Halecium

Halecium sp.

(fig. 3E)

Material studied. Ormonde, stn 3: few colonies overgrowing Zonaria tournefortii; DBUA 1519.01; Genbank accession no. KM402022. Ormonde, stn 4: some colonies, on cauli of Zonaria tournefortii; DBUA 1519.02; Genbank accession no. KM402028. Gettysburg, stn 7: abundant, some well-developed colonies, on: Eudendrium armatum, sponges, different species of algae; DBUA 1519.03. Gettysburg, stn 9: few colonies, on Zonaria tournefortii, DBUA 1519.04.

Remarks. This species seems phylogenetically close to, but distinct from Halecium muricatum (Ellis & Solander, 1786) by comparison using 16S haplotype data of Haleciidae taxa (results not shown). It shares morphological similaries with a boreal-arctic species present in northern Europe: Halecium textum Kramp, 1911, notably for presenting small monosiphonic colonies irregularly branched in different planes, with irregularly occurring annulations or corrugations frequently interspaced by smooth stretches of perisarc, and by the everted rim of hydrothecae (e.g. in agreement with descriptions of Schuchert (2001a, 2005b)), although the absence of gonothecae prevented an accurate identification. It is expected that in the future its two 16S sequences herein published will allow a more accurate identification of these small colonies. Anyway, this taxon is distinct, both morphologically and molecularly, from any other Halecium taxon ever recorded in the Gorringe, representing another new record.