D. halterata S. halterata D. halterata Syncoryne halterata D. halterata D. halterata , 2010 D. halterata The non-Siphonophoran Hydrozoa (Cnidaria) of Salento, Italy with notes on their life-cycles: an illustrated guide Gravili, Cinzia Vito, Doris De Camillo, Cristina Gioia Di Martell, Luis Piraino, Stefano Boero, Ferdinando Zootaxa 2015 3908 1 1 187 6YRPV Forbes, 1846 Forbes 1846 [151,550,152,178] Hydrozoa Corynidae Slabberia Animalia Anthoathecata 54 55 Cnidaria species halterata   Material examined.HCUS-S 0 42 (Hydrozoa Collection, University of Salento—fauna of the Salento Peninsula)—polyp stage.   Description(based on our own observations; Brinckmann-Voss 1970as  Sarsia halterata; Schuchert 2001bas  Dipurena halterata, 2010, 2012):  Hydroid.Hydrorhiza embedded in sponges, only the most distal part of the hydrocaulus and the hydranth emerging; colonies stolonal; hydrocaulus unbranched, covered by smooth perisarc up to halfway of its length; hydranths clavate to cylindrical; hypostome rounded, ectoderm of hypostome differentiating into a well developed button of mucous gland cells; with up to 24 identical capitate tentacles distributed in an oral whorl of 4–5 tentacles and irregularly scattered tentacles along the body, without filiform tentacles; medusa buds in one to several whorls borne in middle of hydranth, 1–10 per hydranth.  Habitat type.Embedded in sponges (depth range: 0–30) ( Brinckmann-Voss 1970; Boero & Fresi 1986as  S. halterata).  Substrate.  Petrosia dura,  Spirastrella cunctatrix,  Chondrilla nucula(sponges).  Seasonality.March, May–October, December in the British waters (see Russell 1953as  D. halterata); from January to June in the Ligurian Sea ( Boero & Fresi 1986); from January to June, and September (De Vito 2006; this study) in Salento waters.  Reproductive period.In the western Mediterranean Sea, fertile colonies occur from April to June ( Boero & Fresi 1986), and April ( Goy 1997); in Salento waters (De Vito 2006; this study) in April.  Medusa.Adult. Umbrella bell shaped, up to 6 mmwide, 8 mmhigh, with globular apical chamber; manubrium with a long serpentine proximal part and a swollen distal part, 2–3 times longer than umbrella height; mouth simple, circular; middle part of radial canals with linear swellings; gonads in 2 or more rings, leaving upper third of manubrium free; 4 tentacular marginal bulbs, prominent; one tentacle on each marginal bulb, of uniform diameter, smooth for most of their length, each with large terminal cnidocyst knob and 3 to 6 distinct rings of cnidocysts just above; each marginal bulb with an abaxial ocellus. Colours: bulbs and terminal tentacular clusters orange to brown, apical knob red to green. Developmental stages. Newly released medusa 1.1–1.3 mm wide and 1.5–1.6 mm high, exumbrella with interradial furrows and a few scattered nematocysts; radial canals narrow; tentacles with a large spherical terminal nematocyst cluster, some smaller clusters on the distal half of the tentacles; with ocelli. Colour: ocelli dark-red.  Cnidome.Stenoteles and basitrichous isorhizas (polyp); stenoteles, isorhizas and desmonemes (medusa).   Distribution.Atlantic, Indo-Pacific, Mediterranean ( Brinckmann-Voss 1970; Medel & López-González 1996; Schuchert 2001b; Bouillon et al.2004; Gravili et al.2008a).  Records in Salento.Common at: Torre dell’Inserraglio ( Presicce 1991); La Strea ( Miglietta et al. 2000as  D. halterata); Otranto (De Vito 2006; Gravili 2006; Gravili et al.2008a; this study). Other Apulian records: Gargano ( Fraschetti et al. 2002).   Remarks.Only the hydroid stage and the new born medusa were seen in the present study. Exhaustive taxonomic histories of this species are reported by Russell (1953)and Schuchert (2001b).   References. Hadzi (1911); Rees (1939), Trégouboff & Rose (1957)both as  D. halterata; Picard (1958a)as  S. halterata; Kramp (1959, 1961) as  D. halterata; Brinckmann-Voss (1970); Rossi (1971)as  Syncoryne halterata; Bouillon (1971), Boero & Fresi (1986), Benović & Lučić (1996), Medel & López-González (1996), Miglietta et al. (2000)all as  D. halterata; Schuchert (2001bas  D. halterata, 2010, 2012); Fraschetti et al. (2002), Bouillon et al.(2004), Milos & Malej (2005), De Vito (2006), Gravili (2006), Gravili et al.(2008a)all as  D. halterata.