Cribellopora Gautier, 1957

Arakawa, Shinji, 2024, Descriptions of Three Cheilostomatid Bryozoan Species from the Continental Shelf off Boso Peninsula, Japan, Species Diversity 29 (1), pp. 99-110 : 102

Genus Cribellopora Gautier, 1957

Diagnosis. Colony encrusting. Frontal shield with cribellate or stellate pseudopores. Orifice semicircular, with proximal sinus. Oral spines present or absent. Avicularia lacking. Ovicell with cribellate or simple pseudopores, or imperforate with marginal pores.

Type species: Cribellopora simplex Gautier, 1957 .

Remarks: The type species has been regarded as a synonym of C. trichotoma ( Waters, 1918) (originally Schizoporella trichotoma ) (e.g., Gautier 1962; Gordon 1984; Zabala and Maluquer 1988). However, Souto et al. (2010) re-examined original specimens of the two species, and concluded that they are clearly distinct. As discussed by Gordon (1989) and Winston (2005), this genus includes several species showing variation in such characters as the degree of development of the frontal pseudopores, the oral spines, and the surface texture of the ovicell.