Microeciella floridana

Judith L Winston, 2016, Bryozoa of Floridan Oculina reefs, Zootaxa 4071 (1), pp. 1-81 : 73

Microeciella floridana (Canu & Bassler, 1928a) comb. nov.

( Fig. 41 ; Table 40 )

Peristomoecia floridana Canu & Bassler, 1928a: 158 , pl. 31, figs 6–9. Proboscina floridana: Osburn 1940: 329 .

Material examined. VMNH no. 70663, 70664.

Description. Colony small, encrusting ( Fig. 41 A, B), with narrow growing margin. Zooids developing quincuncially in flat fan-like lobes, zooid peristomes free, erect to tilted at angle toward growing edge, without narrowed terminal diaphragm ( Fig. 41 D, E). Pseudopores relatively large, moderately dense, depressed ( Fig. 41 F). Gonozooid small, oval, with slightly more densely spaced pseudopores and short ooeciostome, tilted back toward colony origin ( Fig. 41 C).

Remarks. Specimens from the Oculina samples are similar to the Eastern Atlantic material described and illustrated by Hayward & Ryland (1985) and De Blauwe (2009) as Eurystrotos compacta (Norman, 1866) . In their revision of three encrusting genera of Oncousoeciidae, Taylor & Zaton (2008) synonymized E. compacta with Microeciella suborbicularis (Hincks, 1880) . The gonozooids of the colonies in the Oculina samples were ovoid and most closely resemble the material that Canu and Bassler named Peristomoecia floridana , hence their species name has been used here.

Distribution. Floridan Atlantic shelf to Straits of Florida.

Figures

FIGURE 41. Microeciella floridana (Canu & Bassler, 1928): A, small colony, showing gonozooid in upper left; B, another colony; C, close up of gonozooid and ooeciostome; D, zooids, showing distal tubular portions; E, growing margin of colony; F, close up of depressed pseudopores at margin between gonozooid and zooids. Scale bars: A, B, 1 mm; C, D, 0.5 mm; E, 0.2 mm; F, 0.1 mm.

Tables

TABLE 40. Measurements in mm of Microeciella floridana (Canu & Bassler, 1928 a).

	Lz	Wz	Do	Lgz	Wgz
N	18	18	18	4	4
Mean	0.694	0.104	0.077	0.414	0.378
SD	0.071	0.008	0.008	0.089	0.066
Min	0.540	0.090	0.063	0.306	0.306
Max	0.810	0.117	0.090	0.504	0.450