Clytia gracilis ( M. Sars, 1850 )

Galea, Horia R., 2008, On a collection of shallow-water hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from Guadeloupe and Les Saintes, French Lesser Antilles, Zootaxa 1878, pp. 1-54 : 17

Clytia gracilis ( M. Sars, 1850)

(fig. 3 O –P)

Laomedea gracilis M. Sars, 1850: 138 .

Clytia gracilis — Calder, 1991d: 54, fig. 31.— Ramil & Vervoort, 1992: 235, fig. 67A.— Cornelius, 1995b: 246, fig. 56.— Migotto, 1996: 81, fig. 15C.— Schuchert, 2001a: 151, fig. 131.— Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa, 2002: 145, fig. 28A–B.— Schuchert, 2003: 164, fig. 23.

Material examined. Stn. 1: 21.03.2008 —one small, sterile colony, ca. 2 mm high, on Thalassia testudinum . Stn. 3: 26.01.2008 —several hydrothecae, but no gonothecae, on algae; 01.04.2008 —numerous sterile colonies, up to 2.5 mm high, on algae and concretions. Stn. 6: 28.03.2008 —one sterile colony, on T. testudinum . Stn. 7: 25.03.2008 —several colonies, up to 1.5 mm high, some fertile, on Halimeda sp.; 27.03.2008 —numerous colonies, 1 mm high, some fertile, on Halimeda sp.

Type locality. Lofoten Islands, Norway.

Remarks. For a description of this species, see Cornelius (1995b). Its synonymy is extensively discussed in Calder (1991d).

Distribution. Circumglobal, penetrating in subpolar seas ( Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa, 2002). For a detailed list of world records, see Medel & Vervoort (2000). The Caribbean records are summarized by Calder & Kirkendale (2005).