Family CHEILOPORINIDAE Bassler, 1936

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Family CHEILOPORINIDAE Bassler, 1936

Compiler and date details

July 2001 - Dr Philip Bock

Introduction

The family Cheiloporinidae was introduced by Bassler (1936) for the genus Cheiloporina Canu & Bassler (1923). The type species was Hippoporina circumcincta Neviani (1896), a late Tertiary European species, which is also found today in the Mediterranean (Waters, 1918). Other Recent species occur principally from the Pacific region. Harmer (1957) included the genus Cheilopora Levinsen (1909) and its circum-Arctic type species C. sincera, in Cheiloporina. Few or none of the other genera included in the family by Bassler (1953) may be assigned to the Cheiloporinidae, but the lunulitiform genus Cyttaridium Harmer (1957) appears to be a member (Bock & Cook 1995). The genus Retelepralia was introduced by Gordon & Arnold (1998) for an related species.

Cheiloporina is characterised by its zooids with dimorphic orifices, its vestigial ovicells, and a distinctive raised sclerite around the distal edge of the operculum in Recent species. The frontal shield is finely porous, with a few marginal septular pores, which may give rise to avicularia near the orifice. Autozooid orifices have a low, thickened peristome and a convex proximal lip. Fertile orifices are trifoliate, with a raised distal rim which represents the frontal wall of the vestigial ovicell.

Cheiloporina haddoni (Harmer) was redescribed by Harmer (1957) from the Torres Strait. Its colonies are large, and may be encrusting or erect, with anastomosing, bilaminar plates up to 70 mm across. Harmer listed a specimen from Adelaide, South Australia, but this, together with newly collected specimens from the Great Australian Bight, may belong to a distinct species. Hayward & Ryland (1995) have described C. campanula from the Great Barrier Reef. It is possible that Lepralia filamentosa Kirkpatrick (1890) from the Torres Strait, described as free-living, may also be referable to Cheiloporina. C. filamentosa has branched cuticular processes surrounding the orifice. Harmer (1957) described C. scopulifera from the Sulu Archipelago with similar processes arising from the operculum.

Diagnosis

Colony well calcified, or extremely delicate, unilaminar to multilaminar. Autozooids with a lepralioid frontal shield and numerous pseudopores. Orifice usually with well-developed condyles; operculum with a submarginal sclerite; long opercular or circumopercular cuticular spines sometimes present. Brooding zooids with a dimorphic, usually enlarged orifice, ovicell hypostomial and dependent, often reduced, sometimes vestigial.