Calycella sp.

Castro Mendonça, Luana M., Parisotto Guimarães, Carmen R. & Haddad, Maria A., 2022, Taxonomy and diversity of hydroids (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) of Sergipe, Northeast Brazil, Zoologia (e 21032) 39, pp. 1-65 : 24-26

Calycella sp. Fig. 11A–B

Description: A single colony was found, this one stolonal, with seven polyps arising from a creeping hydrorhiza. Pedicel long, perisarc moderately thick, completely annulated. Hydrothecae tubular, 381–535 µm high, 72–115 µm wide. Internal margin forming a border narrowing from the distal to the basal portion. Operculum conical, formed by 10–12 triangular segments.

Material examined: VB – one infertile colony from the dry season.

Station: VB – C2P12.

Taxonomic remarks: Four species of Calycella are valid in WoRMS (2022): C. gabriellae (Vannucci, 1951) , C. hispida (Nutting, 1896) , C. oligista Ritchie, 1910 , and C. syringa (Linnaeus, 1767) . From those, only C. gabriellae were reported to Brazil ( Vannucci 1951b, Grohmann et al. 1997, Silveira and Morandini 2011) and C. syringa has records to Argentina (see references in Oliveira et al. 2016). The specimens found in Sergipe do not fit the description of C. gabriellae because this species is characterized by erect colonies. Calycella syringa has similar characteristics to the material described here, with erect structure and pedicel equal or longer than the hydrothecae and completely annulated but this species is Arctic-boreal and thus not found in tropical waters. Another species similar to material from Sergipe is C. hispida , however, none of the detailed descriptions for the hydrothecae and pedicel structures were found for this species. Cornelius (1995b) differentiates C. syringa from C. hispida by the hydranth characteristics and, as the hydranth was only visualized retracted in one polyp in our material, it was not possible to compare it with the description of the species mentioned above. Cornelius (1995b) indicated that the limits between the Calycella are not objective.

Remarks: Found on the hydroid Corydendrium parasiticum .

Figures

Figure 11. (A-B) Calycella sp.: general view of a colony; (B) detail of a polyp; (C-D) Cirrholovenia tetranema: (C) general view of a colony highlighting a nematotheca (red arrow); (D) detail of a polyp with hydranth; (E) Filellum sp: general view of a colony.