Oscar Reverter-Gil

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

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.

Species of genus Schizotheca Hincks (Bryozoa, Cheilostomata) described in the Atlantic‐Mediterranean region, with notes on some species of Parasmittina Osburn

Material held in collections, originally ascribed to the genus Schizotheca and originating from the NE Atlantic and Mediterranean, is revised. Two new species are described: Schizotheca carmenae sp. nov. from Azores and Portugal, originally cited as Strophiella tubigera [sic], and Schizotheca buski sp. nov. from Cape Verde and Brazil, originally cited as Schizotheca fissa. Schizotheca talismani, also from Cape Verde, is redescribed from original material and transferred to the genus Parasmittina. The Atlantic species Schizotheca tuberigera is redescribed and a new synonymy is established. Schizotheca aviculifera, from Morocco, is also redescribed and a lectotype designated. A lectotype is also chosen for Schizotheca fissa, type species of the genus. Schizotheca lepida, from north France, is considered to be an unrecognizable species.

A phylogeny of Vesiculariidae (Bryozoa, Ctenostomata) supports synonymization of three genera and reveals possible cryptic diversity

Compared to their calcified sister group, order Cheilostomata, uncalcified ctenostome bryozoans exhibit relatively simple and often inconsistent morphologies, making them particularly suitable candidates for the use of molecular tools to delimit species and examine their interrelationships. The family Vesiculariidae is composed of six genera, three of which, Zoobotryon, Avenella and Watersiana are monotypic, and one, Vesicularia, encompasses four species. The majority of vesiculariid diversity, however, is found in Amathia (39 species) and Bowerbankia (21 species). The respective monophyletic status for Amathia and Bowerbankia has recently been put into question by molecular evidence and is being further examined in this study. Multigene (ssrDNA, rrnL, cox1) phylogenetic analysis revealed that Bowerbankia is paraphyletic to the inclusion of Zoobotryon and Amathia, where the latter was resolved as non‐monophyletic. Although Vesicularia also nested within this paraphyletic assemblage in some of the analyses, Bayesian topology testing did not support this result. Our results are discussed within the context of published morphological evidence and lead to the conclusion that Bowerbankia and Zoobotryon should be classified as junior subjective synonyms of Amathia. A revised nomenclature is provided. Furthermore, we examined genetic divergences between widely distributed supposed conspecific species and discovered possible cryptic diversity in the outgroup taxon Anguinella palmata and in Bowerbankia citrina, Amathia vidovici and Amathia crispa.

Presence of rhizoids in two species of the genus Bowerbankia (Bryozoa: Ctenostomata) and their systematic relevance

The existence is reported of rhizoids in specimens of Bowerbankia pustulosa and Bowerbankia citrina collected from different Iberian locations. The structure of these rhizoids differs from that of other fixation structures previously reported in Bowerbankia and redescribed here. Rhizoids in both species are probably homologous with those of Amathia, supporting the close relationship between these two genera.

New species of Bryozoa from Madeira associated with rhodoliths

Four new species of cheilostomate Bryozoa encrusting rhodoliths on Maërl beds are described from material collected at a single locality at Madeira Island. These are Coronellina atlantica n. sp., Hippothoa muripinnata n. sp., Chorizopora rosaria n. sp. and Hippoporella maderensis n. sp. A species of Schizomavella is left in open nomenclature. The genus Coronellina is transferred from the family Calescharidae and assigned to Microporidae. The close similarity of C. atlantica n. sp., a non-opesiulate species with deep depressions, to Coronellina fagei with opesiules, implies that the generally accepted evolutionary sequence from non-opesiulate to opesiulate species might not be the rule.

Three new species of Iberian cheilostomate Bryozoa

Three new species of Iberian cheilostomate bryozoans are described from material held in our own collection as well as in the bryozoan collection in the Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid. Chaperiopsis hirsuta sp. nov., from the Mediterranean, is the second species of this genus in European waters. Metroperiella gay sp. nov. and Schizoporella artabra sp. nov. are described from material collected in Galicia (north-western Spain).

