Figularia dimorpha, Figuerola & Gordon & Cristobo, 2018

Figuerola, Blanca, Gordon, Dennis P. & Cristobo, Javier, 2018, New deep Cheilostomata (Bryozoa) species from the Southwestern Atlantic: shedding light in the dark, Zootaxa 4375 (2), pp. 211-249 : 218

Figularia dimorpha n. sp.

( FIg. 4 ; TAbLE 6)

Etymology. ALLUDINg TO THE TWO FORMS OF THE ORIFICE, IN OVICELLATE AND NON-OVICELLATE AUTOZOOIDS.

Material examined. HΟlΟtype: CRBA-58238, STN PAT0209DR12 (SAMPLE COATED WITH gOLD), COLONY C. 5 MM LONg, 4 MM WIDE. Paratypes: CRBA-58235, STN PAT0210DR11, COLONY C. 15 MM LONg, 10 MM WIDE; CRBA- 58236, STN PAT0210DR11, COLONY C. 6 MM LONg, 8 MM WIDE; CRBA-58237, STN PAT0209DR03, COLONY C. 12 MM LONg, 5 MM WIDE. ALL COLONIES WERE ATTACHED TO CORALS.

Description. COLONY ENCRUSTINg; COLONY SIZE C. 5 MM LONg, 4 MM WIDE. ZOOIDS WITH A CONVEX COSTAL SHIELD gENERALLY OF EIgHT OPPOSINg PAIRS OF SPINES, EACH WITH A LUMEN PORE ADjACENT TO THE MIDLINE. ORIFICE AS WIDE AS LONg, WITH A bROAD, SHALLOW, PROXIMAL SINUS, CONDYLES SMALL. NO ORAL SPINES. AVICULARIUM VICARIOUS, WITH ELONgATE OgIVAL ROSTRUM, AND COMPLETE PIVOT bAR. OVICELL PROMINENT WITH A MEDIAN SUTURE AND ECTOOECIAL FENESTRAE. THE ORIFICES ARE DIMORPHIC, THE OVICELLATE ZOOID ORIFICE bEINg bROADER THAN THE NON-OVICELLATE ZOOID ORIFICE.

n, number of measurements made; SD, standard deviation

Remarks. THE NEW SPECIES RESEMbLES NEW ZEALAND Figularia mernae UTTLEY & BULLIVANT, 1972 IN THE FORM OF THE COSTAL SHIELD, WITH AN EqUIVALENT NUMbER OF COSTAE; HOWEVER, WHEREAS THE LUMEN PORES ARE OPPOSINg IN F. mernae , IN F. dimΟrpha n. sp. THEY CAN APPEAR TO ALTERNATE AS THE TIPS OF OPPOSINg COSTAE ARE SLIgHTLY OFFSET. THE AVICULARIUM IN F. dimΟrpha n. sp. IS PROPORTIONATELY SHORTER AND bROADER THAN IN F. mernae . THE SUbANTARCTIC SPECIES F. philΟmela (BUSK, 1884) HAS MORE THAN EIgHT PAIRS OF COSTAE AND A SEMICIRCULAR ORIFICE.

Figures

FIGURE 4. Figularia dimorpha n. sp., HOLOTYPE. A, DETAIL OF AUTOZOOIDS; B, DETAIL OF THE PRIMARY ORIFICE; C, DETAIL OF THE VICARIOUS AVICULARIUM;D, OVICELLATE ZOOID IN LATERAL VIEW,SHOWING ONE OF THE TWO ECTOOECIAL FENESTRAE.SCALE bARS:100 ΜM.