Celleporella reflexa Dick and Ross, 1988

Dick, Matthew H., Grischenko, Andrei V. & Mawatari, Shunsuke F., 2005, Intertidal Bryozoa (Cheilostomata) of Ketchikan, Alaska, Journal of Natural History 39 (43), pp. 3687-3784 : 3726-3729

Celleporella reflexa Dick and Ross, 1988

( Figure 10A–F )

Celleporella reflexa Dick and Ross 1988 p 83 , Plates 6C–H, 12E.

Celleporella hyalina: Dick and Ross 1986 p 89 (in part); Soule et al. 1995, p 183 (in part:

Plate 66A, specimen from Canoe Bay , Alaska ).

Description

Colony. Off-white, vitreous; uniserial, oligoserial, broadly multiserial, or a coherent sheet, with a single colony often giving rise to these different morphologies with variations in substrate; initially unilaminar, with autozooids and male zooids in primary layer ( Figure 10A, C ); subsequently some colonies produce one or more frontally budded layers containing all zooid types ( Figure 10F ). At Ketchikan, female zooids occurred only rarely in primary layer ( Figure 10D ). Encrusting hard substrates; largest colony observed 3 cm across, though aggregations of colonies can cover larger areas.

Zooids. Autozooids distinct in primary layer, separated by a shallow groove, spindleshaped, widest in middle, tapering proximally, narrowing and rounded distally, 0.50– 0.75 mm long (average 50.620 mm, n 515, 3) by 0.23–0.35 mm wide (average 50.277 mm, n 515, 3); between adjacent zooids are a few slit-like lacunae and up to eight circular, infundibular openings that lead to the pore chambers connecting zooids. Zooidal boundaries obscured in colonies with a thick, frontally budded layer; autozooids can become orientated almost vertically, and the grooves between all zooid types (autozooids, female zooids, male zooids, zooeciules) completely filled with coarsely porous kenozooidal calcification. Ovicellate zooids small, more-or-less triangular in shape ( Figure 10D, E ), widest at orifice, 0.24–0.40 mm long including ovicell (average 50.346 mm, n 515, 3) by 0.21–0.30 mm wide (average 50.250 mm, n 515, 3). Male zooids like autozooids in form, similar in size or somewhat to considerably smaller.

Frontal wall. Thin, vitreous, translucent, markedly convex, usually with conspicuous, irregular transverse folds or ridges along the whole length, though sometimes these are scarcely developed. Basal wall with oval uncalcified area in centre.

Orifice. Autozooidal orifice typically longer than broad ( Figure 10B , right), 0.11–0.13 mm long (average 50.121 mm, n 515, 3) by 0.09–0.10 mm wide (average 50.096 mm, n 515, 3). In some colonies, most zooids have an orifice as broad as, or broader than, long ( Figure 10B , left); this is especially pronounced in frontally budded autozooids comprising a secondary layer. Orifice typically with a moderately broad, deep U- or rounded V-shaped proximal sinus ( Figure 10B ) between sharp condyles pointing distally or distomedially and separated from lateral margin by a notch; however there is variation, and in some zooids the condyles are blunt, directed almost medially, and without a discernible notch. Orifice of male zooids similar in shape to that of autozooids, but three-fifths to less than one-half the length. Female secondary orifice D-shaped in frontal view ( Figure 10D ), broader than long, with a shallowly concave proximal margin evident from a more distal view.

Spines. Lacking.

Avicularia. Lacking.

Ovicell ( Figure 10D–F ). Globose, raised or partly immersed, 0.18–0.23 mm long (average 50.188 mm, n 515, 3) by 0.19–0.28 mm wide (average 50.227 mm, n 515, 3), with 10–23 infundibular pores scattered over the surface.

Ancestrula . Oval, smooth, with the orifice similar in shape to that of later zooids; gives rise to one distolateral zooid which in turn buds from the proximolateral margin a zooid that grows back alongside the ancestrula, in the opposite direction.

Remarks

Celleporella reflexa was common underneath boulders at all three collecting sites, attached to rock surfaces, dead mollusc shells, and serpulid tubes. Ketchikan specimens are similar in most respects to C. reflexa described at Kodiak ( Dick and Ross 1988). However, at Ketchikan female zooids are rare in the primary layer; most are frontally budded in the groove between autozooids.

In Alaska, multilaminar, coherent colonies of C. reflexa can be confused with specimens of the C. hyalina species complex. In C. reflexa , the autozooidal orifice is conspicuously smaller, typically with sharp, distally or distomedially pointed condyles separated by a notch from the lateral margin; the irregular transverse ridging is more pronounced; the openings to pore chambers along the lateral margins are smaller, more numerous, and infundibular; the basal wall is always incompletely calcified; and the ovicell can become subimmersed. The ancestrular budding patterns of the two species are also quite different. A specimen from Canoe Bay, Alaska, identified and illustrated by Soule et al. (1995, Plate 66A) as C. hyalina (L.), appears to be C. reflexa , as it shows most of the characters just mentioned.

Distribution

In south-eastern Alaska, this species was previously recorded from the Blashke Islands ( Dick and Ross 1988). The known range extends from Ketchikan to the eastern Aleutian Islands .

Figures

Figure 10. Celleporella reflexa Dick and Ross: (A) portion of a colony showing unilaminar, oligoserial growth, with autozooids and male zooids (small orifices) in primary layer; (B) variation in autozooidal orifice shape in two adjacent zooids; elongate orifice shape at right is more typical of specimens from Kodiak, Alaska, the type locality; (C) autozooids and male zooids in primary layer at margin of a coherent colony; note weak transverse ridges; (D) ovicellate female zooids in primary layer (rare at Ketchikan) and autozooids showing typically pronounced transverse ridges; (E) autozooids in primary layer and frontally budded male and female zooids; (F) frontally budded autozooids, male zooids, and female zooids in a colony with a thick secondary layer; note subimmersed ovicells. All specimens bleached. Scale bars: 1 mm (A); 100 Mm (B); 500 Mm (C, E, F); 400 Mm (D).