Family CALLOPORIDAE Norman, 1903

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Family CALLOPORIDAE Norman, 1903

Compiler and date details

July 2001 - Dr Philip Bock

Calloporidae Norman, A. 1903. Notes on the natural history of East Finmark, Polyzoa. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 7 11: 567-598.
Alderinidae Canu, F. & Bassler, R.S. 1927. Classification of the cheilostomatous Bryozoa. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 69(14): 1-42 [3].
Tegellidae Vigneaux, M. 1949. Révision des Bryozoaires néogènes du Bassin d'Aquitaine et essai de classification. Mémoires de la Société Géologique de France, n.s 28: 1-153.

Introduction

This enormous and unwieldy family has, as presently estimated, more than 70 genera assigned to it, and urgently requires revision. The vast range of morphologies included may eventually be assembled into correlated groups and be amenable to some form of subdivision of the family. First, however, every genus will require revision in order to ascertain the range of characters its members include. An idea of the complexities involved may be gained by Gordon's (1984) remarks on some of the genera included in the family. In addition, his notes on Onychoblestrum and some Microporidae, such as Manzonella monopia, together with his remarks on Membraniporella, underscores the extent of the problems inherent in any revision.

A review of the genera occurring from Australia and the Australian territories includes seven which appear to belong unequivocally to the Calloporidae. These are Crassimarginatella, Valdemunitella, Parellisina, Retevirgula, Amphiblestrum, Onychoblestrum and Pyriporoides. An eighth genus, included in the Calloporidae by Hayward (1995) is the Antarctic Xylochotridens, which has ovicells closed by the operculum and no avicularia. X. rangifer has large, branched spines.

Genera which have endozooidal ovicells, such as Ellisina, and Pseudolunularia; together with some in which no ovicells are known, such as Adenifera and Parastichopora, should be removed from the Calloporidae, and require revision and assignment to new family groups. The family Antroporidae has been separated, including the genera Antropora and Parantropora (Tilbrook 1998).

Hayward (1995) noted that the genus Crassimarginatella is a 'highly heterogeneous grouping in need of systematic revision'. He considered that several of the subgeneric groups discussed by Gordon (1984, 1986) 'perhaps deserve independent generic status'. In Australia, C. pyrula (which may be assigned to the sugenus Valdemunitella), which has spines and vicarious avicularia, and C. papulifera, which has neither, both occur from Bass Strait (Bock, 1982). C. corbula, the type species of Corbulella, has two sets of very different characters, depending on its substratum, and probably requires separation into two species. The form originally described by Hincks and figured by Bock (1982) grows on erect bryozoans, and has robust frontal spines, a smooth cucullate ovicell and no avicularia. Colonies occur encrusting shells from the Great Barrier Reef and are figured by Hayward & Ryland (1995). They resemble those figured by Gordon (1984), and have small spines, umbonate ovicells and large, oval vicarious avicularia. This form was described by Harmer (1926) from Torres Strait and he expressed doubts as to the identity of his specimens with those from Bass Strait. Valdemunitella valdemunita occurs in Sydney Harbour (Gordon, 1986).

Antarctic Crassimarginatella includes two species, C. inconstantia and C. perlucida which occur in inconspicuous but extensive encrustations on the basal surface of large erect unilaminar bryozoans such as Lageneschara (Ch. 80). Valdemunitella lata has encrusting or erect unilaminar and bilaminar colonies which are widespread in Antarctic and subAntarctic waters (Hayward 1995).

The genus Parellisina Osburn (1940) is characterised by its large avicularia, each of which has a distal kenozooidal chamber. It is probable that at least two or three species occur in southern Australia. Available species names include P. falcata (MacGillivray, 1869), and P. permunita (Hincks, 1881). A specimen of this group was figured from South Australia and Eastern Tasmania by Wass & Yoo (1983, as P. permunita). It differs from P. albida, which was described from Australia for the first time from the Great Barrier Reef, by Hayward & Ryland (1995), in its much more extensive zooidal cryptocyst. P. curvirostris (Hincks) was recorded from the Great Barrier Reef by Ryland & Hayward (1992). An additional species, yet undescribed, is a member of the guild which colonises the concave surface of colonies of the free-living dome-shaped Lunularia species in southern Australia.

