Errinopora nanneca Fisher, 1938

Cairns, Stephen D. & Lindner, Alberto, 2011, A Revision of the Stylasteridae (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Filifera) from Alaska and Adjacent Waters, ZooKeys 158, pp. 1-88 : 21-25

Errinopora nanneca Fisher, 1938 Figs 5B, G–I10A–K

Errinopora nanneca Fisher, 1938: 538-539, pl. 66, fig. 1, pl. 67, pl. 69, figs 2, 2a.- Boschma 1957: 57.- Naumov 1960: 559, fig. 404.- Cairns 1983b: 462.- Cairns et al. 1999: 43 (listed).- Cairns and Macintrye 1992: 100-101 (mineralogy).- Heifetz 2002: 22 (listed).- Lindner 2005: 87 (redescription, key), 103-106, figs 4.2E, 4.8, 4.15.- Heifetz et al. 2005: 133, 137 (listed).-Wing and Barnard 2005: 27 (listed).- Brooke and Stone 2007: 528, figs 2G, 3C.- Stone and Shotwell 2007: 107 (listed).- Jamieson et al. 2007: 224 (listed).- Lindner et al. 2008: 3, and supplemental Table S1: 3 (phylogeny and DNA sequences).

Errinopora nannacea : Cairns 1983a: 127 (incorrect spelling).

Errinopora nummeca : Lowe 1967: 83 (incorrect spelling).

Errinopora pourtalesi : Wing and Barnard 2004: 58, fig. 28 (USNM 1123450).

Type material.

Holotype: Alb-3599, a dry female colony 13 cm in height, USNM 42875 (Fig. 5B). Paratypes: Alb-3599, 6 colonies, including that figured by Fisher (1938: plate 67), 4 female, 1 male, 1 indet., all dry, USNM 52263. All other specimens mentioned by Fisher from Alb-3599 and 4777 are expressed excluded from type status according to ICZN (1999) article 72.4.6. Type locality.Alb-3599: 52°05'N, 177°40'E (off Kiska Island, Rat Islands, Aleutian Islands), 101 m, 9 Jun 1894.

