Family HIPPOPODINIDAE Levinsen, 1909

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Introduction

The family Hippopodinidae was introduced for Hippopodina by Levinsen (1909). The type species, H. feegeensis (Busk) is widely distributed from warm waters in the Indo-West Pacific, and is a common coral-associated species. Harmer (1957) gave a large number of records, including Western Australia, but the majority of Australian reports have been from Queensland. Ryland & Hayward (1992) illustrated H. feegeensis from the Great Barrier Reef where it was the commonest species encrusting coral, forming broad, flat, yellowish-brown sheets often exceeding 100 cm. square. They also reported the minute colonies of Thornelya perarmata, which had not been identified from Australia before. Hayward (1995) assigned several genera with an Antarctic distribution to the family, including the two endemic Antarctic species of the genus Dakariella, together with species of the genera Trilochites, Ralepria and Toretocheilum, all of which are encrusting.

Gordon (1984) discussed the Hippopodinidae, including genera which previously had been assigned to the Hippoporinidae. However, the family Hippoporinidae was reinstated (Gordon 1989), and subsequently was shown to be synonymous with the Bitectiporidae (Gordon 1994).

Diagnosis

Colony moderately calcified, encrusting, forming very large sheets, often associated with corals. Multizooidal ancestrular complex sometimes present. Zooids large, often pigmented, with lepralioid frontal shield with numerous pseudopores. Orifice with oral avicularia. Ovicell large, hyperstomial, prominent, with numerous pores similar to the zooid frontal.

General References

Gordon, D.P. 1984. The marine fauna of New Zealand: Bryozoa: Gymnolaemata from the Kermadec Ridge. New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir 91: 1-198

Gordon, D.P. 1989. The marine fauna of New Zealand: Bryozoa: Gymnolaemata (Cheilostomida Ascophorina) from the western south Island continental shelf and slope. New Zealand Oceanographic Institute Memoir 97: 1-158

Gordon, D.P. 1994. Tertiary bryozoan genera in the present-day Australian fauna - Implications for classification and biogeography. Invertebrate Taxonomy 8: 283-298

Harmer, S.F. 1957. The Polyzoa of the Siboga Expedition. Part 4. Cheilostomata Ascophora II. Siboga-Expéditie Report 28D: 641-1147

Hayward, P.J. 1995. Antarctic cheilostomatous Bryozoa. Oxford, New York, Tokyo : Oxford University Press 355 pp.

Levinsen, G.M.R. 1909. Morphological and systematic studies on the cheilostomatous Bryozoa. Copenhagen : Nationale Forfatteres Forlag 431 pp.

Ryland, J.S. & Hayward, P.J. 1992. Bryozoa from Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 32(1): 223-301

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