Adriatic species of Schizomavella (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata)

ABSTRACT In this paper, material belonging to the genus Schizomavella, collected along the Croatian coast of the Adriatic Sea, is revised. Nine species were identified, including five species new to science: S. cornuta, S. halimedae, S. linearis, S. mamillata, S. adriatica sp. nov.,S. mystacea sp. nov., S. rosae sp. nov., S. stanislavi sp. nov. and S. tubulata sp. nov. Previous records of Schizomavella from the Adriatic are also discussed. The checklist of Adriatic Schizomavella species is updated to 11 species; a further two species are doubtful owing to wrong previous identifications. The presence of a calcified ‘hood’ covering the opesia of the suboral avicularium is described and its function is discussed. The morphological diversity of ovicells within the genus Schizomavella is compiled and discussed. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:987D8AE0-1E02-430D-9AB5-50B77BEAF52E

Schizomavella grandiporosa and Schizomavella sarniensis: Two Cryptic Species

The type specimen of Schizomavella grandiporosa Canu and Bassler, 1925, has been located in the MNHN, Paris, and reveals that this species is closely similar to Schizomavella sarniensis Hayward and Thorpe, 1995. All available material of both species has been studied, including SEM-photographies. Morphometric analysis has been performed using n-MDS and tested with ANOSIM. Results confirm the separation of the two species which are, however, morphologically very similar. The geographic distributions overlap with S. grandiporosa being more southern (northwest Spain–Morocco–Algeria) than S. sarniensis (English Channel–southern Portugal).

Molecular Phylogenetic Analysis Confirms the Species Status of Electra verticillata (Ellis and Solander, 1786)

Electra verticillata was original described by Ellis and Solander ((1786) The natural history of many curious and uncommon zoophytes collected from various parts of the globe by the late John Ellis, systematically arranged and described by the late D. Solander, London), and since then the species status of this bryozoan has been in dispute. Many bryozoologists considered E. verticillata as one variety of colony morphology of Electra pilosa (Linnaeus 1767). To test the species status of E. verticillata, we analysed DNA sequences from material from the Bay of Douarnenez (near Morgat, France), together with sequences from E. pilosa, E. posidoniae, E. scuticifera, E. indica, and Electra omanensis. Phylogenetic analyses based on fragments of the 18S, 16S and 12S ribosomal RNA genes confirmed the status of E. verticillata as a separate species. We also examined the morphology of specimens of E. pilosa and E. verticillata in various institutions as well as in own collections. This study revealed morphological and ecological differences between these two species and clarified the geographical distribution of E. verticillata.

A new species of the genus Celleporella (Bryozoa: Cheilostomatida) from the European Atlantic Coast

Until recently, Celleporella hyalina (Linnaeus, 1767) was the only species of this genus cited from the European Atlantic coast. This species is found all around the world and is generally considered to be cosmopolitan and morphologically very adaptable (Pinter, 1973, p. 437), which has led to the description of many varieties (e.g. Busk, 1854; Hincks, 1880). Some of these were later considered simply as growth forms or the result of diierent degrees of calci¢cation, while others have been elevated to species level. Fernandez Pulpeiro (1982, 1986) pointed out the unusual aspect of the sinus in the autozooids of some specimens collected from the Galician coast, which were provisionally, and with reservations, identi¢ed as C. hyalina, and which were later described as a new species: Celleporella angusta Alvarez, 1991, found on the Galician and Cantabrian coasts (Alvarez, 1991; Fernandez Pulpeiro & Reverter Gil, 1992) and which has also recently been found in the north of Brittany and Arcachon (Reverter et al., 1995). Between 1995 and 1996 systematic sampling of bryozoans was carried out on the northern coasts of Galicia (north-west Spain; see Figure 1). Material from the genus Celleporella was found at almost all of the sampling sites, but some of this was not able to be assigned to any of the presently known species. Studies carried out led to the description of a new species as detailed in this paper. J.Mar. Biol. Ass. U.K. (1999),79, 51^55 Printed in the United Kingdom