Kirchenpaueria pinnata

Kirchenpaueria pinnata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Fig. 42

Sertularia pinnata Linnaeus, 1758: 813.

Plumularia pinnata.— Winther, 1880a: 252.— Segerstedt, 1889: 20, 27.— Lönnberg, 1898: 53.— Jäderholm, 1909: 106, pl. 12, figs. 3, 4.

Plumularia (Kirchenpaueria) pinnata.— Gislén, 1930: 341.

Kirchenpaueria pinnata.— Michanek 1967: 456.— Rees & Rowe, 1969: 20.— Jägerskiöld, 1971: 63.

Type locality. “ Habitat in Oceano ” (Linnaeus 1758: 813).

Museum material. Kosterhavet, 58°52.567’N, 11°06.313’E, 6–30 m, 07.ix.2010, SCUBA, one colony, up to 10 cm high, with a few mostly smooth gonothecae (empty), coll. B.E. Picton, ROMIZ B3896.

Remarks. Descriptions and illustrations of Kirchenpaueria pinnata (Linnaeus, 1758) in contemporary works include those of Ramil & Vervoort (1992), Cornelius (1995b), Medel & Vervoort (1995), and Ramil et al. (1998). Kirchenpaueria elegantula (G.O. Sars 1874) from the Hardangerfjord, southwestern Norway, is considered conspecific or questionably conspecific (e.g., Bedot 1916; Kramp 1935b; Vervoort 1946; Christiansen 1972; Ramil & Vervoort 1992; Cornelius 1995b; Medel & Vervoort 1995; Ramil et al. 1998). Opinions differ whether K. similis (Hincks, 1861) from the Isle of Man, UK, should be included as a synonym, with some regarding it as identical (e.g., Bedot 1916; Kramp 1935b; Vervoort 1946; Ramil & Vervoort 1992; Medel & Vervoort 1995; Ramil et al. 1998; Schuchert 2011) and others as a valid species (e.g., Jäderholm 1909; Cornelius 1992b, 1995b). A number of characters have been used to distinguish K. similis from its congener, such as the presence of heteromeric instead of homomeric hydrocladia and existence of several hydrocladia per stem internode instead of a single one (Cornelius 1995b). However, Moura et al. (2008) reported virtually no variation in sequences of the mitochondrial 16S RNA gene in haplotypes of K. pinnata and K. similis, suggesting that the two are conspecific. Leclère et al. (2007) and Peña Cantero et al. (2010) drew the same conclusion, although molecular data in the three reports are all based on the same single sample of somewhat atypical material of K. similis from the vicinity of Roscoff, France (Peter Schuchert, pers. comm., 22 November 2011). In any case, material examined here corresponded with accounts of the typical form of K. pinnata.

Gonothecae of K. pinnata are known to be highly varied in shape, with nearly smooth ones next to those with ribs or spines (e.g., Vervoort 1949). Millard (1975) and Medel & Vervoort (1995) noted that spinulation seems related to both age and sex, with younger gonothecae, and especially those of male colonies, appearing to be smoother.

The species is common in waters of southwestern Scandinavia (Kramp 1935b; Jägerskiöld 1971; Christiansen 1972).

FIGURE 43. Nemertesia ramosa: part of hydrocladium with hydrothecae and nematothecae, ROMIZ B3884. Scale equals 0.5 mm.

Reported distribution. West coast of Sweden.—Sacken Reef (Rees & Rowe 1969) to Öresund (Winther 1880a).

Elsewhere.—Eastern North Atlantic from northern Norway (Christiansen 1972) at least to Morocco, including the Mediterranean Sea (Cornelius 1995b); also reported from the eastern South Atlantic (Vervoort 1959; Millard 1975).