Beania serrata Souto, Nascimento, Reverter-Gil & Vieira, 2019 Cryptogenic

Ruiz-Velasco, Sofía, Ros, Macarena, Guerra-García, José M. & López-Fé, Carlos M., 2025, Fouling bryozoans in recreational marinas of the Canary Islands (North-Eastern Atlantic) with new records of non-indigenous and cryptogenic species, Zootaxa 5656 (1), pp. 1-63 : 12

Beania serrata Souto, Nascimento, Reverter-Gil & Vieira, 2019 Cryptogenic

( Fig. 2 ; Table 2)

Beania serrata Souto et al. 2019: 1509 , fig. 2B, 4, 5.

Figured material. Taliarte (26/06/23) (3 colonies on buoy) ( MNCN 25.03/4450) Colonies will be indicated from now on as “C”.

Other material examined. Morro Jable (27/06/23) (1C on buoy).

Description. Colonies forming a network pattern, growing apart from the substrate ( Fig. 2A ). Autozooids oval and boat-shaped, linked by six tubular connections ( Fig. 2B ). Frontal wall membranous. Four spines around the orifice, two lateral and two distal; distal ones reduced. Monomorphic paired pedunculate avicularia, in the shape of a bird head, attached close to the distolateral connection through a short tube ( Fig. 2C ). Avicularia rostrum downcurved with a serrated border ( Fig. 2D ). Ooecium not observed.

Remarks. This species has the rostrum of the avicularia with a denticulate border, which differs from other species that were included in Beania magellanica species complex ( Souto et al. 2019). Arístegui (1984a, b) did not record Beania magellanica ( Busk, 1852) in the Canary Islands, but other species included in this genus ( Beania hirtissima ( Heller, 1867) and Beania mirabilis Johnston, 1840 ). Our material can be clearly distinguished from B. hirtissima based on the length and number of spines. According to Hayward & McKinney (2002), B. hirtissima has seven long oral spines, 10 erect lateral spines (five on each margin), and 3–8 basal spines, whereas B. serrata has four short oral spines with no lateral or additional spines ( Souto et al. 2019). Additionally, while avicularia in B. hirtissima have been described as infrequent ( Hayward & McKinney 2002) or absent ( Arístegui 1984b), most zooids in our material have avicularia. On the other hand, our material differs from B. mirabilis in several ways: (1) B. mirabilis colonies consist of uniserial chains, whereas B. serrata colonies form a network pattern; (2) while B. mirabilis zooids have ten pairs of short marginal spines, B. serrata has none; (3) in B. mirabilis , zooids are spaced by stolons measuring more than the length of a zooid, whereas in B. serrata , these connections are significantly shorter (ranging between 0.101 and 0.244 μm in material from Souto et al. 2019); and (4) while avicularia are absent in B. mirabilis , they are commonly present in B. serrata .

Distribution and status. Beania serrata was described based on specimens from north-western coasts of Spain ( Souto et al. 2019). These authors considered it a cryptogenic species due to the extensive knowledge of bryozoan diversity from the study area (Ría de Ferrol and Point Etxandarri, Spain), and its high maritime traffic ( Souto et al. 2019). In fact, later analysis of specimens of Beania magellanica species complex showed that B. serrata is widely distributed in the Indo-Pacific ( Nascimento 2019). Considering that it is not possible to determine the native range of the species with the current data, we consider it cryptogenic in Macaronesia. Regarding the situation of the species in the Canary Islands, it must be noted that Martin et al. (unpublished data) found specimens identified as B. magellanica in Marina Santa Cruz (Tenerife) that should be further analysed to confirm the earliest record of this species. To date, the present study is the first formal record of this species for Macaronesia archipelagos, specifically for Canary Islands.

Figures

FIGURE 2. Beania serrata Souto, Nascimento, Reverter-Gil & Vieira, 2019 (MNCN25.03/4450). A. View of the colony through SEM. B. Close-up of the morphology of autozooids. C. View of the distal area of the autozooid, with avicularia and distal spines. D. Detail of the serrated avicularium rostrum through stereomiscroscope. Scale bars:A, B = 200 µm; C = 100 µm; D = 150 µm.