Halopteris peculiaris Billard, 1913

Galea, Horia R. & Maggioni, Davide, 2020, Plumularioid hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from off New Caledonia collected during KANACONO and KANADEEP expeditions of the French Tropical Deep-Sea Benthos Program, European Journal of Taxonomy 708, pp. 1-58 : 37-38

Halopteris peculiaris Billard, 1913

Figs 14 N–P, 15D–E

Halopteris peculiaris – Schuchert 1997: 84, figs 29–30.

Material examined

PACIFIC OCEAN • 1 colony composed of a few fertile stems, up to 6 cm high; off New Caledonia, stn DW4774; 23°01′ S, 168°19′ E; 100– 90 m; 28 Aug. 2016; KANACONO leg.; MNHN-IK-2015-609 .

Remarks

For synonymy and a description, refer to Schuchert (1997).

In the present material, the lateral nematothecae associated to the cauline hydrothecae on the side opposite to the cladial apophyses are often absent ( Fig. 14O ); in only rare instances, a pair is formed ( Fig. 14P ). The cladia display a regular structure: they begin with a short, quadrangular, athecate segment, followed by an ahydrothecate internode bearing a superior nematotheca and ending distally in an oblique node; afterwards, the segmentation is heteromerous, with up to 8 hydrothecate internode alternating with ahydrothecate counterparts ( Fig. 14N ); the latter are short, delimited proximally by a transverse node and distally by an oblique node, and bear a frontal nematotheca; the hydrothecate internodes are slightly longer, are delimited proximally by an oblique node and distally by a transverse one, and bear distally a hydrotheca and its 4 associated nematothecae: a mesial, a pair of laterals, and a scale-shaped axillar one. There is an important sexual dimorphism of the gonothecae: the female, given off from below the cauline hydrothecae, are large, ovoid and bear proximally 3 nematothecae ( Fig. 15D ); the male gonothecae, borne on cladia, are comparatively minute, and bear a single basal gonotheca ( Fig. 15E ).

Distribution

North Ubian Island, Philippines ( Billard 1913), Lizard Island, Australia ( Schuchert 1997), South Africa [ Millard 1975, as Halopteris glutinosa (Lamouroux, 1816) ].

Figures

Fig. 14 (opposite page). A–D. Corhiza patula Galea sp. nov., from holotype MNHN-IK-2015-602, proximal portion of cladium (A); nematothecae: mesial (B), lateral (C), and from ahydrothecate internode (D). — E–J. Corhiza pauciarmata Ansín Agís et al., 2009, from sample MNHN-IK-2015-604, portion of cladium (E); nematothecae: mesial (F), lateral (G) and from ahydrothecate internode in lateral (H) and adaxial (I) aspects; cnidome (J). — K. Halopteris campanula (Busk, 1852), portion of cladium from sample MNHN-IK-2015-597. — L–M. Halopteris infundibulum Vervoort, 1966, cladial hydrotheca in lateral (L) and frontal (M) aspects, both from sample MNHN-IK-2015-608. — N–P. Halopteris peculiaris Billard, 1913, proximal portion of cladium seen laterally (N); single (O) or paired (P) lateral nematothecae associated to cauline hydrothecae; all from sample MNHN-IK-2015-609. Scale bars: A, E = 500 µm; B–D, F–I, O–P = 100 µm; J = 10 µm; K–N = 300 µm

Fig. 15. A–B. Halopteris campanula (Busk, 1852), female (A) and male (B) gonothecae from samples MNHN-IK-2015-598 and MNHN-IK-2015-597, respectively. — C. Halopteris infundibulum Vervoort, 1966, possible female gonotheca, from sample MNHN-IK-2015-608. — D–E. Halopteris peculiaris Billard, 1913, female (D) and male (E) gonothecae, both from sample MNHN-IK-2015-609. Scale bar: 300 µm.