The genus Retevirgula Brown (1948) is characterised by its discrete, encrusting colonies, each autozooid separated from its neighbours by a network of tubular connections, small kenozooids and avicularia. R. sejuncta has numerous spines and was figured by Gordon (1986), who gave its distribution as southeastern Australia, New Zealand, and the Chatham and d'Urville Islands.

The genus Amphiblestrum is characterised by its well-developed cryptocyst and trifoliate opesia (Ryland & Hayward, 1998). A. umbonatum (Busk, 1854) is a common species in southern Australia, assigned at present to this genus. Four species are known from Antarctica, of which A. rossi is endemic in the Ross Sea and differs from the remaining species in lacking both spines and avicularia (Hayward, 1995).

A closely similar genus, Onychoblestrum Gordon (1984), is represented in southern Australia by O. propinquum, and was figured by Bock (1982, as Amphiblestrum propinquum), who remarked that 'it usually encrusts shell'.

Pyriporoides uniserialis has uniserial colonies encrusting small stones in the Bellingshausen Sea and western Antarctica (Hayward, 1995).

A 'genus' which has hyperstomial ovicells, oral spines and adventitious avicularia, but is difficult to include in the Calloporidae is the complex Foveolaria/ Odontionella. Only one species has been reported from Australia. This is the erect, cylindrical, thickly calcified F. elliptica, described from Bass Strait by Busk (1884), and figured by Gordon (1986).

As noted above, several other genera require segregation from the Calloporidae sensu stricto. The genus Ellisina was discussed by Chimonides & Cook (1984) and Gordon (1984). It is characterised by autozooids without marginal spines, with small, endozooidal ovicells, closed by the operculum and usually associated with an overlying avicularium. In Australia E. sericea occurs from Victoria (Gordon, 1984). It differs from E. antarctica in its smaller ovicells. E. antarctica and E. constantia are widely distributed in the Antarctic, and form thin, flat colonies on the basal surface of large, erect, unilaminar ascophorines, such as Bostrychopora, according to Hayward (1995).

Pseudolunularia unguis has small, lunulitiform colonies, anchored by basal rhizoids, and occurs from Western Australia (Cadée et al. 1989). The autozooids have no spines, and the brooding zooids have small, endozooidal ovicells and enlarged cystids. Avicularia are interzooidal to vicarious, and have recently been found to have mandibles which are trifoliate. Pseudolunularia has some similarities with the small, fan-shaped Parastichopora vanna, which is also anchored by rhizoids, and has interzooidal avicularia. Ovicells are unknown in this species, which occurs from New South Wales and Victoria (Cook & Chimonides 1981).

The genus Adenifera is also monotypic, and has large, encrusting to bilaminar colonies. A, armata was described by Haswell (1881) as Biflustra, from Queensland, and referred to Adenifera by Canu & Bassler (1917). All other records of the genus and species require revision. Ovicells are unknown, and the relationships of the genus are obscure, Harmer (1926) suggested that there might be some similarities with Foveolaria.

There are several additional Australian species which can be included in the family as defined at present. Some of these, such as Membranipora punctigera Hincks (1881), are not easily placed in the known genera, and may require the introduction of further new genera. Other species, in museum collections, have not been described yet.

The Calloporidae includes one of the earliest membraniporan groups, the genus Wilbertopora, which occurs in the Cretaceous (Taylor, 1993). Numerous fossil species from Australia are referrable to the Calloporidae. Many were described as species of Amphiblestrum on the basis of single fragments. All need revision using more material.

Diagnosis

Colonies generally encrusting laminar sheets, rarely erect. Zooids often with extensive gymnocyst, an oval area including a cryptocyst which varies from minimal to extensive. Spines marginal to area absent or present, and may arch over the frontal membrane forming a protective cover. Interzooidal communication by septular pores or through pore-chambers. Avicularia variable in frequency and type: absent in some species, adventitious, interzooecial or vicarious in others. Ovicells range widely from barely detectable caps to prominent hyperstomial types.