Family ONYCHOCELLIDAE Jullien, 1882

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• Onychocellidae Jullien, J. 1882. Note sur une nouvelle division des Bryozoaires Cheilostomiens. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France. Évolution et Zoologie 6: 271-285 [276].

Introduction

The family Onychocellidae was introduced by Jullien in 1882, for several Cretaceous and other genera with Recent and fossil representatives, which included Onychocella and Smittipora (Harmer 1926).

These two genera have autozooids with a well-developed cryptocyst lamina and large opesia. Avicularia are vicarious or interzooidal, and characteristically have a mandible with a central strengthening sclerite bordered by expanded 'wings' of cuticle. In Onychocella the avicularium is unilaterally curved, but in Smittipora the wings are symmetrical. Brooding zooids are slightly dimorphic, with an enlarged opesia and an interior ovisac.

Colonies of Smittipora are usually encrusting, and are often associated with coral and shell in shallow shelf waters. However, d'Hondt (1986) described an erect 'adeoniform' species, S. adeoniformis, from 150-180 metres depth from New Caledonia, northeast from Australia. Other Australian records seem to be confined to those from Queensland listed by Harmer (1926) as Smittipora abyssicola and now referred to S. harmeriana (Winston & Heimberg 1986), and to Micropora abyssicola, described by MacGillivray (1891) from North West Australia, which Harmer referred to Smittipora cordiformis.

Although most species assigned to the Onychocellidae have a tropical to subtropical range, one genus occurs from the Antarctic and subAntarctic. Chondriovelum was introduced by Hayward & Thorpe (1988) for C. adeliense, a species originally referred to Labioporella by Livingstone (1928). C. adeliense has erect, branched colonies, arising from an encrusting base (Hayward 1995). The autozooids are thinly calcified and the large avicularia have symmetrical wings. C. adeliense is endemic to Antarctica, occurring from Queen Mary Land (92°-97°E) and the Australian Antarctic Territory (63°-167°E) from deep shelf to upper slope depths.

Ogivalia was defined by Jullien (1882) for one Recent and 43 fossil species. The Recent species, Ogivalia elegans d'Orbigny, was subsequently selected as the type species by Canu (1911). It is distributed widely in the magellanic subantarctic region, and extends to the southern Indian Ocean.

Diagnosis

Colony encrusting, forming sheets, or erect, well calcified. Zooids with distinct cryptocyst lamina, and small opesia. Avicularia interzooidal or vicarious, in patterns among zooids, mandibles often with lateral wings of cuticle. Brooding zooids slightly dimorphic, brooding in internal ovisacs.

General References

Canu, F. 1911. Iconographie des Bryozoaires fossiles de l'Argentine. Anales del Museo Nacional de Historia Natural de Buenos Aires ser.3A, XIV 21(3-4): 215-291

D'Hondt, J.-L. 1986. Bryozoaires de Nouvelle-Caledonie et du plateau des Chesterfield. Bulletin du Muséum d'Histoire Naturelle. Paris [published 1895-1906] 4 8: 697-756

Harmer, S.F. 1926. The Polyzoa of the Siboga Expedition. Part 2. Cheilostomata Anasca. Siboga-Expéditie Report 28B: 183-501

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

Hayward, P.J. & Thorpe, J.P. 1988. New genera of Antarctic cheilostome Bryozoa. Cahiers de Biologie Marine 29: 277-296

Jullien, J. 1882. Note sur une nouvelle division des Bryozoaires Cheilostomiens. Bulletin de la Société Zoologique de France. Évolution et Zoologie 6: 271-285

Livingstone, A.A. 1928. The Bryozoa, Supplementary Report. Australasian Antarctic Expedition, 1911-14, Scientific Reports, Series C: Zoology & Botany 9: 1-93

Winston, J.E., & Heimberg, B.F. 1986. Bryozoans from Bali, Lombok, and Komodo. American Museum Novitates 2847: 1-49

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