Campanularia hincksii Alder 1856

Campanularia hincksii Alder, 1856

Fig. 99 A–D

See Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa (2002) for a complete synonymy.

Material examined. HCUS-S 106 (Hydrozoa Collection, University of Salento—fauna of the Salento Peninsula)—polyp stage.

Description (based on our own observations; Boero 1981a; Ramil & Vervoort 1992; Cornelius 1995; Schuchert 2001a):

Hydroid. Hydrorhiza as non-anastomosing stolonal system; colonies stolonal, up to 15 mm high; pedicels erect and unbranched, bearing a single hydrotheca at the top, perisarc of pedicels smooth to sinuous, usually with several basal annuli and with a characteristic spherule below hydrothecae; hydrothecae much varied in shape, either cylindrical, campanulate, or conical, rim castellate, with 8–15 cusps either truncate, notched or distinctly bicuspidate, distal half of hydrothecae usually slightly polygonal in cross section, surface with longitudinal striae, basal diaphragm thick, conspicuous. Gonothecae large, on hydrorhiza, with smooth or irregularly undulated perisarc, truncated apically, operculum circular. Female ones longer and more annulated than male ones. Gonophore: fixed sporosacs, planula brooded within the female gonotheca.

Cnidome. Microbasic mastigophores.

Habitat type. Eurybathic species; in the Mediterranean it has been found from the tidal level to about 600 m depth (Boero & Fresi 1986; Roca 1986; Ramil & Vervoort 1992).

Substrate. Algae, rhizomes of Posidonia oceanica, hydrozoans, bio-concretions, rock, sponges, bryozoans, cirripedes, ascidians, mollusc shells, and polychaete tubes.

Seasonality. January–December (Boero & Fresi 1986; De Vito 2006; Puce et al. 2009; this study) in the Ligurian Sea and Salento waters.

Reproductive period. In the Mediterranean C. hincksii seems to be fertile throughout the year, fertile colonies have been found in January (Boero & Fresi 1986; Puce et al. 2009), February (De Vito 2006; this study), March (Picard 1955; De Vito 2006; Puce et al. 2009; this study), April (Picard 1955; Gili 1986; Puce et al. 2009), June (Puce et al. 2009), July (Roca 1986; Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa 2002), September (De Vito 2006; this study), October (Boero & Fresi 1986; De Vito 2006; Puce et al. 2009; this study); November–December (Broch 1933; Boero & Fresi 1986; De Vito 2006; this study).

Distribution. Almost cosmopolitan, avoiding pure Arctic and Antarctic (Marinopoulos 1979; Ramil & Vervoort 1992; Medel & López-González 1996; Bouillon et al. 2004).

Records in Salento. Common at: S.ta Caterina, Torre dell’Inserraglio (Presicce 1991; Andreano 2007); Montagna Spaccata, La Rotonda, Porto Badisco, Marina di Corsano (Presicce 1991); Torre Lapillo (Andreano 2007); Grotta del Ciolo (Denitto et al. 2007; Moscatello & Belmonte 2007); Il Chiapparo (C. Gravili unpublished observations); Costa Merlata (Andreano 2007); Otranto (De Vito 2006; Gravili 2006; Andreano 2007; Gravili et al. 2008a; Piraino et al. 2013; this study).

Remarks. This is a well-known species that shows variability in shape of the marginal teeth, length of the hydrothecal pedicel, and size of the hydrotheca (see Boero 1981a; Cornelius 1988; Ramil & Vervoort 1992).

References. Schneider (1898), Broch (1912, 1933), Stechow (1919, 1923) as C. alata, C. rara and C hincksii; Neppi (1921), Vatova (1928), Leloup (1934), Picard (1958a), Tortonese (1958), Riedl (1959, 1970); Rossi (1961, 1971) as Orthopyxis hincksi; García Corrales et al. (1978), Boero (1981a, 1985), García Carrascosa (1981), Boero & Fresi (1986), Gili (1986), Roca (1986), Llobet et al. (1987), Ramil (1988), Ramil & Vervoort (1992), Medel and López-González (1996), Piraino et al. (1999), Medel and Vervoort (2000), Schuchert (2001a), Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa (2002), Bouillon et al. (2004), De Vito (2006), Gravili (2006), Denitto et al. (2007), Moscatello & Belmonte (2007), Gravili et al. (2008a), Morri et al. (2009), Puce et al. (2009), Brahim et al. (2010), Piraino et al. (2013).