Coryne eximia Allman, 1859

Galea, Horia R., 2007, Hydroids and hydromedusae (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the fjords region of southern Chile, Zootaxa 1597 (1), pp. 1-116 : 30-31

Coryne eximia Allman, 1859

(fig. 7J–M, pl. 1L)

Coryne eximia Allman, 1859: 141 ; Petersen, 1990: 211, fig. 43A–C; Schuchert, 2001b: 773, figs 13A–D, 18B–C; Bouillon et al., 2004: 95, fig. 50A–D.

Syncoryne eximia: Allman, 1872: 262 , pl. 5 fig. 4; Bale, 1924: 229; Fraser, 1944: 41, pl. 4 fig. 13.

Sarsia eximia: Mayer, 1910: 57 , fig. 19–21; Russell, 1938: 150, figs 8–12; 1953: 50, fig. 17A, 18A–B, pl. 2 fig. 3; Kramp, 1959: 79, fig. 15; 1961: 26; 1968: 7, fig. 6; Brinckmann-Voss, 1970: 68; Fagetti, 1973: 38; Millard, 1975: 52, fig. 20A–D; Goy et al., 1991: 101, fig. 3; Schuchert, 1996: 125, figs 77A–H, 78; 2001a: 49.

Material examined. Stn. COM 01 – 28.i.2006, 0–6 m, S92: a small, sterile colony less than 0.5 cm high, on mollusc shell ( MHNG INVE 53338 ) . Stn. COM 02 —22.i. 2006, 15 m, S155: a small, fertile colony, about 1 cm high, on polychaete tube ( MHNG INVE 53480 ) . Plankton —off the Huinay Scientific Field Station , 09 and 11.ii.2006, 50–0 m, several medusae ( MHNG INVE 49042 ) .

Type locality. British Isles (no exact locality).

Remarks. For a recent redescription of this species, see Schuchert (2001b). The developmental stages of the medusa were studied by Russell (1953), who also provided nematocyst data for both the polyp and the medusa stages ( Russell 1938).

No funnel-shaped perisarc has been observed on hydranth bases in the present material, as reported by Schuchert in hydroids from New Zealand and Great Britain ( Schuchert 1996, 2001b). Tentacle number on the hydranth body is quite variable in this species, and it likely depends on ecological factors and/or the availability of food resources: 15–35 tentacles were observed by Schuchert (1996) in New Zealand material and up to 20 in the specimens from Great Britain ( Schuchert 2001b). The present specimens from Chile have 19–26 tentacles. Cnidome (polyp stage):

a) large stenoteles, discharged (17.9–18.9) x (11.0–13.1) µm, undischarged (21.0–22.6) x (12.6–14.7) µm;

b) small stenoteles, discharged (7.9–8.4) x (4.7–5.3) µm, undischarged (11.0–12.6) x (7.1–7.4) µm.

Medusae caught from the plankton are up to 2.5 mm in height and 2.3 mm in maximum diameter. Nematocysts of the medusa stage not observed.

World distribution. The hydroid stage has been reported from the North Atlantic (from North America to Europe and from Iceland to France), Mediterranean, Pacific coasts of North and South America, New Zealand, Brazil, South Africa ( Schuchert 2001b). The medusa stage was found in northwestern Europe, the western part of the Mediterranean Sea, the west coast of North America ( Kramp 1959), California, Alaska and Chile ( Kramp 1968).

Records from Chile. Hydroid and medusa stages were collected here from fjord Comau. The medusa was reported by Fagetti (1973) from Valparaíso Bay and by Palma et al. (2007) from the southern channels (between the Gulf of Corcovado and the Pulluche-Chacabuco channels).