Coryne sp. 2

Calder, Dale R., 2010, Some anthoathecate hydroids and limnopolyps (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from the Hawaiian archipelago 2590, Zootaxa 2590 (1), pp. 1-91 : 53-54

Coryne sp. 2

Fig. 36

Sarsia mirabilis (?)— Cooke, 1977: 77, fig. 4 [not Sarsia mirabilis L. Agassiz, 1849 (= Sarsia tubulosa (M. Sars, 1835) ].

Material examined. None.

Description. (From Cooke 1977: 75): “The polyps are small, 0.5 mm in height, with at most 12 scattered tentacles… The polyps are light brown and either arise singly or form small, irregularly branched colonies… all specimens examined have been sterile…”

Remarks. Cooke (1977) assigned corynid hydroids from an unspecified geographic location in Hawaii, with question, to Sarsia mirabilis L. Agassiz, 1849 . Colonies of it were found on the coral Porites lobata , in burrows of the shrimp Alpheus deuteropus . For reasons given in a discussion of the preceding species, these hydroids are not regarded here as conspecific those identified as Syncoryne mirabilis [= Sarsia mirabilis ] by Chu & Cutress (1955) and as Coryne sp. 1 above. As for Sarsia mirabilis , it is now generally regarded as a synonym of S. tubulosa (M. Sars, 1835) , an inhabitant of boreal waters in the North Atlantic and North Pacific ( Schuchert 2001b). That species does not penetrate into tropical or subtropical waters such as those around Hawaii.

Two other hydroid species besides this corynid have been observed in alpheid crevices on corals around Hawaii, Rhizogeton sp. (reported by Cooke 1977, and herein) and Nemalecium lighti ( Hargitt, 1924) , the latter a leptothecate collected during this study. The microhabitat and associated species provide evidence as to the possible identity of Coryne sp. 2 . In a study of hydroids inhabiting shrimp crevices on corals of a reef flat at La Réunion, Indian Ocean, Gravier-Bonnet & Mioche (1996) also found three species, Rhizogeton sp. , N. lighti , and Coryne nipponica ( Uchida, 1927) . The corynid found by Cooke may prove to be C. nipponica or a close relative, but additional knowledge of its life cycle will be necessary before a reliable identification can be made. Its known habitat on perhaps the most ubiquitous and abundant scleractinian coral species in Hawaii ( Maragos 1977) should facilitate rediscovery, although it was not found even after several searches for it during this study.

Reported distribution. Hawaii. No location given, on Porites lobata , in burrows of the decapod Alpheus deuteropus ( Cooke 1977) .

FIGURE 37. Cladonema radiatum : two hydranths, one with filiform tentacles and one without (after Cooke 1977). Scales equal 0.25 mm.

FIGURE 38. Moerisia horii : hydranth (after Cooke 1977). Scale equals 1.0 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 36. Coryne sp. 2: hydranth (after Cooke 1977). Scale equals 0.1 mm.