Culicia stellata Dana, 1846

Cairns, Stephen D., Häussermann, Verena & Försterra, Günter, 2005, A review of the Scleractinia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) of Chile, with the description of two new species, Zootaxa 1018 (1), pp. 15-46 : 22

Culicia stellata Dana, 1846

Figs. 1D–E

Culicia stellata Dana, 1846: 377 , pl. 28, figs. 5a–d. — Cairns & Zibrowius, 1997: 78–79, figs. 3a–b (synonymy).

Culicia truncata Dana, 1846: 378 , pl. 28, figs. 7, 7a.

Culicia japonica Yabe & Eguchi, 1936: 167–168 , figs. 1–3.

Culicia rubeola . — Chevalier, 1971: 93–100, pl. 3, fig. 6.

Culicia sp. cf. C. rubeola . — Cairns, 1991: 7, pl. 1i–j (Galápagos, Cocos Islands).

New Records. — Anton Bruun 12­65235, 33°38'20"S, 78°48'50"W ( Róbinson Crusoe Island , Juan Fernández Islands), 3–12 m, 11 Dec 1965, 1 small cluster of about 20 corallites, USNM 1021964 ; Anton Bruun 12­65239 , 33°38'20"S, 78°49'00"W, 2–8 m, 11 Dec 1965, several dozen corallites on 3 small rocks, USNM 1021966 ; Anton Bruun 12­65243 , 33°37'00"S, 78°50'50"W, 0–10 m, 12 Dec 1965, several dozen corallites on 6 small rocks, USNM 1021978 ; Eltanin 21­200, east coast Roca Más Afuera, Isla San Ambrosio, intertidal, 26 Nov 1965, 4 corallites, USNM 1021979 .

Remarks. —These are the first records of C. stellata from off Chile, specifically from Juan Fernández and San Ambrosio Islands (0–12 m), although it is common in the western Pacific (see Cairns & Zibrowius 1997) and previously reported from the eastern Pacific (Galápagos, Cocos Islands) by Cairns (1991) as Culicia sp. cf. C. rubeola . The Chilean corallites are rarely over 3.5 mm in GCD and 3 mm in height (GCD:LCD = 1.14–1.18), having a strongly epithecate wall and white in colour. Corallites stand 1–5 mm apart, linked by ribbon­like stolons that are often encrusted with epiphytes. Distomodeal intratentacular budding occurs occasionally. Septa are hexamerally arranged in four incomplete cycles (S1>S2>S3>S4), the larger corallites commonly having 30, 32, or 34 septa, corresponding to the presence of 3, 4, or 5 pairs of S4. S1 consist of an upper lobe and 1–3 elongate, lower axial teeth. S2 and S3 are only slightly smaller and sometimes hard to distinguish from the S1, but have a smaller upper lobe and more lower axial teeth. S4 are rudimentary, consisting of a series of 5–7 slender, horizontal teeth. The septal teeth grade imperceptibly into the columellar elements.

The Chilean populations correspond to the ‘ truncata ’ form of the species ( Fig. 1F ), the corallites of which are rarely over 3 mm in height and have stolons strongly encrusted between corallites.

Figures

FIGURE 1. A–B, Fungiacyathus pseudostephanus, USNM 80120, calicular and basal views, both x 2.3; C, Astrangia sp., USNM 1021962, x 3.4; D–E, Culicia stellata, USNM 1021978, stereo view of calice and detail of axial septal teeth, x 14, x 63, respectively; F, Culicia truncata, holotype, USNM 183, x 3.5; G–I, Bathycyathus chilensis (G, USNM 100707; H, USNM 100708; I, USNM 100711): G–H, calicular views, both x 1.9; I, colony, x 0.53. Scale bars for A–C, F–H = 5 mm; D = 1 mm; E = 0.1 mm; I = 2 cm.