Halecium ralphae Watson & Vervoort, 2001

Figure 5A–B

Halecium ralphae Watson & Vervoort, 2001: 162, fig. 7a–d.— Vervoort & Watson, 2003: 94, fig. 18A–G.— Bouillon et al., 2006: 313.

Halecium beanii .— Ralph, 1958: 332, fig. 10e.

Halecium sessile .— Hirohito, 1995, 27, fig. 7e–h.

Material examined. SAM H2533, one microslide. West of the South Australia – Western Australia border, depth 180 m, trawl; coll: R. Southcott 1/07/1988 .

Description. Fragments of a dichotomously branched infertile colony. Branching in one order. Internodes long, slender, cylindrical, widening to below hydrotheca; oblique nodes above hydrotheca, a strong tumescence above and below node, sometimes a secondary oblique node passing from base of hydrotheca to opposite side of internode. Hydrotheca shallow bowl-shaped, adcauline wall closely adpressed to front of internode, margin transverse to internodal axis, rim circular, smooth, without replications, diaphragm concave, no desmocytes.

Stem

internode length 480–760 width at node 96–112 Hydrotheca

width across margin 144–160 depth, margin to diaphragm 60–76 Remarks. The small damaged sample conforms to the description of Halecium ralphae by Watson & Vervoort (2001) and Vervoort & Watson (2003).

Distribution. Chatham Is.,? Japan; a new record for the Great Australian Bight.