Aetea cultrata Vieira, Almeida & Winston, 2016

López-Gappa, Juan, Liuzzi, María G., Castro, Karen L., Bobinac, Magalí & Schwindt, Evangelina, 2022, Fouling bryozoans in Argentine harbours (Southwest Atlantic): new records and the description of a new species, Zootaxa 5205 (4), pp. 374-400 : 379

Aetea cultrata Vieira, Almeida & Winston, 2016

( Figs 9–11 )

Aetea sica : Vieira et al. 2008: 12 (in part).

Aetea cultrata Vieira et al., 2016: 64 , figs 6–11.

Material examined. MACN-In 43873, Storni pier, Puerto Madryn, October 27, 2016, collected by Karen Castro.

Description. Colony creeping, uniserial, branching, delicate, consisting of an adnate basal portion and erect, distal, tubular stalks. Basal portion slightly punctate, about 269–438 µm long by 70–79 µm wide, expanded distally and tapering proximally. Erect stems about 395 µm long by 91 µm wide, with proximal cylindrical punctate portion. Frontal membrane occupying one side of the upper half of the stalk, with parallel lateral margins, about 175 µm long, with U-shaped proximal margin and straight distal end. One or two tubular, semi-erect zoeciules (kenozooids) may be present, arising from the lateral edges of the distal part of the attached creeping portion.

Remarks. Aetea cultrata has been regarded as cryptogenic in Brazil ( Xavier et al. 2021). This is its first record for Argentina, where it should also be considered cryptogenic based on its presence in fouling communities and its biogeographical and taxonomic history (see Carlton 1996). Its southern limit of distribution is here expanded by more than 21 degrees of latitude. The records of A. sica for Argentina ( Amor & Pallares 1965; Schwindt et al. 2020) should be re-examined, as they could actually belong to A. cultrata (see Vieira et al. 2016).

Distribution. Brazil ( Vieira et al. 2008, 2016; Xavier et al. 2021), Florida, USA ( Winston 1982), Chubut Province (this study).

Figures

FIGURES 6–11. FIGURES 6–8. Anguinella palmata (MACN-In 43872); 6, general aspect; 7–8, close-up of branches and zooids. FIGURES 9–11. Aetea cultrata (MACN-In 43873); 9, general aspect of zooids, stolons and zoeciules (arrowheads); 10, close-up of zoeciules (arrowheads); 11, close-up of one zooid. Scale bars. 6: 1000 µm; 7–9: 200 µm; 10, 11: 100 µm.