Ralpharia gorgoniae Petersen, 1990

Galea, Horia R., 2013, New additions to the shallow-water hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) of the French Lesser Antilles: Martinique, Zootaxa 3686 (1), pp. 1-50 : 10

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.3686.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:17A93C58-F09C-484A-A26A-F4F27BC91A6C

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5263575

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/D6410C37-BF42-FFFC-FF36-FCD2FD41F972

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Ralpharia gorgoniae Petersen, 1990
status

 

Ralpharia gorgoniae Petersen, 1990 View in CoL

(Pl. 1L– O; Fig. 2R)

Ralpharia gorgoniae Petersen, 1990: 189 View in CoL , fig. 35.― Calder & Kirkendale, 2005: 480.― Castellanos Iglesias et al., 2011: 14. Tubularia parasitica View in CoL ― Wedler & Larson, 1986: 72, fig. 1B (not Tubularia parasitica Korotneff, 1887 View in CoL ). Pachycordyle View in CoL sp. A― Larson, 1982: 255.

Material examined. Stn. 7, 24.i.2012, 6– 8 m, M044: two fertile polyps (MHNG-INVE-82915). Additional material for comparison: Guadeloupe, Stn4. 18, 04.xii.2009, 10– 15 m, five polyps with and without gonophores (MHNG-INVE-82916).

Remarks. For a thorough description of this species, see Petersen (1990). The gonophore is well illustrated by Wedler & Larson (1986). In addition to these, it is worth mentioning that the oral and aboral tentacles are pseudofiliform, with cnidocytes concentrated on both ad- and aboral sides, except for the distalmost parts where the capsules cover uniformly all the surface of these tentacles. Cnidome (previously unreported): 1) small stenoteles, (8.5–8.9)×(6.2–6.9) µm, in both oral and aboral tentacles; 2) large stenoteles, (11.5–11.9)×(9.9–10.1) µm, in the oral tentacles; 3) desmonemes, (6.9–7.8)×(4.8–5.5) µm, in both oral and aboral tentacles; 4) microbasic mastigophores, (13.1–13.8)×(4.8–5.3) µm, in the aboral tentacles; 5) heterotrichous anisorhizas, (11.7– 12.4)×(10.8–11.2) µm, in the nematophores. No cnidocysts occur in the gonophores.

Some polyps bear, with little doubt, male gonophores (a homogenous, compact mass of tissue invests the subumbrellar cavity), while others are probably female. No oocytes could be seen, but possibly developing larvae (Pl. 1 O), resembling those figured earlier by myself ( Galea 2008, fig. 3H) for Zyzzyzus warreni Calder, 1988 . Similar larvae are also visible in some gonophores illustrated by Petersen (1990, Fig. 35).

Geographical distribution. Belize ( Larson 1982, planktonic medusoids, as Pachycordyle sp. A), Colombia (Flórez González 1983, as Tubularia parasitica ), Puerto Rico ( Wedler & Larson 1986, as T. parasitica ), Caribbean coast of Panama ( Calder & Kirkendale 2005), Cuba ( Castellanos Iglesias et al. 2011), Guadeloupe (Galea, unpublished results), Martinique (present study).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Cnidaria

Class

Hydrozoa

Order

Anthoathecata

Family

Tubulariidae

Genus

Ralpharia

Loc

Ralpharia gorgoniae Petersen, 1990

Galea, Horia R. 2013
2013
Loc

Ralpharia gorgoniae

Castellanos 2011: 14
Calder 2005: 480
Petersen 1990: 189
Wedler 1986: 72
Larson 1982: 255
1990
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