Woosukia, Min, Bum Sik, Seo, Ji Eun, Grischenko, Andrei V., Lee, Sang-Kyu & Gordon, Dennis P., 2017

Min, Bum Sik, Seo, Ji Eun, Grischenko, Andrei V., Lee, Sang-Kyu & Gordon, Dennis P., 2017, Systematics of some calloporid and lacernid Cheilostomata (Bryozoa) from coastal South Korean waters, with the description of new taxa, Zootaxa 4226 (4), pp. 471-486 : 477

Woosukia n. gen.

Type species. Schizoporella subhexagona Ortmann, 1890 , by monotypy.

Etymology. Honorific for Woosuk University, Jeonju and Jincheon, the center of bryozoology in South Korea.

Diagnosis. Colony encrusting, unilaminar. Zooids contiguous, with densely pseudoporous frontal shields and dimorphic orifices. Autozooidal orifice with sinus and thin ledge-like condyles, no oral spines. No avicularia. Female zoooids and orifices of different form; ooecium large, ectooecium membranous, endooecium densely perforated by variably shaped pseudopores, peripheral ones tending to be larger or even radially linear; orifice cleithral, broad with shallow sinus. Maternal zooid with frontal shield like that of autozooid.

Remarks. Harmer (1957) was the first to attribute S. subhexagona to Schizobrachiella Canu & Bassler, 1920 but it is clear that Schizobrachiella sanguinea ( Norman, 1868) is not congeneric. It has avicularia, orifices are not dimorphic and the ooecium is typical of Schizoporellidae .

It is possible that Veleroa Osburn, 1952 may be related. The genus is monotypic, based on Veleroa veleronis Osburn, 1952 from 9–57 m off southern California and Baja California. The species has not been reported since and ovicells were not present in the few samples obtained by Robertson (1908) (as Schizoporella areolata [non] Busk, 1854) and Osburn (1952). Nevertheless, the characters of the autozooid and orifice are, judging by published descriptions and illustrations, similar to those of Woosukia n. gen. Avicularia and oral spines are also lacking. On the other hand, whereas the pseudopores in the three Woosukia species (one named, two undescribed—see below) are all more or less the same size within each species, those in V. veleronis have a range of sizes, some relatively large. [At least this is as illustrated by Osburn (1952). Although he included Robertson’s (1908) record of ‘ S. areolata ’ in his synonymy, her illustration of zooids exhibiting the “adult condition” depicted pseudopores all the same size and an additional row of such pores distal to the orifice, which raises the question of conspecificity.] Minor differences notwithstanding, we cannot exclude the possibility that Veleroa has yet-undiscovered female zooids and ooecia and could be congeneric with Woosukia (and therefore a senior subjective synonym). The problem here, however, is the choice between waiting years to decades before information is obtained about reproduction in V. veleronis (internal brooding or ooecia?), and leaving three species in taxonomic limbo, or creating a new genus. We have chosen the latter option.