Redescription and systematic status of the Antarctic genus Abietinella Levinsen, 1913 (Lafoeidae, Hydrozoa, Cnidaria)

Abstract

The Antarctic–Patagonian genus Abietinella, comprising two known species, Abietinella operculata (Jäderholm, 1903) and Abietinella grandis (Vanhöffen, 1910), is reviewed. The holotype of Abietinella operculata is fully redescribed, including morphometry and cnidome, unknown up to now. Its distinctive characters are the growth habit, hydrothecal shape and, most important, the presence of a dish‐shaped operculum attached to the adcauline side of the hydrothecal aperture. We corroborate its conspecificity with A. grandis and, therefore, the monotypic condition of Abietinella.

Keywords:

• Abietinella
• Antarctic
• Cnidaria
• cnidome
• Hydrozoa
• morphometry

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Ms Karin Sindemark (SMNH), Ms Sheila Halsey (BMNH), Dr Steve Cairns (USNM), and Dr Carsten Lueter (ZMB) for the loans of specimens, Dr Antonio Manuel García‐Carrascosa (Universidad de Valencia, Spain) for accommodating us in his lab for part of the studies, and to an anonymous referee for reviewing the text. We specially thank Dr Wim Vervoort (Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum, Leiden, The Netherlands) for his help with the bibliography, careful revision of the text, and inestimable collaboration in finding the type of A. grandis, that significantly improved the manuscript. The project had financial support from the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP 2001/02626‐7 and 2001/10677‐0), from the National Museum of Natural History, Department of Invertebrate Zoology, United States Antarctic Program funded by the National Science Foundation (OPP‐9509761), and from the Ramón y Cajal Program co‐sponsored by the Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología and the Universidad de Valencia of Spain. A.C.M. and A.E.M. also have financial support from the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq; 300271/2001‐8 and 300194/1994‐3, respectively).

Notes

In bold are marked the extreme values recorded for the species.

^aMeasurements of the abcauline wall.