 0.66 mm long by 0.42 mm wide; frontal shield composed of seven to ten pairs of costae, flat to slightly convex, gymnocystal margin extremely reduced; three to four rounded intercostal lacunae aligned in rows on each side, fused completely along the mid-line where tips of the costae meet, sometimes forming an additional small lacuna. Orifice wider than long, deep semicircular, smooth edged; a thick, overarching apertural bar obscuring the primary orifice; secondary orifice with a U-shaped pseudo-sinus (V-shaped in giant dimorphic zooids) formed by a pair of projections close to the midline of the costae forming the apertural bar. Dimorphic zooids interpreted as brooding zooids, same shape and structure as ordinary autozooids but larger, about 1.27 mm long by 0.69 mm wide (N T = 1), scattered throughout the colony; three to nine rounded intercostal lacunae on each side. Interzooidal avicularia spatulate, about 0.52 mm long by 0.18 mm wide (N T = 2), scattered throughout the colony; rostrum raised and cup-like. Interzooidal communication through uniporous mural septula. No apparent ovicells or ooecia, brooding presumably taking place in dimorphic zooids. Ancestrula not observed.

Remarks. Three known species of Cribrilinidae were previously described from South Africa: Cribrilina simplex O’Donoghue & de Watteville, 1935 , C. dispersa O’Donoghue & de Watteville, 1937 , and Cribrilaria africana Hayward & Cook, 1983 . The widespread C. innominata ( Couch, 1844) has also been reported from this region ( Hayward & Cook 1983). Khulisa carolinae n. gen. et n. sp. differs in several features from all the above-mentioned species (see also Remarks for the genus).

Khulisa carolinae n. gen et n. sp. forms encrusting patches on hard substrata including bryozoans, for example Reteporella sp. It was sampled near Arniston and False Bay, east of Smitswinkel Bay, on the South Coast, at 51–86 m depth.

Figures

FIGURE 6. A–F. Khulisa carolinae n. gen. et n. sp. (SAMC-A029002) A. Group of autozooids and interzooidal avicularia (scale bar = 0.4 mm, magnified x50). B. Close-up of the interzooidal avicularium (scale bar = 0.2 mm, magnified x75). C. Autozooids and enlarged dimorphic zooid (scale bar = 0.4 mm, magnified x50). D. View of the apertural bar and detail of the distal pore plates (scale bar = 0.2 mm, magnified x100). E. Close-up of the apertural bar (scale bar = 0.1 mm, magnified x200). F. Orificial rim of an enlarged, dimorphic zooid (scale bar = 0.1 mm, magnified x200).