Sertularella oblonga Horia R. Galea & Dirk Schories & Verena Häussermann & Günter Försterra 2017, sp. nov.

• Main Authors: Horia R. Galea, Dirk Schories, Verena Häussermann, Günter Försterra
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Cnidaria; Hydrozoa; Leptothecata; Sertulariidae; Sertularella; Sertularella oblonga; Magallanes; Desolación; Isla Desolación; Antártica
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6029751; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6029751

Sertularella oblonga Galea, Häussermann & Försterra, sp. nov. Fig. 14 M-P Holotype material: MHNG-INVE-97916; Chile, Región de Magallanes y de la Antártica Chilena, Isla Desolación, Cabo Pilar, -52.71578° -74.68245°, 10 m, coll. HSFS, HF26, lot #221; 21.09.2015; female colony composed of multiple, highly ramified stems, up to 2.8 cm high. Diagnosis: Colonies with indistinct stems, divided subdichotomously several times. Internodes moderatelylong, slender, geniculate. Hydrothecae adnate for 2/5th, almost tubular, tapering towards aperture, indistinctly swollen adaxially, abaxial cusp produced, two lateroadaxial, internal, submarginal cusps. Gonotheca elongated-ovoid, transversely wrinkled, aperture distal, surrounded by 4 pointed cusps. Etymology: From the Latin oblongus, -a, -um, meaning elongated, making reference to the distinctive shape of its hydrothecae. Description: Colony bushy, composed of a bunch of stems, up to 2.8 cm high, arising from creeping stolon. Basal part of stems of varied length, provided with a number of twists above origin from stolon; remainder divided into regular internodes by means of oblique nodes sloping in alternate directions. Internodes relatively short, decidedly geniculate, with smooth, rather thin perisarc, each bearing distally a hydrotheca. Branching subdichotomous, starting among the proximal most internodes, thus making the main stems indistinct; side branches originate from below the bases of stem hydrothecae, either laterally or decidedly shifted to one side of the stem; 1-6 hydrothecae between successive side branches; occasionally, aberrant side branches are given off from within some basal stem hydrothecae; up to 5th or 6th order branching observed; tips of branchlets from various planes often form tendrils, creating anastomoses with neighboring branches; structure of branches identical to that of stem, except for the first internode that may be longer than the subsequent ones. Hydrothecae biseriate, alternately directed left and right, coplanar or nearly so; ...