Cornucopina polymorpha (Kluge)

Hayward, Peter J. & Winston, Judith E., 2011, Bryozoa collected by the United States Antarctic Research Program: new taxa and new records, Journal of Natural History 45 (37 - 38), pp. 2259-2338 : 2266

Cornucopina polymorpha (Kluge)

( Figure 4 )

Bicellaria polymorpha Kluge 1914:638 , pl. 30, fig. 1

Cornucopina polymorpha: Hayward 1995: 116 , fig. 88

Material

Hero cruise 824, station 41, 65 ◦ 13.6’ to 65 ◦ 13.67’ S, 64 ◦ 14.72’ to 64 ◦ 15.07’ W, 49–58 m, 16 March 1982.

Description

The sample was plentiful, comprising an unknown number of entangled bushy colonies. This species is especially characterized by its adventitious female zooids, with reduced ovicells. These bud from the basal walls of the autozooids, close to the long axis of the branch; the same position may be occupied by a shortly pedunculate avicularium, which also occurs on the frontal surfaces of the autozooids, proximo-lateral to the opesia and close to the branch axis; both are only sparsely present. More frequent are very long, coach horn-shaped adventitious avicularia, budded from the basal walls of autozooids, but situated distal to the ovicells, so that both polymorphs may co-occur. Very few autozooids have spines, usually just one or two on disto-basal surfaces, as long as distal half of autozooid. This material was collected off the South Shetland Islands, within the known geographical range of the species.

Figures

Figure 4. Cornucopina polymorpha, ANT 575. (A) Part of a branch in basal view, showing coach horn avicularia; (B) part of a branch bearing an adventitious female zooid. Scale bar: 0.5 mm.