Symplectoscyphus leloupi El Beshbeeshy, 1991

Galea, Horia R., Häussermann, Verena & Försterra, Günter, 2009, New additions to the hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the fjords region of southern Chile, Zootaxa 2019, pp. 1-28 : 13-14

Symplectoscyphus leloupi El Beshbeeshy, 1991

(fig. 3F–J, table 4)

Symplectoscyphus leloupi El Beshbeeshy, 1991: 206 , fig. 52.

Symplectoscyphus modestus – Leloup, 1974: 36, figs 31, 32A, 33–36 [not Symplectoscyphus modestus ( Hartlaub, 1901a) ].

Material examined. Stn. 9 – 24.02.2008, 20 m, A495 ( MHNG INVE 62838): numerous stems and fragments, most of them bearing gonothecae, epizoic on dead gorgonian.

Type locality. Off southern Argentina, ca. 52°41' S, 67°20' W (Stn. 351).

Description. Colonies monosiphonic, irregularly pinnate, coplanar, up to 4 cm high, arising from creeping hydrorhiza; stems with 1–2 annuli basally (not shown). Stems and side branches straight, the former slightly wider than the latter; both divided into internodes by weak, oblique, alternately sloping constrictions of perisarc; internodes short, of nearly the same length as adnate adcauline wall of hydrotheca; perisarc of stem and branches thick, pale-yellow. Side branches borne on short stem apophyses given off laterally below bases of hydrothecae; perisarc constricted between apophysis and branch; first internode longer than later ones. Hydrothecae alternate, in two parallel rows, coplanar, borne on distal end of internode; tubular in shape; adnate for half their adcauline length; abcauline wall most often slightly concave, with inflexion point in middle; free adcauline wall straight to slightly convex; adnate adcauline wall and base of hydrotheca much thickened; hydrothecal margin often renovated several times; perisarc just below margin thickened; aperture surrounded by three triangular cusps (one adcauline and two latero-abcauline) separated by shallow, rounded embayments; adcauline cusp distinctly tilted upwards; closing apparatus composed of three triangular plates forming a shallow, pointed roof. Gonothecae borne below hydrothecal bases (not shown); pear-shaped, widest in middle, tapering gradually towards base; lower half smooth-walled, upper half with ca. 3 distinct, transverse rings; distal end provided with a short terminal tube, constricted in middle; aperture circular.

Remarks. El Beshbeeshy (1991) examined the type material of Sertularella modesta Hartlaub, 1901 a and found it different from the specimens studied by Leloup (1974). It differed in the smaller size of both internodes and hydrothecae, the latter being deeply immersed in their corresponding internodes.

The gonothecae of this species were first found and described by Leloup (1974), but no measurements were provided. The present material contains numerous gonothecae, whose dimensions are given in table 4. For the variation in shape and size of the hydrothecae, see Leloup (1974).

World distribution. Off the Atlantic side of the Magellan Strait and off the Falkland Islands ( El Beshbeeshy 1991).

Records from Chile. North of the Gulf of Ancud ( Leloup 1974), South of Chiloé Island (present study).

Present study L e lo u p (1 9 7 4), a s S. El Beshbeeshy (1991) modestus (Hartlaub, 1901)

Internodes

– length 415–660 – 672–904

– diameter at node 200–370 120–330 185–371

Hydrotheca

– free adcauline aside 285–415 340–570 359–556

– adnate adcauline side 415–490 320–470 348–429

– abcauline side 450–530 450–750 487–672

– base width 210–250 160–260 208–232

– maximum width 360–430 330–450 348–440

– diameter at aperture 345–365 250–380 301–382

Gonotheca

– total length 1880–2065 – –

– length w/o terminal tube 1645–1895 – –

– maximum width 895–935 – –

– tube length 190–240 – –

– tube width (in middle) 160–170 – –

– tube diameter at aperture 210–255 – –