Material examined.Alb-3480, 52°06'N, 171°45'W, 517 m, 8 Jul 1891, 1 indet., part of type series of Errinopora zarhyncha, ex. USNM 52247; Alb-3599, type locality, 8 female, 8 male, USNM 52248; Alb-4777, 52°11'N, 179°49'E, 95 m, 5 Jun 1906, 11 female, 7 male, USNM 44070, 52249, 60299, and 62715; Alaskan Leader 35, 53°01'48"N, 170°06'12"W, 172-178 m, 4 Jun 2002, 1 female, 1 male, USNM 1123451 and 1123532; Alaskan Leader 54, 51°45'48"N, 179°06'08"E, 90-467 m, 11 Jun 2002, 1 female, USNM 1123378; Delta, 51°13'30"N, 179°53'17" E, 40 m, 16 Jul 2002, 1 indet. in alcohol, USNM 1123377; Delta 5599, 52°33.47'N, 179°26.44'E, 225 m, 15 Jul 2002, 1 male, USNM 1123452; Delta 5605, 51°50'55"N, 179°48'13"W, 125 m, 17 Jul 2002, 1 male, 4 indet., USNM 1123450 and 1123462; Delta 5607, 51°23'57"N, 179°48'35"W, 182 m, 16 Jul 2002, 1 female, USNM 1123459; Delta 5620, 51°57'40"N, 176°00'42"E, 150 m, 24 Jul 2002, 2 female with fragments in alcohol, USNM 1027820 and 1123510; Delta 5622, 51°57.5'N, 176°50.1'W, 140 m, 24 Jul 2002, 2 female, 1 male, and fragments in alcohol, USNM 1123468, 1123472, and 1123472; Delta 5625, 51°57.7'N, 176°50.2'W, 130 m, 25 Jul 2002, 1 female, USNM 1123473; MF 833-47, 51°55'36"N, 176°52'48"W, 201 m, 5 Aug 1983, 1 female and 1 male, USNM 77049; MF 833-49, 52°00.2'N, 176°21.4'W, 115 m, 5 Aug 1983, 1 male in alcohol, USNM 77031; MF 833-56, 52°02'06"N, 176°22'36"W, 249 m, 6 Aug 1983, 1 female, USNM 77044; MF 833-69, 52°02.8'N, 179°27.2'E, 63 m, 25 Aug 1983, 1 indet., in alcohol, USNM 77030; Pacific Knight 941-61, 52°17'N, 173°06'W, 0-143 m, 17 Jun 1994, 1 female, USNM 96254; Sea Storm 86, 51°36'21"N, 176°17'39"W, 345 m, 3 Jul 2002, 1 female in alcohol, USNM 1123475; Sea Storm 92, 51°33'34"N, 177°40'W, 367 m, 4 Jul 2002, 3 female, 3 male, USNM 1123529, 1123469-70, and 1123376; Sea Storm 100, 51°42'59"N, 175°47'07"E, 86 m, 7 Jul 2002, 1 indet., in alcohol, USNM 1123520; Sea Storm 105, 52°08'59"N, 175°06'47"E, 201 m, 8 Jul 2002, 1 indet. in alcohol, USNM 1123519; Sea Storm 108, 52°11'32"N, 175°17'E, 208 m, 8 Jul 2002, 1 male in alcohol, USNM 1123517; Sea Storm 111, 52°16'20"N, 175°59'13"E, 137 m, 9 Jul 2002, 1 indet. in alcohol, USNM 1123518; Sea Storm 112, 52°15'12"N, 176°00'42"E, 137 m, 9 Jul 2002, 1 indet. in alcohol, USNM 1123512; Sea Storm 114, 52°02'29"N, 177°39'E, 130 m, 10 Jul 2002, 1 male, USNM 1123515; Sea Storm 115, 52°04'16"N, 177°19'04"E, 165 m, 10 Jul 2002, 2 indet. in alcohol, USNM 1123474 and 1123513; Sea Storm 116, 52°04'10"N, 177°14.4'E, 87-94 m, 11 Jul 2002, 5 male, 1 indet., USNM 1123516; Sea Storm 118, 52°00'14"N, 177°19'04"E, 104-111 m, 11 Jul 2002, 2 female, 2 male, USNM 1123375 and 1123471; Sea Storm 122, 52°02'49"N, 179°25'18"E, 143 m, 13 Jul 2002, 1 indet., USNM 1123511; Sea Storm 126, 52°13'22"N, 179°49'26"W, 115 m, 13 Jul 2002, 1 female in alcohol, USNM 1123466; Sea Storm 128, 52°03'22"N, 179°48.13'W, 242 m, 14 Jul 2002, 1 female in alcohol, USNM 1123374; Sea Storm 157, 52°12'35"N, 172°12'20"W, 348 m, 23 Jul 2002, 1 female, USNM 1123467; Vesteraalen 941-50, 52°34'N, 170°40'W, 0-88 m, 13 Jun 1994, 3 female, 3 male, USNM 96252 and 1138188; Vesteraalen 941-59, 52°12'N, 172°12'W, 0-360 m, 14 Jun 1994, 3 male, USNM 96251 and 1123514; Vesteraalen 941-61, 52°05'N, 172°26'W, 0-156 m, 15 Jun 1994, 5 female, USNM 96253; Vesteraalen 941-151, 52°11'N, 179°44'E, 0-151 m, 10 Jul 1994, 1 indet., USNM 96257; Vesteraalen 941-153, 52°10'N, 179°43'E, 0-94 m, 10 Jul 1994, 1 female, 4 indet., USNM 96531; Vesteraalen 941-154, 52°04'N, 179°47'E, 0-254 m, 11 Jul 1994, 1 male, USNM 96258; Vesteraalen 941-163, 51°37'N, 178°25'E, 0-155 m, 18 Jul 1994, 1 female, 1 male, USNM 96256; Vesteraalen 941-185, 52°04'N, 176°30'E, 0-91 m, 24 Jul 1994, 1 male, USNM 96255;Vesteraalen 3, 52°37'48"N, 169°47'16"W, 80 m, 21 May 2001, 1 female in alcohol, USNM 1123368; Gulf of Alaska, 219 m, 1 indet., USNM 77414; Renfro, coll., 52°02'17"N, 179°25'21"E, 236 m, 5 Apr 2000, 1 female, USNM 1123455; 52°18'N, 179°48'35"W, 490 m, 28 May 2000, 1 indet., USNM 1123457.

