Podocoryna loyola, n. sp. (Hydrozoa, Hydractiniidae): a probably introduced species on artificial substrate from southern Brazil

Abstract

Podocoryna loyola, a new hydractiniid species, has been found on artificial substrates in Baía de Paranaguá, southern coast of Brazil, since April 2007. Its main morphological characteristics are: (1) polymorphic colonies with reticular stolons or encrusting hydrorhiza not covered by periderm and smooth chitinous spines; (2) newly-released medusae with eight tentacles and small interradial gonads; (3) mature medusae with eight tentacles and unbranched oral lips; gastric peduncle absent. Molecular data show that P. loyola is distinct from all other examined species of Podocoryna, and from P. hayamaensis Hirohito (1988), its sister species from Japan. As the polyps having been noted only quite recently, and in having been found only on man-made objects in port areas and estuaries, the species is most likely exotic to the region.

Barcoding Techniques Help Tracking the Evolutionary History of the Introduced Species Pennaria disticha (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria)

“…Conversely, specimens of the same species may look dramatically different due to morphological plasticity [ 9 , 10 ]. Altogether, hydrozoan taxonomy has highly benefitted from molecular analyses, especially because the commonly used DNA barcoding molecule is effective in defining species boundaries [e.g., 11 , 12 , 13 ], and sequencing costs are increasingly affordable.…”

Colonisation, competitive ability and influence of Stragulum bicolor van Ofwegen and Haddad, 2011 (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) on the fouling community in Paranaguá Bay, Southern Brazil

“…Although these species are very abundant on the plates, they present low abundance in the substrates around the experimental structures (personal observation). Podocoryna loyola has been found only in artificial substrates in port areas and estuaries and is probably exotic in Paranaguá Bay (Haddad et al, 2014), while Sinoflustra annae is cryptogenic (Cangussu et al, 2010) and probably originated from the Indo-Pacific (McCann et al, 2007). The presence of a developed community had a positive effect on the number of colonies of S. bicolor at the beginning of the experiment.…”

Editorial: biodiversity of Caribbean coral reefs (with a focus on the Dutch Caribbean)

“…Another octocoral species recently described as new from the western Atlantic, Stragulum bicolor van Ofwegen and Haddad, 2011, was presumably introduced recently because it has a restricted distribution off southern Brazil, while its closest relatives live in the Indo-Pacific (Van Ofwegen and Haddad 2011;Altvater and Coutinho 2015). A similar case is that of a new hydrozoan in the same area, which is of unknown origin but it has a sister species in Japan (Haddad et al 2014). Finally, there are reports on a rapidly spreading invasive seagrass species originally from the Red Sea, Halophila stipulacea (Forsskål) Ascherson, 1867, competing with native seagrass species near coral reefs in various Caribbean localities (Becking et al 2014;Willette et al 2014;Van Tussenbroek et al 2016;.…”