Gymnolaemate bryozoans from the Algarve (southern Portugal): new species and biogeographical considerations

Abstract

Three sampling surveys were carried out, by SCUBA diving, in the Algarve (southern Portugal) in December 2007. A total of 57 species of gymnolaemate Bryozoa were identified. Of these, eight species were new to science (Mollia cristinae sp. nov., Hippoporina teresae sp. nov., Schizoporella spinosa sp. nov., Fenestrulina inesae sp. nov., Celleporina derungsi sp. nov., Dentiporella saldanhai sp. nov., Rhynchozoon celestinoi sp. nov. and Rhynchozoon rosae sp. nov.). Another 16 species are cited for the first time in Portuguese waters; of these, Stephanollona contracta is cited for the first time in European continental waters. Reference material deposited in several collections was also revised, and lectotypes and paralectotypes were selected for Mollia multijuncta and Dentiporella sardonica, species subjected to diverse interpretations. In addition Rhynchozoon revelatus was found to be a junior synonym of D. sardonica. The species collected in the study area reflect the existence of Lusitanian, Mauretanian and Mediterranean influences; the latter influence is of interest as the Mediterranean species found were previously considered endemic to the Mediterranean Sea and are usually found in shallow waters. Finally, a large degree of intracolonial variability was observed in some of the species studied, especially in Stephanollona armata, which may be taken into account in studies of the geographical variability and differentiation of cryptic species.

New species and new records of bryozoans from Galicia (NW Spain)

“…In our material the peristome is absent, but it seems to be broken, perhaps eroded (Figure 3(f)). On the other hand, the avicularium of our material is much smaller than the avicularium in Mediterranean material, but nonetheless similar to that observed in colonies from south Portugal (see Souto et al 2010 fig. 16B), so this is perhaps a character defining the Atlantic material of the species.…”

“…Genus Dentiporella Barroso, 1927 Dentiporella saldanhai Souto, Reverter-Gil andFernández-Pulpeiro, 2010 ( Figure 7(a-d)) Dentiporella saldanhai Souto et al, 2010Souto et al, : 1429 fig. 9.…”

Spatial and depth-associated distribution patterns of shallow gorgonians in the Algarve coast (Portugal, NE Atlantic)

“…The Algarve coast (southern Portugal, north-eastern Atlantic) presents a rich fauna with biogeographic affinities with the Mediterranean Sea, the Lusitanian, the west African Transition, Northern European Seas and Western Atlantic provinces (sensu Spalding et al 2007;Souto et al 2010;Levy et al 2011), because of the proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar (Baus et al 2005; and references therein) and the confluence of oceanic currents (Cherubin et al 2000;Pérez et al 2001;Coelho et al 2002;Martins et al 2002). However, the gorgonian populations of southern Portugal are poorly described, especially compared to the Mediterranean, where in the past few years, several studies have been performed in shallow sub-littoral waters, gathering a large amount of biological and ecological information, and building predictive models to be used in conservation plans (Linares et al 2007(Linares et al , 2008bBramanti et al 2009).…”

Bryozoa from the Korytnica Basin (Middle Miocene; Holy Cross Mountains, Central Poland)

“…-The most similar species is Stephanollona contracta (Waters, 1899) known from the Atlantic (Souto et al 2010). The main differences are the size, shape and position of the avicularia (S. contracta has suboral avicularia with a rounded rostrum) and size of the ovicell (S. contracta has much smaller ovicells).…”