Puellina testudinea Winston, 2005

Judith L Winston, 2016, Bryozoa of Floridan Oculina reefs, Zootaxa 4071 (1), pp. 1-81 : 32-34

Puellina testudinea Winston, 2005

( Fig. 17 ; Table 16 )

Cribrilina radiata: Smitt 1873: 22 (part), pl. 5, fig. 108?

Cribrilina innominata: Smitt 1873: 22 (part), pl. 5, figs 109–110.? Puellina innominata: Canu & Bassler 1928a: 73 , pl. 14, fig. 2.? Puellina radiata: Canu & Bassler 1928a: 73 , pl. 10, fig. 11. Cribrilaria radiata: Winston 1982: 133 , fig. 58.

Puellina testudinea Winston, 2005: 34 , figs. 89–93.

Material examined. Smitt MCZ # 87, holotype, with Porina plagiopora and Escharella pertusa [and, not identified, a very small, abraded and skeletal colony of Puellina ], 18 January 1869, Cast # 3, W of Tortugas, 60 fms; VMNH no. 70624, 70625; USNM no. 1283243.

Description. Colony small, unilamellar, encrusting calcareous substrata ( Fig. 17 A). Zooids oval, medium sized, about 0.50 by 0.36 mm. Orifice semicircular, proximal rim straight, 5 hollow spines around distal and lateral margins ( Fig. 17 B). Costal shield extendng over the entire frontal surface, rendering lateral margins almost invisible except at growing edge of colony. Shield composed of 10 to 16 tapering costae, arranged in radiating pattern from center to lateral edge of shield, with rows of small intercostal lacunae in between, the broad outer corners of costae thickened into rounded to conical tubercles that are almost the height of orificial spines. Smaller papillae develop from outermost intercostal pores. First pair of suboral costae forming raised, V-shaped apertural bar around large round subapertural pore ( Fig. 17 C). Cuticularised papillae occur in pore just below the apertural bar Fig. 17 C, D). Gymnocyst minimal laterally, slightly more extensive proximally. Ooecia helmet shaped, imperforate, with irregular central crest or umbo developed as somewhat stellate ridged pattern. Distolaterally oriented interzooidal avicularia with oval to rhombic cystid and elongate-triangular mandible between autozooids. Ancestrula tatiform with 11 spines; its frontal surface may become covered by a round frontal shield as colony develops ( Fig. 17 F).

Remarks. Hayward & Ryland (1998, p. 330) stated that Puellina innominata has been erroneously recorded from almost every corner of the marine realm, but its actual geographical distribution is almost certainly limited to the northeastern Atlantic. Both the names Puellina innominata and P. radiata have been used for Western Atlantic material for decades. Canu & Bassler’s (1928a, pl. 14, fig. 2) record of Puellina innominata may pertain to P. testudinea but the avicularia in their illustration appear more curved; their record of P. radiata in the same publication (Canu & Bassler 1928a, pl. 10, fig. 11) is also doubtfully P. testudinea . Marcus (1937), who was working in Brazil, synonymized all radiata and innominata described from around the world as one species. However, no Western Atlantic material appears to be what we would now recognize as P. radiata or P. innominata . See Bishop & Househam (1987) for detailed discussion.

Distribution. Florida and Caribbean.

Figures

FIGURE 17. Puellina testudinea Winston, 2005: A, large colony encrusting an Oculina branch; B, group of zooids with a distally acute interzooidal avicularium; C, zooid with ooecium; D, avicularium with open mandible; E, a projecting cuticularized seta; F, ancestrula. Scale bars: A, C, D, F, 0.1 mm; E, 0.01 mm.

Tables

TABLE 16. Measurements in mm of Puellina testudinea Winston, 2005.

	Lz	Wz	Lo	Wo	Lov	Wov	Lav	Wav
N	18	18	18	18	18	18	14	14
Mean	0.467	0.312	0.053	0.088	0.210	0.176	0.248	0.127
SD	0.050	0.063	0.006	0.005	0.021	0.019	0.028	0.019
Min	0.378	0.234	0.045	0.081	0.180	0.144	0.198	0.090
Max	0.558	0.504	0.063	0.099	0.234	0.216	0.306	0.162