Stylopoma aurantiacum Canu & Bassler, 1928a

Almeida, Ana C. S., Souza, Facelucia B. C., Menegola, Carla & Vieira, Leandro M., 2017, Diversity of marine bryozoans inhabiting demosponges in northeastern Brazil, Zootaxa 4290 (2), pp. 281-323 : 303

Stylopoma aurantiacum Canu & Bassler, 1928a

( Figs. 54–59 )

Stylopoma aurantiacum Canu & Bassler, 1928a: 78 , pl. 4, figs. 3, 4; Vieira et al. 2008: 28; Winston et al. 2014: 204, fig. 41.

Material examined. UFBA 1587 , UFBA 2394 , Camamu Bay, 13°53’S, 38°59’W, 18–20 m, coll . October 2012 (on sponge Haliclona (Soestella) melana ); UFBA 1182 , Camamu Bay , 13°53’S, 38°59’W, 18–20 m, coll . October 2012 (one colony on sponge Ircinia felix ).

Remarks. Stylopoma aurantiacum has encrusting colonies ( Fig. 54 ), a keyhole-shaped orifice with distinct condyles, frontal avicularia rounded proximally and subtriangular distally ( Fig. 56 ), large shoe-shaped interzooidal avicularia ( Fig. 58 ) and large ooecia with crab claw-like extensions from either side of the base of the opening ( Fig. 59 ) ( Canu & Bassler 1928a; Winston et al. 2014). Winston et al. (2014) first reported S. aurantiacum since its original description, but here we first figure ooecia of S. auratiacum ( Fig. 59 ). We found two colonies attached to the sponges Haliclona (Soestella) melana and Ircinia felix . The widely known Stylopoma spongites ( Pallas, 1766) received its name owing to its association with a sponge (Tilbrook 2001), suggesting Stylopoma species might be common on that substratum.

Distribution. Atlantic: endemic to Brazil (Pernambuco and Bahia) (Winston et al. 2014).

Figures

FIGURES 54 – 59. Stylopoma aurantiacum, UFBA 1182. 54, Overview of encrusting colony; 55 – 57. Close-up of autozooids showing primary orifices and frontal avicularia; 58, Shoe-shaped interzooidal avicularia; 59, Ovicell with crab claw – like extensions. Scale bars: 54 = 500 µm; 55, 57, 59 = 100 µm; 56 = 50 µm; 58 = 200 µm.