Filellum cf. serpens

Moura, Carlos J., 2015, The hydrozoan fauna (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa) from the peaks of the Ormonde and Gettysburg seamounts (Gorringe Bank, NE Atlantic), Zootaxa 3972 (2), pp. 148-180 : 159

Filellum cf. serpens

(fig. 3F)

Campanularia serpens Hassall, 1848: 2223 . Coppinia mirabilis Hassall, 1848: 2223.

Material studied. Gettysburg, stn 5: one colony with few hydrothecae on Zonaria tournefortii , DBUA 1515.02. Gettysburg, stn 7: abundant on Eudendrium armatum , less common on Zonaria tournefortii , DBUA 1515.01.

Remarks. Filellum serpens has been imprecisely described and lacks diagnostic trophosomal features, being extremely difficult to ensure a correct identification of this species (e.g. Peña Cantero et al. 1998; Marques et al. 2011) solely with morphological characters ( Moura et al. 2012b). The absence of coppinia prevented an accurate classification of this small and morphologically simple animal. Nevertheless, this biological material is remarkably different from the remnant, representing therefore the first record of this species in the Gorringe.

Reported distribution. Filellum serpens is regarded as cosmopolitan but the majority of the records are dubious (e.g. Peña Cantero et al. 1998; Marques et al. 2011; Moura et al. 2012b).