Qingdaoella, Liu & Liu & Zágoršek, 2019

Liu, H., Liu, X. & Zágoršek, K., 2019, Cyclostome bryozoans from Qingdao, South Yellow Sea, China, Zootaxa 4603 (3), pp. 473-500 : 483-485

Genus Qingdaoella n. gen.

lsid:zoobank.org:act: D0C7C492-D033-4697-B0BF-136748E9FE58

Type species. Qingdaoella miaotiao n. sp.

Other species included. Qingdaoella concinna (MacGillivray, 1885a) n. comb., and Qingdaoella conaria n. sp.

Diagnosis. Colony encrusting, lobate, circular-to-oval shaped, multiserial (tubuliporiform). Autozooids arranged in series diverging from protoecium. Gonozooid extended, wider than long, penetrated by autozooidal tubes, pseudopores large. Ooeciostome slender, often tubular (sometimes wider at the base), isolated, never closely attached to an autozooidal tube. Ooeciopore small, diameter approximately half of an autozooidal aperture.

Etymology. Referring to the city of Qingdao.

Remarks. No other cyclostome genus shows such long and distinct ooeciostomes except for Entalophoroecia Harmelin, 1974 , which differs in having adnate (stomatoporiform) and erect (pustuloporiform) colonies, unlike the multiserial encrusting lobate colonies of the new genus. Moreover, Entalophoroecia has very small gonozooids situated at the edge of the colony as terminal expansions; the gonozooid is never perforated by autozooidal tubes; and the protoecium is flat with a peripheral ring of pseudopores, which is not observed in Qingdaoella n. gen.

The genus is also similar to Tubulipora in the general colony form, but differs in having a very long tubular ooeciostome usually directed proximally. In Tubulipora the ooeciopore is much wider, usually half of the diameter of an autozooidal aperture, while in Qingdaoella n. gen. the ooeciopore is about one-fifth of the diameter of an autozooidal aperture, and the ooeciostome is shorter in Tubulipora . The long ooeciostome is a very stable character of Qingdaoella species. Among several hundred studied colonies, none shows Tubulipora -like short ooeciostomes.

Owing to the general form of the colony and the growth pattern of the autozooidal tubes, together with the similar development of the gonozooid, this genus is placed in the family Tubuliporidae .

Qingdaoella miaotiao n. sp.

( Figs 26–31 )

lsid:zoobank.org:act: BABD8EEA-E7FC-40F3-89B2-CD9E26310B56

v. Tubulipora flabellaris: Liu, Yin & Ma, 2001: p. 380 , pl. 6, figs 4, 5.

? Berenicea lineata: Harmer, 1915: p. 116 , pl. 11, figs 6, 7.

Diagnosis. Colony lobate, encrusting.Autozooids arranged in regular rows, apertures arranged in uniserial fascicles. Gonozooid extended, very large. Ooeciostome long, almost tubular, distally directed. Protoecium discoidal, large.

Holotype. Specimen MBM 284350 from Lingshan Island ( Figs 26–29 ).

Paratypes. Specimens MBM 284353 ( Lingshan Island ), MBM 284463 , MBM 284462 , MBM 284455 , MBM 284452 , MBM 284440 , MBM 284449 ( Jiaozhou Bay), MBM 284387 ( Xuejiadao ), MBM 284381 , MBM 284380 , MBM 284379 (Zhonggang), MBM 284355 (First Bathing Beach) .

Additional material. More than fifty colonies from samples MBM 194757 (Lingshan Island), MBM 0 92302, MBM 194965, MBM 0 92380 ( Jiaozhou Bay), MBM 194679, MBM 194789 (Xuejiadao), MBM 194841 (Zhonggang) and MBM 194748 (First Bathing Beach).

Etymology. Referring to the slender ooeciostome; in Chinese phonetic transcription, ‘slender’ is miáotiáo .

Description. Colony encrusting, lobate, oval-to-fan-shaped, approximately 4 mm wide by 3 mm long. Autozooid arranged in uniserial, rarely multiserial, radial rows; peristomes long, up to 400 µm; apertures rounded square to circular (diameter 90–110 µm), 2–5 joined together, forming radially oriented fascicles. Gonozooids up to 1.8 mm long by more than 3 mm wide, often merged together with indistinct borders (the number of merged gonozooids can only be determined by counting the ooeciostomes), with up to 20 penetrating autozooidal tubes; pseudopores evenly distributed, approximately 10–12 µm in diameter. Ooeciostome long (ca. 130–150 µm), tubular (ca. 70 µm wide at the bottom and 60 µm at the top), distally directed, parallel to the autozooidal tube. Ooeciopore circular, diameter approximately 55–60 µm. Protoecium circular, large (diameter about 160–180 µm), with a smooth margin, without pseudopores.

Remarks. Specimens described by Liu et al. (2001) as Tubulipora flabellaris ( Fabricius, 1780) have the same features as those described here as Qingdaoella miaotiao n. sp., particularly the arrangement of the gonozooid with tubular ooeciostome, and the arrangement of the autozooidal tubes. The true T. flabellaris is found only in Europe, and has a wide, semilunar ooeciopore joined to the neighbouring autozooidal tube (see Hayward & Ryland 1985, p. 88, fig. 30).

A similar specimen was described by Harmer (1915) as Berenicea lineata MacGillivray, 1885a . This specimen has uniserial and multiserial rows of autozooidal tubes, an extended gonozooid and long, distally directed ooeciostome. It differs from Qingdaoella miaotiao n. sp. mainly in having no autozooidal peristomes penetrating the gonozooid and a protoecium completely concealed under the centre of the colony, as well as having a projecting basal lamina. All these differences can be considered as within-species variability, partly due to different ecological conditions. It is possible that the material described by Harmer is the same as our new species. The original description of Berenicea lineata MacGillivray, 1885a does not contain information about the ooeciostome; therefore, we are unable to decide whether this species is also the same as Qingdaoella miaotiao n. sp.

Tubulipora connata MacGillivray, 1885a (pl. 2, fig. 2) is also very similar in having uniserial fascicles and a long ooeciostome, but differs in having more regularly arranged zooids in fascicles (up to seven zooids in each fascicle), a smaller gonozooid with ooeciostome situated in the margin.

Qingdaoella concinna (MacGillivray, 1885a) n. comb. differs from Qingdaoella miaotiao n. sp. in having apertures not arranged in fascicles and an ooeciostome that is shorter and conical tubular (much wider at the base than at the top).

Occurrence. Lingshan Island, Jiaozhou Bay, Xuejiadao, Zhonggang, and First Bathing Beach along the coast of Qingdao, and probably also in the Siboga Expedition material ( Harmer 1915).

Figures

FIGURES 26–31. Qingdaoella miaotiao n. sp. Lingshan Island. 26–29. Holotype MBM 284350. 26. Colony showing the lobate growth and the position of gonozooids. 27. Extended gonozooid. 28. Detail of the long, tubular ooeciostome directed distally. 29. Discoidal, large protoecium with smooth margins. 30–31. Paratype MBM 284353, detail of the distally directed long ooeciostome, with the circular ooeciopore. Scale bars: 26–31 = 100 µm.