Ectopleura larynx ( Ellis & Solander, 1786 )

Calder, Dale R., 2012, On a collection of hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa, Hydroidolina) from the west coast of Sweden, with a checklist of species from the region 3171, Zootaxa 3171 (1), pp. 1-77 : 18-19

Ectopleura larynx ( Ellis & Solander, 1786)

Fig. 17

Tubularia larynx Ellis & Solander, 1786: 31 .— Segerstedt, 1889: 11, 24.— Lönnberg, 1903: 60.— Fenchel, 1905: 552.— Jäderholm, 1909: 43, pl. 2, figs. 1–3.— Gislén, 1930: 350.— Rees & Rowe, 1969: 7.— Jägerskiöld, 1971: 64.— Östman et al., 1995: 166, figs. 2–6, 8.— Jonsson et al., 2004: 166.

Tubularia coronata .— Lönnberg, 1898: 51.

Type locality. British Isles ( Schuchert 2010: 356, after Ellis 1755).

Museum material. Kosterhavet, 58°52.536’N, 11°06.229’E, 6–30 m, 07.ix.2010, SCUBA , four hydrocauli, two with hydranths, up to 2.5 cm high, with gonophores, coll. B.E. Picton, ROMIZ B3901 .

Remarks. A thorough taxonomic review of Ectopleura larynx ( Ellis & Solander, 1786) was recently undertaken by Schuchert (2010), and little need be added here to his detailed account. The widely used and familiar generic name Ectopleura L. Agassiz, 1862 , to which the species is assigned, is threatened by at least three senior synonyms ( Calder 2010). Current usage is maintained here.

Ectopleura larynx , typically a shallow-water species, is common in southwestern Scandinavia ( Kramp 1935b; Rees & Rowe 1969; Christiansen 1972). Kramp noted that splendid colonies inhabit the northern end of the Lillebaelt, an area having strong water currents. In the Oslofjord Christiansen found E. larynx throughout the year, although colonies died back in December and January. Hydroids with gonophores were present there from June to October. This species is a dominant fouling organism and a pest in the Norwegian salmon aquaculture industry ( Guenther et al. 2009, 2010).

Reported distribution. West coast of Sweden.—Koster area ( Jägerskiöld 1971, as Tubularia larynx ) to Öresund ( Lönnberg 1898, as T. larynx ).

Elsewhere.—North Atlantic from the northwestern seas of the Russian Federation ( Schuchert 2001a) to the Iberian Peninsula ( Schuchert 2010) in the east, and from Newfoundland to Long Island Sound ( Calder 1975) in the west; also reported from cool waters of the Pacific Ocean ( Petersen 1990).

FIGURE 18. Tubularia indivisa : small hydranth, ROMIZ B3908. Scale equals 1.0 mm.

Figures

FIGURE 17. Ectopleura larynx: small hydranth with gonophores, ROMIZ B3901. Scale equals 1.0 mm.