Cigclisula fistulosa, Almeida & Souza & Menegola & Sanner & Vieira, 2014

Almeida, Ana C. S., Souza, Facelucia B. C., Menegola, Carla M. S., Sanner, Joann & Vieira, Leandro M., 2014, Taxonomic review of the family Colatooeciidae Winston, 2005 (Bryozoa, Cheilostomata), with description of seven new species, Zootaxa 3868 (1), pp. 1-61 : 28-29

Cigclisula fistulosa n. sp.

( Fig. 15 , Table 4 )

Material examined. Holotype: USNM 603767 , CHE593B, Atlantic coast of Panama . Paratype: USNM 603768 , CHE622, Atlantic coast of Panama .

Diagnosis. Encrusting, frontal shield uniformly punctured by 30–60 pseudopores; secondary orifice surrounded by 4 to 5 solid tubercles; frontal avicularia large, 0.057 –0.082 mm long, 0.048 –0.070 mm wide; ooecium with 1–3 tubercles and 1–2 avicularia, ectooecium with longitudinal band of 32–55 irregular pseudopores.

Etymology. From latin fistulosus, porous, alluding to the uniformly punctured frontal shield.

Description. Colony encrusting, uni- to multilaminar. Zooids hexagonal, becoming polygonal with increasing calcification, as long as wide, delimited by distinct grooves. Frontal shield thickly calcified, uniformly punctured by 30–60 pseudopores, smooth. Primary orifice large relative to area of frontal shield, almost centered, subcampanuliform, longer than wide, sunken, with arcuate anter and slightly broader poster separated by 2 downcurved condyles at about one third orifice length. Secondary orifice surrounded by 4–5 (often 4) solid tubercles. Suboral avicularium absent. Frontal avicularia large (0.057 –0.082 mm long, 0.048 –0.070 mm wide), elliptical, single (rarely 2), placed at proximal margin of zooid. Ooecium somewhat elevated, wider than long, inclined to zooid surface, often bearing 1–3 tubercles and 1–2 avicularia; ectooecium with longitudinal band of 32–55 irregular pseudopores.

Remarks. Cigclisula fistulosa n. sp. was previously attributed to Cigclisula turrita (as Trematooecia ). The two species are distinguished, however, by the frontal shield (irregularly punctured in C. turrita and uniformly punctured in C. fistulosa n. sp.), autozooid size (larger in C. turrita : 0.454 –0.816 mm long, 0.506 –0.858 mm wide; cf. C. fistulosa n. sp.: 0.296 –0.699 mm long, 0.343 –0.607 mm wide), interzooidal avicularia (present only in C. turrita ), and the number of ectooecial pseudopores (25–38 in C. turrita , 32–55 in C. fistulosa n. sp.).

Cigclisula fistulosa n. sp. resembles C. psammophila and C. perforata n. sp. in having encrusting colonies, solid tubercles around the secondary orifice and no interzooidal avicularia, but differs in having 30–60 pseudopores in the frontal shield, ooecia with 1–3 tubercles and 1–2 avicularia, and ectooecium with 32–55 pseudopores. Also, C. fistulosa n. sp. has a small primary orifice and ovicells and larger frontal avicularia than in C. perforata n. sp. ( Table 2 ).

Distribution. Atlantic: Panama.

Figures

FIGURE 15. Cigclisula fistulosa n. sp. A, USNM 603768, paratype, Panama; B, C, USNM 603767, holotype, Panama. A, zooids at colony center. B, group of zooids and primary orifice. C, ovicelled zooids and elliptical frontal avicularia. Scale bars: A = 500 µm; B, C = 100 µm.