Celleporaria atlantica ( Busk, 1884 )

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 : 296

Celleporaria atlantica ( Busk, 1884)

( Figs. 38–41 )

Cellepora mamillata var. atlantica Busk, 1884: 199 (part), pl. 35, fig. 4.

Celleporaria atlantica: Winston et al. 2014: 191 , figs. 33A-D, 34, 35 (cum syn.); Almeida et al. 2015b: 4.

Material examined. UFBA 1180 , Camamu Bay, 13°53’S, 38°59’W, 18–20 m, coll . October 2012 (on sponge Topsentia ophiraphidites ); UFBA 1181 , UFBA 2389–90 , Camamu Bay , 13°53’S, 38°59’W, 18–20 m, coll . October 2012 (on sponge Haliclona (Soestella) melana ); UFBA 1188 , UFBA 2391–92 , Camamu Bay , 13°53’S, 38°59’W, 18–20 m, coll . October 2012 (on sponge Bubaris sp.).

Remarks. Celleporaria atlantica was recently redescribed by Winston et al. (2014), who studied original specimens from Busk (1884). Although Busk (1884) described C. atlantica from Brazil (Bahia state) and Australia (Possession Island), Winston et al. (2014) elucidated that specimens from Possession Island truly belong to Celleporaria fusca ( Busk, 1854) and thus C. atlantica is restricted to Brazilian waters. Busk (1884) found C. atlantica on seafloors composed of gravel and shells. Other species of Celleporaria are commonly found associated with corals and rocks (e.g., Winston 1986; Winston 2005).

Celleporaria atlantica has encrusting colonies, autozooids with almost rounded orifice with a shallow and wide sinus, suboral avicularium placed on a pointed umbo ( Fig. 40 ), small leaf-shaped avicularia associated with marginal areolar pores and spatulate avicularia occurring between zooids ( Fig. 41 ) (Winston et al. 2014). Celleporaria atlantica is often found at Bahia state forming nodular colonies attached to hard substrata such as rocks and calcareous nodules. Colonies of C. atlantica here studied are unilaminar and were encrusting the rugose sponge Bubaris sp. ( Fig. 8 ) as well as the smooth-textured sponges Haliclona (Soestella) melana and Topsentia ophiraphidites .

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

Figures

FIGURES 36 – 41. Figures 36 – 37. Reptadeonella leilae, UFBA 1174. 36, Overview of encrusting colony with some gonozooids; 37, Close-up of autozooids showing tubular peristome. 38 – 41, Celleporaria atlantica, UFBA 1188. 38, Overview of encrusting colony; 39 – 40, Close-up of autozooids showing suboral avicularia, pointed umbos and leaf-shaped frontal avicularia; 41, Spatulate avicularium. Scale bars: 42 = 500 µm; 43 – 45 = 100 µm. Scale bars: 36, 38 = 500 µm; 37 = 200 µm; 39 – 41 = µm.

FIGURES 8 – 12. Some rugose-textured sponges analyzed in the study. Arrows indicate the bryozoan attached to the sponges. 8, Bubaris sp.; 9, Mycale angulosa; 10, Petrosia (Petrosia) weinbergi; 11, Spongosorites sp.; 12, Tedanias ignis. Scale bars: 1 cm.