Zeuglopora lanceolata Maplestone, 1909

Bock, Philip E. & Cook, Patricia L., 2004, A review of Australian Conescharellinidae (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata), Memoirs of Museum Victoria 61 (2), pp. 135-182 : 175

Zeuglopora lanceolata Maplestone, 1909

Figures 27 , 28A–C

Zeuglopora lanceolata Maplestone, 1909: 272 , pl. 78, fig. 11.— Harmer, 1957: 757.

Bipora lanceolata . — Livingstone, 1924: 211.

Specimens examined. NMV F99026 , 1 colony labelled by Maplestone, probably part of the type material from NSW .

Diagnosis and description. As for the genus, serrated edges of colony formed by prominent zooids, that occur in alternating unequal pairs. Primary orifice with a subtriangular sinus and well developed paired condyles; obscured at the base of a tubular peristome, that is most prominent adapically. A rounded adapical pore, at a little distance from the edge of the peristome, is present in some central and antapical zooid orifices. Surface of zooids mammilate, interspersed with minute, rounded avicularia, with a bar but no ligula. Root pores lunate, adapical, paired, large and surrounded by extrazooidal calcification.

Colony length 7 mm, breadth 2.25 mm. Number of astogenetic generations 12–13, number of zooids per generation 10.

Remarks. The single colony from New South Wales resembles Maplestone’s (1909) description. The orifices of the enlarged marginal zooids are surrounded by up to five small avicularia and resemble the root pores of C. eburnea and C. plana . However, the adapical end of the colony shows that the actual root pores resemble those of Flabellopora and consist of large lunate pores surrounded by massive, secondary extrazooidal calcification. The adapical pore is large and a little offset in position towards the colony margin. It seems probable that any ovicell would be slightly asymmetrically placed. Harmer (1957: 737) examined a colony that was part of Maplestone’s (1909) type material in the BMNH collection ( BMNH 1909.11.12.3). It has a large adapical foramen that was filled with detritus. It seems almost certain that this colony actually possessed paired, lunate adapical root pores like other specimens ( Fig. 28C ). There are no additional records of Z. lanceolata from Australia but Canu and Bassler (1929: 511, pl. 75, fig. 6) described a very similar colony from deep water (630 m) north-east of Borneo as Z. lanceolata , an identification accepted by Harmer (1957). The locality was remote from Australia; the figured colony is slightly narrower than those from Australia, with more prominent marginal zooids than the type specimens. The character of the primary orifices, root pores and avicularia are uncertain. Harmer (1957) also described a new species, Z. arctata , from two minute colonies from 82 m off Java, where the bottom sediment consisted of fine grey mud. Each colony had large marginal avicularia, and a long single root emanating from the adapical region. Cadée (1987: 52) noted the occurrence of several hundred colonies of Z. arctata together with an undescribed species from soft-bottom sediments in the Banda Sea but gave no detailed descriptions. Lu (1991) described several species of Zeuglopora (as Bipora ) from the South China Sea. His B. pagoda (p.70, pl. 18 fig. 2) and B. trinodata (p. 71, pl. 18 fig. 3) both resemble the unnamed species mentioned by Cadée (1987).

Figures

Figure 27. Zeuglopora lanceolata Maplestone, 1909. NMV F99026. Lateral view of colony, direction of growth arrowed, scale = 1 mm.

Figure 28. Zeuglopora lanceolata Maplestone, 1909. NMV F99026. A, detail of orifice with adapical pore, scale = 100 µm. B, detail of large, marginal zooid orifice with surrounding avicularia, direction of growth arrowed, scale = 200 µm. C. adapical region showing lunate root pores, scale =200 µm.