Lovenella corrugata Thornely, 1908

Gil, Marta & Ramil, Fran, 2025, Hydroids (Cnidaria, Hydrozoa) from Guinea Bissau, Zootaxa 5577 (1), pp. 1-89 : 19

Lovenella corrugata Thornely, 1908

( Fig. 3A )

Lovenella corrugata Thornely, 1908: 82–83 , pl. IX fig. 4.— Broch, 1914: 32–33, fig. 8.— Vervoort, 1959: 231–234, fig. 9.— Redier, 1971: 503.

Material examined. BISSAU-0810, stn BS191, 10º18'25"– 10º19'20"N, 16º08'47"– 16º08'47"W, 24–25 m, 3-XI-2008: 20 colonies (five with gonothecae), up to 9 mm high, of which two growing on bryozoans, one on Idiellana pristis , one on Diphasia digitalis , and one a crustacean.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS195, 10º22'44"– 10º23'22"N, 16º15'37"– 16º16'18"W, 29 m, 3-XI-2008: one colony, 14 mm high, without gonothecae.

Remarks. We found gonothecae for the first time in November. Our material represents the first record of L. corrugata for Guinea-Bissau, and agrees well with the colonies described by Vervoort (1959) from the Republic of Guinea. We identified this material as L. corrugata based on the geniculate habit of the colony, the presence of annuli close to each internode, and the distinctive shape of the gonothecae.

Biology. In the northern hemisphere, colonies with gonothecae have been found in February ( Vervoort 1959). Thornely (1908) described the gonothecae, but the collection dates of her material were not provided.

In our samples, some colonies were growing on the hydroids I. pristis and D. digitalis , as well as on various bryozoans and crustaceans. Fertile material was found in November.

Distribution. There are a few records of this species worldwide. Lovenella corrugata has been recorded from the Sudanese Red Sea ( Thornely, 1908, type locality) and West Africa, from Guinea Conakry ( Vervoort 1959), the Ivory Coast ( Redier 1971) and Togo ( Broch 1914). Its bathymetric distribution ranges from 8–55 m ( Vervoort 1959).

Our material was collected at depths between 24–29 m.

Figures

FIGURE 3. A. Lovenella corrugata Thornely, 1908 (stn BS191), portion of colony with hydrothecae and a gonotheca. B. Plicatoteca anitae Calder & Vervoort, 1986 (stn BS152), portion of colony. C. Acryptolaria conferta (Allman, 1877) (stn BS131), portion of hydrocladium. D. Lafoea gracillima (Alder, 1856) (stn BS152), portion of colony with hydrothecae. Scales: a–d, 0.5 mm.