Culicia tenella tenella Dana, 1846

Cairns, S. D., 2004, The Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Coelenterata: Anthozoa) of Australia, Records of the Australian Museum 56, pp. 259-329 : 274

publication ID

2201-4349

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/903C8031-8761-594E-FF1D-BD92FA18FCD1

treatment provided by

Felipe

scientific name

Culicia tenella tenella Dana, 1846
status

 

Culicia tenella tenella Dana, 1846 View in CoL

Culicia tenella Dana, 1846: 377–378 View in CoL , pl. 28, figs. 6a,b.– Not Hoffmeister, 1933: 11–12 (= C. hoffmeisteri View in CoL ).– Not Gardiner, 1939: 230 (= C. tenella natalensis View in CoL ).– Not Boshoff, 1981: 25 (= C. tenella natalensis View in CoL ).– Wells, 1955: 14 (Qld).–Stephenson & Wells, 1956: 55 (listed).– Squires, 1961: 18 (listed).– Wells, 1964: 109 (listed).– Veron, 1986: 600, figs. 1–3 (NSW).

Cylicia [sic] tenella .–Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857: 608 (in part: not specimen from Cape of Good Hope).– Tenison-Woods, 1878b: 325 (remarks).

New record. QUEENSLAND: 20°33.16'S 149°05.28'E ( Thomas Island ), 30 m, 3 November 1988, 1 colony, USNM 86002 GoogleMaps .

Types. The holotype is USNM 184 . Type Locality: Port Jackson , New South Wales, depth unknown .

Remarks. At least four species of Culicia are known from Australia, all of them occurring off the coasts of the eastern states. Because they are found in shallow water they are easily and frequently collected, but all too often misidentified because this genus has never been revised. I have now examined the types of all four species as well as subsequently collected specimens from various museums, and present a table of differentiating characters ( Table 4) to aid in the distinction of these species. Based on a combination of four characters (calicular diameter, number of septa, septal arrangement, and axial edge ornamentation) most specimens can be identified. To elaborate on Table 4, C. tenella can be distinguished by having relatively small corallites with laciniate axial septal edges. Culicia australiensis has three size classes of 48 closely-spaced septa and the S1 axial edge is entire except for 1–2 small teeth near the columella. Culicia hoffmeisteri has the largest corallites, only 24–26 well-spaced septa occurring in two size classes, and S1 axial edges that are coarsely lobate. Culicia quinaria has septal margins like those of C. hoffmeisteri , but are smaller in size and have a different septal arrangement.

Two other species of Culicia , C. verreauxii and C. smithi , have been reported from Australia, but both are considered to be dubious records (see p. 319). Finally, Culicia magna (Tenison-Woods, 1878) is a junior synonym of Scolymia australis (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) .

Tenison-Woods (1878b: 325) made the confusing statement that “ Cylicia tenella is said to come from Australia but Messrs. Ed. and H. refer it to the Cape.” It is true that Milne Edwards & Haime (1857) refer C. tenella to both Australia and the Cape of Good Hope, but do not dispute that the type locality is Australia. Their African specimen is deposited at the BM and undoubtedly formed the basis for the description of Culicia tenella natalensis Duncan, 1876 .

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Cnidaria

Class

Anthozoa

Order

Scleractinia

Family

Rhizangiidae

Genus

Culicia

Loc

Culicia tenella tenella Dana, 1846

Cairns, S. D. 2004
2004
Loc

Cylicia [sic] tenella

Tenison-Woods, J 1878: 325
1878
Loc

Culicia tenella

Veron, J 1986: 600
Boshoff, P 1981: 25
Wells, J 1964: 109
Squires, D 1961: 18
Wells, J 1955: 14
Gardiner, J 1939: 230
Hoffmeister, J 1933: 11
Dana, J 1846: 378
1846
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