- Didymosellidae Brown, 1952.
Introduction
The Family Didymosellidae was introduced by Brown (1952) for Didymosella, erected by Canu & Bassler (1917) and Tubiporella, erected by Levinsen (1909). The type species of both genera had first been described from Victoria, by MacGillivray; D. larvalis in 1869 and T. magnirostris in 1883.
The colonies are loosely encrusting, semi-repent or erect, arising from an encrusting base. The ancestrula of D.larvalis has a complex spinous frontal shield (Cook & Chimonides 1981). The autozooids have a partially calcified basal wall (in D. larvalis) or septular pores leading to a colony-wide basal coelom, with extrazooidal calcification. The cryptocystidean frontal shield has an extensive hypostegal coelom loosely covered by a thick cuticle. The autozooids have prominent, marginal frontal septular pores and some other frontal pores. The calcification becomes very thickened and irregular with ontogeny, obscuring zooid boundaries. The primary calcified orifice is not well-defined, the operculum forming a flap at the distal end of the ascus wall. Peristomes are very long, and prominent early in ontogeny, later becoming immersed, with paired foramina frontally. Alternatively, the frontal shield may have a spiramen opening just proximally to the operculum. Avicularia are adventitious and usually unilateral, arising from frontal septulae, with a large subrostral chamber with marginal pores. The rostrum is orientated laterally, and is acute, sometimes channelled terminally for reception of the elongated mandible which is hinged on a bar, and usually hooked and may be expanded and fringed laterally. Brooding zooids are dimorphic, but the difference is barely detectable in the shape of the peristome: the brood chamber is a distal expansion of the peristome, above the operculum.
The family includes two major generic groups. The type species of Didymosella, D. larvalis, often encrusts algae or seagrass (Bock 1982), and occurs from Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania and New South Wales. Other Recent species occur from Brazil, Cuba, and the Philippines. The genus has a long fossil history extending from the Middle Eocene of France and the Upper Eocene of Spain and Florida. Species are also known from the Oligocene of New Zealand and the Miocene of Victoria. Tubiporella magnirostris occurs from Victoria, Tasmania, southern Western Australia, and the Amirante Islands, and is also known from the Victorian Tertiary. Other species are known in the southwestern Pacific (Cook & Chimonides 1981).
General References
Bock, P.E. 1982. Bryozoans (Phylum Bryozoa). pp. 319-394 in Shepherd, S.A. & Thomas, I.M. (eds). Marine Invertebrates of Southern Australia. Handbook of the Flora and Fauna of South Australia Adelaide : Government Printer Part 1 491 pp.
Canu, F., & Bassler, R.S. 1917. A synopsis of American Early Tertiary Cheilostome Bryozoa. United States National Museum Bulletin 96: 1-87
Cook, P.L. & Chimonides, P.J. 1981. Morphology and systematics of some interior-walled cheilostome Bryozoa. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) Zoology 41(2): 53-89
Macgillivray, P.H. 1869. Descriptions of some new genera and species of Australian Polyzoa; to which is added a list of species found in Victoria. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 9: 126-148
Macgillivray, P.H. 1883. Descriptions of new or little-known Polyzoa. Part 2. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 19: 130-138
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2014 | BRYOZOA Ehrenberg, 1831 | 25-Mar-2014 | MODIFIED | Dr Robin Wilson (NMV) Elizabeth Greaves (NMV) |
| 29-Mar-2010 | MODIFIED |
- Didymosella Canu, F., & Bassler, R.S. 1917. A synopsis of American Early Tertiary Cheilostome Bryozoa. United States National Museum Bulletin 96: 1-87 [43].
Type species:
Porina larvalis MacGillivray, 1869 by original designation.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania
IMCRA
Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Lower E coast, S Gulfs coast, Tas. Coast
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2014 | BRYOZOA Ehrenberg, 1831 | 25-Mar-2014 | MODIFIED | Dr Robin Wilson (NMV) Elizabeth Greaves (NMV) |
| 29-Mar-2010 | MODIFIED |
Species Didymosella larvalis (MacGillivray, 1869)
Compiler and date details
July 2001 - Dr Philip Bock
- Lepralia larvalis Macgillivray, P.H. 1869. Descriptions of some new genera and species of Australian Polyzoa; to which is added a list of species found in Victoria. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 9: 126-148 [134].
Type data:
Syntype(s) NMV F45805 1 slide, Port Phillip Heads; NMV F45690 5 slides, Port Phillip Heads.
Distribution
States
New South Wales, South Australia, Tasmania
Extra Distribution Information
Australian Endemic.
IMCRA
Spencer Gulf Shelf Province (33), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37), Central Eastern Shelf Province (38)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, Lower E coast, S Gulfs coast, Tas. Coast
Ecological Descriptors
Colonial, encrusting, epiphytic, filter-feeder, sessile, subtidal.
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2014 | BRYOZOA Ehrenberg, 1831 | 25-Mar-2014 | MODIFIED | Dr Robin Wilson (NMV) Elizabeth Greaves (NMV) |
| 29-Mar-2010 | MODIFIED |
- Tubiporella Levinsen, G.M.R. 1909. Morphological and systematic studies on the cheilostomatous Bryozoa. Copenhagen : Nationale Forfatteres Forlag 431 pp. [305].
Type species:
Lepralia magnirostris MacGillivray, 1883 by monotypy.
Distribution
States
Tasmania, Western Australia
IMCRA
Southwest Shelf Province (31), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, SW coast, Tas. Coast
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2014 | BRYOZOA Ehrenberg, 1831 | 25-Mar-2014 | MODIFIED | Dr Robin Wilson (NMV) Elizabeth Greaves (NMV) |
| 29-Mar-2010 | MODIFIED |
Species Tubiporella magnirostris (MacGillivray, 1883)
Compiler and date details
July 2001 - Dr Philip Bock
- Lepralia magnirostris Macgillivray, P.H. 1883. Descriptions of new or little-known Polyzoa. Part 2. Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Victoria 19: 130-138 [134].
Type data:
Lectotype NMV F45689 1 slide (chosen by Brown, 1952), Port Phillip Heads.
Paralectotype(s) NMV F45690 5 slides, Port Phillip Heads.
Distribution
States
Tasmania, Western Australia
Extra Distribution Information
Australian Endemic.
IMCRA
Southwest Shelf Province (31), Western Bass Strait Shelf Transition (34), Bass Strait Shelf Province (35), Tasmanian Shelf Province (36), Southeast Shelf Transition (37)
Original AFD Distribution Data
Australian Region
- Australia
- 200 m bathymetric: Bass Strait, SW coast, Tas. Coast
Ecological Descriptors
Colonial, continental shelf, filter-feeder, sessile.
History of changes
| Published | As part of group | Action Date | Action Type | Compiler(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-Mar-2014 | BRYOZOA Ehrenberg, 1831 | 25-Mar-2014 | MODIFIED | Dr Robin Wilson (NMV) Elizabeth Greaves (NMV) |
| 29-Mar-2010 | MODIFIED |