Description.

Colonies quite variable in shape. Most colonies examined uniplanar, consisting of irregularly dichotomous, non-anastomotic branching (e.g., the holotype, Fig. 5B). The opposite extreme is multilobate and multiplanar colonies (Fig. 5H), composed of thin blades of corallum set in a three dimensional arrangement. Virtually all intergrades in colony shape were observed, including some having both large flattened lobes and slender branches (Fig. 5G). Tallest colony examined (USNM 96252) 21 cm in height with a basal branch diameter of 3.5 cm, but a broken colony having a basal diameter of 4 cm (USNM 1123516) implies an even larger size. Although distal branches often circular in cross section, more often they are somewhat compressed in branching plane. Parasitic spionid polychaete worms often form tubes along axis of branches, Fig. 8 in cross section. Coenosteum reticulate-spinose, the narrow strips only about 60 µm wide and bordered by slits of equal width, each strip bearing irregularly unilinearly arranged spines, altogether producing a porous or rough coenosteal texture. Coenosteum light orange to light pink.

Dactylopore spines isolated or arranged in transverse to oblique rows on distal branches, their dactylotomes facing upward (abcauline), their edges often fusing with edges of adjacent dactylopore spines. On more proximal branches and the basal branch, dactylopore spines fewer in number, and arranged in pseudocyclosystems, short rows, isolated, or as circles around small islands of 2-5 gastropores. Dactylopore spines strongly favor one face of corallum, and are much less common on opposite face. Dactylopore spines relatively small, only about 0.4 mm in maximum height and 0.30-0.35 mm in width, the dactylotome occupying middle third. Small (40-115 µm in diameter) secondary dactylopores flush with coenosteum common. Outer surface of dactylopore spines prominently ridged; inner surface bears a moderately robust dactylostyle (40-50 µm in width, Fig. 10 J–K) composed of elements up to 18 µm tall and 7 µm in diameter.

Gastropores circular and flush with coenosteum, 0.15-0.44 mm in diameter, the average about 0.20 mm. Gastropore tube cylindrical, without a ring palisade. Gastrostyles lanceolate, up to 0.55 mm in height, bearing spinose longitudinal, sometimes anastomosing, ridges that themselves bear small spines up to 32 µm long and 8 µm in diameter. Smaller secondary gastropores, lacking gastrostyles, also present, these 0.11-0.19 mm in diameter.

Female ampullae (Fig. 10C) large hemispheres 1.1-1.8 mm in diameter, occurring fairly densely and equally on both corallum faces. Dactylopore spines often occur on female ampullae. Efferent pores rarely observed, but are lateral and up to 0.5 mm in diameter. Male ampullae smaller mounds 0.4-0.7 mm in diameter, clustered, and somewhat irregular in shape. Both types of ampullae porous, like the coenosteum.

Remarks.

Errinopora nanneca is one of three species in the genus having a predominantly unilateral arrangement of dactylopore spines in which only one row of laterally fused spines (usually proximal to gastropores) have their dactylotomes facing a gastropore or gastropore row, the other species being Errinopora zarhyncha and Errinopora dichotoma (see Dichotomous Key and Table 1). Errinopora nanneca is distinguished from Errinopora zarhyncha in the account of the latter species, but differs from Errinopora dichotoma in having shorter dactylopore spines and smaller gastropores, uniplanar colonies, and prominently ridged dactylopore spines. Of the 126 specimens examined, 58 are female, 42 male, and 26 indeterminate in gender. The corallum was found to be 100% calcitic according to Cairns and Macintrye (1992).

Distribution.

Aleutian Islands from eastern Rat Islands to Islands of Four Mountains, including Petrel Bank; 40-517 m.