Cryptosula pallasiana ( Moll, 1803 )

López-Gappa, Juan, Liuzzi, María G., Castro, Karen L., Bobinac, Magalí & Schwindt, Evangelina, 2022, Fouling bryozoans in Argentine harbours (Southwest Atlantic): new records and the description of a new species, Zootaxa 5205 (4), pp. 374-400 : 388

Cryptosula pallasiana ( Moll, 1803)

(Fig. 29)

Eschara pallasiana Moll, 1803: 64 , pl. 3, fig. 13.

Cryptosula pallasiana : Ryland 1965: 72, fig. 34b; Lichtschein de Bastida & Bastida 1980: 384, figs 18–23; Gordon & Mawatari, 1992: 29, pl. 1A–C, pl. 3C, pl. 8C; Hayward & Ryland 1999: 194, figs 74C, 76; López-Gappa & Liuzzi 2018: 1164; Castro et al. 2020: 70.

Material examined. MACN-In18244, Quequén harbour.MACN-In32387, Punta Pardelas.MACN-In37995/38084, Necochea. MACN-In 19538, Quequén harbour, March 1931. MACN-In 8575, Puerto Belgrano, April 11, 1956. MACN-In 35506/7, Mar del Plata, November 1, 1963. MACN-In 35397, Riacho Jabalí, San Blas, October 6, 1968. MACN-In 32270, Mar del Plata, 1976. MACN-In 32307, San Antonio Oeste, February 7, 1977. MACN-In 32311, Camarones Bay, February 10, 1977. MACN-In 32312, Caleta Valdés, February 14, 1977. MACN-In 43881, Storni pier, Puerto Madryn, October 27, 2016, collected by Karen Castro. MACN-In 43880, Puerto Deseado harbour, April 24, 2019, collected by Jessica Chiarandini Fiore.

Description. See Lichtschein de Bastida & Bastida (1980), Gordon & Mawatari (1992) and Hayward & Ryland (1999).

Remarks. Colonies of C. pallasiana were found on shells of the ribbed mussel, Aulacomya atra . This common bryozoan fouler had been previously recorded in the fouling assemblages of Mar del Plata, Quequén and Belgrano harbours ( Lichtschein de Bastida & Bastida 1980; López-Gappa & Liuzzi 2018), and Nuevo Gulf ( Castro et al. 2020). It is also common in coastal areas of Argentina, from Mar del Plata to Valdés Peninsula, but was not found in Puerto Deseado harbour by Schwindt et al. (2014). Hence, its appearance in this harbour seems to be relatively recent. According to the sample stored in MACN-In 19538, the species is present in Argentina at least since 1931.

Distribution. Widespread around the world, particularly in ports and harbours ( Gordon & Mawatari 1992). First recorded for Patagonia by Castro et al. (2020).