Clytia paulensis ( Vanhöffen, 1910 )

Gil, Marta & Ramil, Fran, 2025, Hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from Guinea Bissau, Zootaxa 5577 (1), pp. 1-89 : 33

Clytia paulensis ( Vanhöffen, 1910)

Campanularia paulensis Vanhöffen, 1910: 298 , fig. 19.

Clytia paulensis : Ramil, 1988: 240–244.— Gili et al., 1989: 106–107, fig. 31A.— Ramil & Vervoort, 1992a: 239, fig 67C– D.— Cornelius, 1995b: 258–260, fig. 59.— Medel & Vervoort, 2000: 39–41.— Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa, 2002: 152–154, fig. 29A–C.— Vervoort, 2006: 271–272.— Galea, 2007: 89–90 ; fig. 20J–L.

Material examined. BISSAU-0810, stn BS191, 10º18'25"– 10º19'20"N, 16º08'47"– 16º08'47"W, 24–25 m, 3-XI-2008: 10 colonies without gonothecae, of which four growing on Idiellana pristis , three on Eudendrium capilllare , two on unidentified hydroids and one on a bryozoan.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS194, 10º21'59"– 10º22'36"N, 16º13'23"– 16º14'03"W, 21–24 m, 3-XI-2008: six colonies without gonothecae, of which five growing on bryozoans and one on Halecium delicatulum .

BISSAU-0810, stn BS195, 10º22'44"– 10º23'22"N, 16º15'37"– 16º16'18"W, 29 m, 3-XI-2008: one colony without gonothecae, growing on a bryozoan.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS216, 10º30'53"– 10º31'39"N, 16º31'33"– 16º32'02"W, 56–58 m, 7-XI-2008: seven colonies without gonothecae growing on Halecium beanii .

BISSAU-0810, stn BS226, 11º22'11"– 11º21'55"N, 17º02'30"– 17º01'54"W, 35–37 m, 9-XI-2008: one colony without gonothecae growing on Halecium halecinum .

Remarks. This is a well-known species that requires no further comments.

Biology. Clytia paulensis has been found growing on algae and on a wide range of invertebrates, such as polychaete tubes, bryozoans, ascidians, mollusk shells, anthozoans, gastropods and other hydroids ( Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa 2002; Vervoort 2006; Galea 2007; Gil et al. 2020). In the northern hemisphere, fertile material has been found from April to August ( Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa 2002), and propagulae have been found in October by Boero & Fresi (1986).

Colonies studied by us were found growing on hydroids and bryozoans. Gonothecae were not observed.

Distribution. This species has a circumglobal distribution ( Medel & Vervoort 2000; Galea 2007). Its distribution in West Africa has been documented recently by Gil et al. (2020). Its bathymetric range ranges from 0 to 574 m (Ramil 1988; Gil et al. 2020).

Our material was collected at depths between 21–58 m.