NOTAS / NOTES Graellsia, 66(2): 295-297 julio-diciembre 2010 ISSN: 0367-5041 doi:10.3989/graellsia.2010.v66.022 First record of the Entoprocta Pedicellina hispida Ryland, 1965 in the Mediterranean Sea (Tunisian coastline) D. Ben Ismail1, O. K. Ben Hassine1, G. Mascarell2 & J.-L. d’Hondt3 In the Mediterranean Sea, the Entoprocta phylum has not been studied enough to make an inventory of this fauna living in the area. The very few works on this phylum concern essentially the European fauna (Harmer, 1915; Prenant & Bobin, 1956; Costello et al., 2001; Nielsen, 2008; Tierno de Figueroa & Sánchez-Tocino, 2008, 2009; SánchezTocino & Tierno de Figueroa, 2009a, 2009b). In Mediterranean Tunisian waters only one species of Entoprocta has been cited (d’Hondt & Ben Ismail, 2008), belonging to the genus Barentsia Hincks, 1880: Barentsia macropus (Ehlers, 1890). The genus Pedicellina Sars, 1835 is represented in world oceans by 7 species (Hayward, 2010) wich are P. cernua (Pallas, 1774), P. grandis Ryland, 1965, P. hispida Ryland, 1965, P. nutans Dalyell, 1848, P. pernae Ryland, 1965, P. pyriformis Ryland, 1965, and P. whitelegii Johnston & Walker, 1917. Among these species, Pedicellina nutans and Pedicellina cernua were reported by Prenant & Bobin (1956) to live along the European coastline. Only the last species was reported for the Mediterranean Sea at Naples, Minorca and Monaco (Marcus, 1941). One colony was collected by scuba diving at 5 m depth in Gammarth (Sidi Abdel Aziz) locality (36°55’25.23”N; 10°16’27.34”E) in the Tunis Gulf. The specimens were found on Posidonia oceanica shoots. The Entoprocta was collected and conserved in 70% ethanol. In the laboratory, specimens were studied and identified under a binocular mag- Table 1.— Comparative measurements (in mm) of Pedicellina hispida from different localities. Tabla 1.— Cuadro comparativo de las medidas (en mm) de Pedicellina hispida procedente de diferentes localidades. Specimens French New-Zeland Plymouth Tunisian Calyx length Stalk length 0,25-0,45 0,33-0,55 0,5 1-1,5 0,25-0,30 1 12-16 0,080-0,1 0,06 20 0,080-0,1 16-18 0,4 1,2 (in the expanded state) 0,065-0,07 0,06 18-20 Stalk width Stolon diameter Tentacle number 1 2 3 Unité de recherche de Biologie, Ecologie et Parasitologie des Organismes Aquatiques, Faculté des Sciences de Tunis, Université Tunis El Manar, 2092 Tunis, Tunisie. dorsaf.ghriss@gmail.com Service commun des Sciences de la Vie, Département “Régulations et développement, diversité moléculaire”, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, 57 rue Cuvier, 75231 Paris Cedex 05. Département “Milieux et peuplements aquatiques”, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, USM 403, 55 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris. 296 Notas / Notes Fig. 1.— A) Pedicellina hispida colony; B) zooid (calyx and stalk); C, D) stalk with numerous spines. Fig. 1.— A) Colonia de Pedicellina hispida; B) Zooide (caliz y pedúnculo); C, D) Pedúnculo con algunas espinas. nifying glass using suitable guides and illustrated articles. The colony shows zoarium of medium size, zooids arranged along a slender stolon. The stolon diameter is about 55-60 µm; the stalk is hispid for 65-70 µm of width. In very young individuals, the calyx has almost the same diameter as the stalk to 60 µm is enlarged with age; the stalk is obviously narrower at the top; stolon approximatively two times narrower than the stalk. The stalk is contractile and with transversal striations. The calyx is 400 µm long and the stalk length in the expanded state is about 1200 µm (Fig. 1). Contours of the calyx nearly symmetrical, without a marked bulge on the sides. Implantation of the stalk in the longitudinal Graellsia, 66(2), Diciembre 2010, pp. 295-297 — ISSN: 0367-5041 doi:10.3989/graellsia.2010.v66.022 axis of the chalice; consequently it is