Halopteris carinata Allman, 1877

Calder, Dale R., 2013, Some shallow-water hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the central east coast of Florida, USA, Zootaxa 3648 (1), pp. 1-72 : 42-43

Halopteris carinata Allman, 1877

Fig. 11f–h

Halopteris carinata Allman, 1877: 33 , pl. 19, figs. 3–7.— Humann, 1992: 75, middle photograph.— Humann & DeLoach, 2002: 75, middle photograph.— Schuchert, 1997: 123, fig. 45.

Type locality. USA: Florida, off Carysfort Reef ( Allman 1877) .

Voucher material. Off Palm Beach , 26°48.4’N, 79°58.6’W, 36.6 m, Johnson-Sea-Link, JSL 288, 16.ix.1975, one colony, 9 cm high, without gonophores, coll. S. Nelson, ROMIZ B1084 .— West Palm Beach, on reef seaward of the Breakers Hotel , 45 feet (13.7 m), January 1991, SCUBA, fragments of one or more large colonies, cormidia up to 11 cm high, with gonophores, coll. P. Humann, ROMIZ B1128 .

Remarks. Significant taxonomic and nomenclatural problems exist within the genus Halopteris Allman, 1877 . First, the name is threatened by a seldom-used senior synonym ( Halicornaria Hincks, 1865 ; type species Plumularia catharina Johnston, 1833 , by monotypy; not Halicornaria Allman 1874 = Gymnangium Hincks, 1874 ). In the interests of nomenclatural stability, the well-known name Halopteris is designated herein as valid and as a nomen protectum, while Halicornaria Hincks, 1865 (not Halicornaria Allman, 1874 ) is relegated to a nomen oblitum by adopting Reversal of Precedence provisions (ICZN Art. 23.9.1.1). Thus, Halicornaria sensu Hincks has not been used as a valid name in zoology after 1899, whereas Halopteris has been utilized in more than 25 works by numerous authors (>10) in the past 50 years (e.g., Vervoort 1968, 2006; Millard 1975; Rees & Vervoort 1987; Gili et al. 1989; Cornelius 1995b; Hirohito 1995; Migotto 1996; Calder 1997; Schuchert 1997, 2003; Watson 2000; Ansín Agís et al. 2001; Cairns et al. 2002; Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa 2002; Grohmann et al. 2003; Vervoort & Watson 2003; Calder & Kirkendale 2005; Bouillon et al. 2006; Galea 2006, 2008, 2010; Altuna Prados 2007; Henry et al. 2008; Castellanos Iglesias et al. 2011). Second, misgivings were expressed earlier ( Calder 1997: 33) about the overly broad scope of Halopteris as currently recognized and defined. Its type species, Halopteris carinata Allman, 1877 , is decidedly different in hydrothecal and gonothecal morphology from other species presently assigned to the genus (see Schuchert 1997: 125). No changes to the existing classification and nomenclature of the genus are introduced here, but revision of Halopteris is warranted.

Gonothecae of both sexes were present on some cormidia in part of the material (ROMIZ B1128). Smaller male gonothecae were present on hydrocladia and larger female ones on hydrocauli ( Figs. 11g, h ).

One part of the material examined here (ROMIZ B1128) has been illustrated (as photographs) in the guidebooks of Humann (1992) and Humann & DeLoach (2002), and the other (ROMIZ B1084) has been described by Schuchert (1997).

Reported distribution. Atlantic coast of Florida. Off Carysfort Reef ( Allman 1877).—off Palm Beach area ( Humann 1992; Schuchert 1997; Humann & DeLoach 2002).

Western Atlantic. South Florida and the Bahamas ( Fraser 1944) to Brazil (Oliveira et al. submitted), including Bermuda ( Calder 1997), the Gulf of Mexico ( Calder & Cairns 2009), and the Caribbean Sea ( Calder & Kirkendale 2005; Galea 2010; Castellanos Iglesias et al. 2011).

Elsewhere. Cape Verde Islands ( Ansín Agís et al. 2001; Vervoort 2006).

Figures

FIGURE 11. a, Antennella gracilis: part of hydrocaulus with two hydrothecae, ROMIZ B1090, scale equals 0.25 mm. b, Antennella incerta: front view of hydrotheca, showing laterally-displaced axillar nematotheca, ROMIZ B3973, scale equals 0.25 mm. c, Antennella incerta: hydrocaulus with three hydrothecae, ROMIZ B3973, scale equals 0.25 mm. d, Halopteris alternata: part of hydrocaulus with a hydrocladium and two hydrothecae, ROMIZ B3974, scale equals 0.20 mm. e, Halopteris alternata: part of hydrocladium with two hydrothecae, ROMIZ B3974, scale equals 0.20 mm. f, Halopteris carinata: part of hydrocladium with two hydrothecae, ROMIZ B1128, scale equals 0.20 mm. g, Halopteris carinata: male gonotheca, ROMIZ B1128, scale equals 0.25 mm. h, Halopteris carinata: female gonotheca with two nematothecae, ROMIZ B1128, scale equals 0.25 mm.