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Clytia hummelincki (Leloup, 1935)

Wed, 06/11/2008 - 11:15 — cinzia
Rank: 
Species
Synonyms: 

Laomedea hummelinki Leloup, 1935: 19, fig 7.
Campanularia hummelincki Fraser, 1944 122, pl 21 fig 93.

Species description: 

Hydroid: colony stolonal, hydrorhiza reticular and anastomosed. Hydrotheca short and wide, ~0.35 mm high and ~0.30 mm wide; hydrothecal rim smooth (Figure 2A). Hydrothecal pedicel long, with several distal annulations (generally three) and four proximal ones; sub-hydrothecal spherule present; diaphragm oblique; hypostome peduncled; hydranth with 22 amphicoronate filiform tentacles. Gonotheca on hydrorhiza, sessile to shortly stalked, truncate, tapering below, 0.8 mm in height and maximum diameter 0.28 mm, with two basal annulations (Figure 2B); only one medusa bud per gonotheca.
Cnidome: small microbasic b-mastigophores on both tentacles and hydranth body.

Newly released medusa: bell almost spherical, 1.24 mm in diameter, 0.85 mm high; manubrium 0.27 mm long, mouth quadratic, with four lobes; four radial canals, eight bulbs (four large, pyriform, perradial and tentacular ones; four small, rounded and interradial); eight statocysts along circular canal, with one statolyth each; velum ~0.16 mm wide; gonads absent; tentacular tips clavate. Cnidome: atrichous ishorizas, microbasic mastigophores, on tentacles and manubrium.

Male adult medusa: bell almost spherical, 2.52 mm in diameter and 2.03 mm high; mouth quadratic, with four large ondulate lobes; eight bulbs; eight statocysts along circular canal; oval gonads in the upper side of radial canals.

Taxonomic Remarks: 

The present description does not cover the whole development of the medusa, since gonad maturation and spawning were not observed. The medusae did not grow easily under laboratory conditions and, probably, their natural diet has much different requirements than what is available in an Artemia-based diet (Gravili et al., in press).

Source of description: 

Gravili et al. (in press).

Source of Images: 

Gravili et al. (in press).

Type locality: 
West Indies (Leloup, 1935)
Other localities: 
Circumtropical
Depth range: 
0.5-2 m
Ecology: 

This species forming dense carpets at 0.5-2 m depth, on rocks covered by encrusting coralline algae that are intensively grazed by sea urchins (Boero et al., 2005).

Habitat: 

Belt between 0.5 and 2 m depth in sea urchin barrens.

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Scratchpads developed and conceived by: Vince Smith, Simon Rycroft & Dave Roberts