Halecium liouvillei Billard, 1934

Gil, Marta & Ramil, Fran, 2025, Hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from Guinea Bissau, Zootaxa 5577 (1), pp. 1-89 : 42

Halecium liouvillei Billard, 1934

( Fig. 7C–D )

Halecium liouvillei Billard, 1934: 227–228 , fig. 1.— Leloup, 1937: 94–96, fig. 2.— Vervoort, 1946: 297–299, fig. 1.— Ramil & Iglesias, 1988: 74–75.— Ramil & Fernández Pulpeiro, 1991: 64–68, figs 1–3.— Altuna, 1994b: 47–52, figs 2–4.—Medel et al., 1998: 35–37, fig. 3.— Ramil et al., 1998: 193–194, fig. 4D.— Medel & Vervoort, 2000: 18, fig. 3.

Material examined. BISSAU-0810, stn BS191, 10º18'25"– 10º19'20"N, 16º08'47"– 16º08'47"W, 24–25 m, 3-XI-2008: four colonies without gonothecae, up to 36 mm high, of which two growing on stones, one on Eudendrium capillare and one on Diphasia digitalis .

BISSAU-0810, stn BS192, 10º19'30"– 10º20'15"N, 16º10'27"– 16º10'59"W, 24 m, 3-XI-2008: two colonies, 26–75 mm high, both with gonothecae; substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS194, 10º21'59"– 10º22'36"N, 16º13'23"– 16º14'03"W, 21–24 m, 3-XI-2008: one colony 30 mm high, without gonothecae; substrate unknown.

Remarks. Our material agrees with the descriptions of Billard (1934), Ramil & Fernández Pulpeiro (1991) and Altuna (1994b). In agreement with the latter, the female gonothecae had only one hydrothecal aperture instead of two, as described by Medel et al. (1998). This is the first record of H. liouvillei for Guinea-Bissau.

Biology. This species has been found growing on a great variety of substrates, such as bryozoans, worm tubes, shells, ascidians, gorgonians and other hydroids (Medel et al. 1998). In the northern hemisphere, gonothecae have been found in February (Medel et al. 1998) and from August to November ( Leloup 1937; Altuna 1994b; Ramil et al. 1998).

In our material, colonies were found growing on stones and on the hydroids E. capillare and D. digitalis . Two colonies with gonothecae were collected in November.

Distribution. Halecium liouvillei is an East-Atlantic species distributed from North and Northwest Spain ( Ramil & Fernández Pulpeiro 1991; Altuna 1994b) to the Gold Coast ( Buchanan 1957). Its bathymetric distribution ranges from 0 to 80 m ( Altuna 1994b; Medel et al. 1998). In West Africa, it has been recorded from Morocco ( Billard 1934; Patriti 1970), Western Sahara ( Leloup 1937; Vervoort 1946) and the Gold Coast ( Buchanan 1957).

Our material was collected at depths between 21–25 m.

Figures

FIGURE 7. A. Halecium halecinum (Linnaeus, 1758) (stn BS147), portion of colony with male gonotheca. B. Halecium lankesteri (Bourne, 1890) (stn BS193), portion of colony. C–D. Halecium liouvillei Billard, 1934 (stn BS192); portion of colony (C); female gonotheca (D). E–F. Halecium marocanum Billard, 1934 (stn BS191); portion of colony (E); gonotheca (F). Scales: a–f, 0.5 mm.