symmetrical compared to the insertion point of the stalk. Frontal face hardly less convex than the distal face. stolon distinctly narrower than the stalk (in some specimens, sometimes approximatively two times narrower). The stalk has numerous small spines. The lophophore has 18-20 tentacles. The Tunisian specimen is consistent with the redescription and the figures of Nielsen (1989) and Hayward & Ryland (1995), except for the polypidial anatomy which cannot be observed. The shape of the calyx, the number of tentacles, and the stalk are very closely similar to the New Zealand (Ryland, 1965) specimens thus confirming the presence of this species along Tunisian coasts. Comparisons Notas / Notes with other species and the differences between them are mentioned in Table 1. Pedicellina hispida was recorded from Europe (French coastline: Finistère; British coastline: Plymouth) and New Zealand. The species lives on Algae, Bryozoa and Hydrozoa. References Costello, M. J., Emblow, C. & White, R. (eds.), 2001. European register of marine species: a check-list of the marine species in Europe and a bibliography of guides to their identification. Collection Patrimoines Naturels, 50. Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle. Paris. 463 pp. Harmer, S. F., 1915. The Polyzoa of the Siboga Expedition. Part 1. Entoprocta, Ctenostomata and Cyclostomata. Siboga Expedition Reports, 28A: 1-180. Hayward, P. J., 2010. Pedicellina. Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species at http://www.marine species.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=111796 on 2010-10-20. Hayward, P. J. & Ryland, J. S. (eds.), 1995. Handbook of the marine fauna of north-west Europe. Oxford University Press. Oxford & New York. 800 pp. Hondt, J. L. d’ & Ben Ismail, D., 2008. Bryozoaires des côtes Algériennes. Compléments aux Bryozoaires de Tunisie. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France, 133(1-3): 55-71. Marcus, E., 1941. Sobre Bryozoa do Brasil. Boletim da Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras, Universidade de São Paulo. Zoologia, 5: 3-208. Nielsen, C., 1989. Entoprocts. Synopses of the British Fauna, N.S., 41: 1-131. Nielsen, C., 2008. A review of the solitary entoprocts reported from sponges from Napoli (Italy), with designation of the neotype of Loxosoma pes Schmidt, 1878. Journal of Natural History, 42(23-24): 15731579. Prenant, M. & Bobin, G., 1956. Bryozoaires, 1ère partie. Entoproctes, Phylactolèmes, Cténostomes. Faune de France, 60. P. Lechevalier. Paris. 398 pp. Ryland, J. S., 1965. Some New Zealand Pedicellinidae (Entoprocta), and a species new to Europe. Transactions of the Royal Society of New Zealand (Zoology), 6(19): 189-205. 297 Sánchez-Tocino, L. & Tierno de Figueroa, J. M., 2009a. Contribution to the knowledge of Loxosomatidae (Entoprocta) from the Chafarinas Islands (Alboran Sea, Western Mediterranean). Graellsia, 65(1): 7174. Sánchez-Tocino, L. & Tierno de Figueroa, J. M., 2009b. Contribution to the knowledge of the genus Loxosomella (Entoprocta) from the Spanish Mediterranean Sea, with the description of a new species: Loxosomella ameliae sp. n. Marine Biology Research, 5: 404-407. Tierno de Figueroa, J. M. & Sánchez-Tocino, L., 2008. First record of Loxosomella crassicauda (Salensky, 1877) (Entoprocta, Loxosomatidae) in the Mediterranean Spanish waters. Zoologica Baetica, 19: 89-93. Tierno de Figueroa, J. M. & Sánchez-Tocino, L., 2009. Loxosomella almugnecarensis n. sp. (Entoprocta: Loxosomatidae) - a new sponge epizoite from the Iberian Mediterranean Sea. Zootaxa, 2236: 65-68. Recibido / Received, 1-VII-2010 Aceptado / Accepted, 25-X-2010 Publicado en línea / Published online, 16-XI-2010 Publicado impreso / Published in print, 29-XII-2010 Graellsia, 66(2), Diciembre 2010, pp. 295-297 — ISSN: 0367-5041 doi:10.3989/graellsia.2010.v66.022