Billardia subrufa Jaderholm 1904

Billardia subrufa (Jäderholm, 1904)

Billardia subrufa — Totton, 1930: 151–152, fig. 8b; Peña Cantero et al., 2004: 2294–2296 (synonymy); Peña Cantero, 2006: 944, fig. 5A; 2008: 461; 2009: 1749; 2010b: 770; 2012: 862; 2013: 134–135; Peña Cantero & Vervoort, 2009: 89; Soto Àngel & Peña Cantero, 2015: 999–1000, fig. 9a–b.

Material examined. Stn 17, one stem 55 mm high (MNCN 2.03/545); Stn 25, one stem 100 mm high, with gonothecae, basibiont of Lafoea dumosa (NIWA 117510); Stn 26, three colonies up to 180 mm high, with gonothecae (MNCN 2.03/546); Stn 28, one colony 110 mm high, with gonothecae (NIWA 117511); Stn 51, one stem fragment 80 mm long (MNCN 2.03/547); Stn 52, three stem fragments up to 130 mm long (probably belonging to the same colony), with gonothecae, and five incipient stems on Oswaldella stepanjantsae (NIWA 117512); Stn 53, four stem fragments up to 21 mm long (NIWA 117513); Stn 67, one complete stem 110 mm high, and one fragmented colony (largest fragment 70 mm long) (MNCN 2.03/548); Stn 107, fragment 11 mm long (NIWA 117514); Stn 124, several incipient stems up to 30 mm high on pebbles, Antarctoscyphus grandis (Blanco, 1977a), and Staurotheca pachyclada (Jäderholm, 1904) (NIWA 117515); Stn 128, stem fragment 50 mm long (MNCN 2.03/549); Stn 130, 15 stems up to 170 mm high, with gonothecae, and a few stems up to 30 mm high on Staurotheca densa, basibiont of Filellum antarcticum, and Symplectoscyphus vanhoeffeni Totton, 1930 (NIWA 117516); Stn 132, several stem fragments up to 160 mm long, with gonothecae, and some additional stems on tube of benthic organism, basibiont of Filellum antarcticum and Lafoea dumosa (MNCN 2.03/550); Stn 170, ten monosiphonic stems up to 40 mm high (NIWA 117517).

Ecology and distribution. Eurybathic species (Peña Cantero et al. 2004), found at depths from 25 (Stepanjants 1972) to 1030 m (Peña Cantero et al. 2004); present material from 85 to 565 m, epilithic on pebbles, epibiotic on Antarctoscyphus grandis, Oswaldella stepanjantsae, Staurotheca densa, S. pachyclada and on tube of benthic organism, basibiont for colonies of Filellum antarcticum, Lafoea dumosa, and Symplectoscyphus vanhoeffeni, and with gonothecae in February.

Antarctic-Patagonian distribution (Peña Cantero et al. 2004). Recently reported from off Livingston Island (Peña Cantero 2006, 2008), Deception and Trinity islands (Peña Cantero 2008), Bransfield and Low islands (Peña Cantero & Vervoort 2009), Peter I Island (Peña Cantero 2010b), the Bellingshausen Sea (Peña Cantero 2012) and the Scotia Arc (Soto Àngel & Peña Cantero 2015), all in West Antarctica, and from the Balleny Islands (Peña Cantero 2009), in East Antarctica. See Peña Cantero et al. (2004) for previous records. In the Ross Sea, already known from McMurdo Sound (Totton 1930). Present material collected in Robertson Bay and off Cape Adare, Adare Peninsula, Possession Islands and Cape Hallett.