TUBULARIIDAE, Goldfuss, 1818

Mead, A., Carlton, J. T., Griffiths, C. L. & Rius, M., 2011, Introduced and cryptogenic marine and estuarine species of South Africa, Journal of Natural History 45 (39 - 40), pp. 2463-2524 : 2474-2475

Family TUBULARIIDAE

Pinauay larynx (Ellis and Solander, 1786) Introduced (= Tubularia larynx )

This North Atlantic hydroid was first collected in South Africa in 1947 from the south coast “on a ship’s hull in Table Bay” ( Millard 1959, 1975); Peterson (1990) reviews some of the world records. Millard (1959) notes that “This species has only once before been reported from South Africa, from the Agulhas Bank by Stechow (in) 1925.” Stechow’s material should be re-examined because the recorded depth of 126 m is not probable for this species ( Millard 1975; Peterson 1990). We therefore take 1947 as the first verified date of record. Henschel et al. (1990) recorded it within False Bay (also on the south coast) in fouling.

Pinauay ralphi (Bale, 1884) Introduced (= Ectopleura ralphi ; = Tubularia warreni )

This North Atlantic species was inadvertently re-described as a new species, Tubularia warreni , by Ewer (1953), leading Millard (1975) to list it as a species endemic to South Africa. Ewer’s material was collected in 1947 from Durban Harbour. It is “common in dock areas on pylons and on ships’ hulls” ( Millard 1975). She also notes that Broch’s record in 1914 of “ Tubularia crocea ” (now known as Pinauay crocea ) from Luderitz Bay is “probably referable to T. warreni ”. However, as Millard notes, “the specimens were young and no description was given,” and we do not further consider the record here. Peterson (1990) synonymized Ewer’s Tubularia warreni with Pinauay ralphi (as Ectopleura ralphi ), known only from harbours in Australia and South Africa. As Peterson noted, Pinauay ralphi “is practically identical to E. crocea ” and, indeed, it may be an ecophenotype of that species, or reflect hundreds of years of isolation from the stem species. The molecular genetics of this clade have not been studied. Pinauay ralphi is a member of the Northern Hemisphere ectopleuras ( Peterson 1990) and is clearly native specifically to the North Atlantic, as is its sister (or identical) species Pinauay crocea . Presciently, Millard (1959) recognized that Tubularia warreni , albeit ostensibly endemic to South Africa, might not be specifically distinct from Tubularia crocea and speculated that it might be introduced from Europe. We retain Pinauay ralphi as a distinct species here and presume that Millard’s (1952) record of Tubularia crocea , collected in 1947–1949, from Table Bay Harbour, is this species. As a consequence, we take the date of 1947 as the first record of this species from South Africa.