Cordylophora caspia (Pallas, 1771)

Gravili, Cinzia, Vito, Doris De, Camillo, Cristina Gioia Di, Martell, Luis, Piraino, Stefano & Boero, Ferdinando, 2015, The non-Siphonophoran Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Salento, Italy with notes on their life-cycles: an illustrated guide, Zootaxa 3908 (1), pp. 1-187 : 37-38

Cordylophora caspia (Pallas, 1771)

Fig. 24

See Schuchert (2004) for a complete synonymy.

Material examined. HCUS-S 0 29 (Hydrozoa Collection, University of Salento—fauna of the Salento Peninsula).

Description ( Schuchert 2004, 2012):

Hydroid. Hydrorhiza reticular; colony stolonal or erect; hydrocauli up to 4–8 cm high (reportedly up to 10 cm), with monopodial growth, unbranched or branching irregularly several times at various angles and ending in up to 40 hydranths, perisarc smooth, corrugated or ringed at base of hydrocladia; hydrocladia not adnate; hydranth with 12–24 filiform tentacles scattered throughout the polyp; colonies dioecious. Gonophores as fixed sporosacs, ovoid to spherical, sessile or pedicellate, borne on stem or on hydranth pedicels, initially with a branched spadix, reduced in later development, gametes released through distal hole. Females with 7– 16 eggs (fewer also possible), developing into planulae in situ. Colours: perisarc brown, hydranth white or pale pink.

Cnidome. Desmonemes and microbasic euryteles.

Habitat type. Brackish waters as in estuaries, river deltas and lagoons ( Morri 1979a, b, 1980a, 1981a, b).

Substrate. Serpulid tube of Ficopomatus enigmatus , trunks, reeds, pieces of plastic, shells, aquatic-plants, barnacles.

Seasonality. Summer months ( Morri 1980a) in Italian brackish waters; in Salento waters in May ( Bianchi et al. 1994), and December, January, August (De Vito 2006; this study).

Reproductive period. Spring ( Morri & Boero 1986) in Italian brackish waters.

Distribution. Circumglobal in temperate and subtropical regions ( Schuchert 2004; Gravili et al. 2008a).

Records in Salento. Palude del Capitano ( Bianchi et al. 1994; Gravili et al. 2010); rare at Otranto (De Vito 2006; Gravili 2006; Gravili et al. 2008a; this study).

Remarks. The taxonomic status has been revised in Folino (2000). Schuchert (2004) thinks that genetic methods must be used to clarify the status of the various Cordylophora ecomorphs. In spite of having been considered a cryptogenic non-indigenous species (e.g., Gravili et al. 2010; Occhipinti-Ambrogi et al. 2011), records of this species are widespread throughout Europe since the very beginning of its studies (review in Schuchert, 2004) and there are no reasons to consider it a NIS.

References. Picard (1958a), Rossi (1971), Morri (1979a, b, 1980a, 1981a, b), Bianchi & Morri (1983, 1996), Morri & Bianchi 1983), Morri & Boero (1986), Bianchi et al. (1994), Folino (2000), Bouillon et al. (2004), Schuchert (2004, 2012), De Vito (2006), Gravili (2006), Çinar et al. (2008), Gravili et al. (2008a), Gravili et al. (2010), Occhipinti-Ambrogi et al. (2011).

Figures

FIGURE 24. Cordylophora caspia: hydranth with gonophore on its pedicel (drawn by C. G. Di Camillo). Scale bar: 0.2 mm.