Family QUADRICELLARIIDAE Gordon, 1984

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Introduction

The family Quadricellariidae was introduced by Gordon (1984) for the genus Quadricellaria, first described for some fossil species from the European Cretaceous by d'Orbigny (1851). The type species, Q. elegans, had erect quadriserial internodes, the pairs of zooids on opposite faces being of different sizes. Nellia has some similar characteristics, and has been assigned to the family (Gordon 1989).

The genus Nellia was introduced for N. oculata by Busk (1852) and placed in the Salicornariadae (now Cellariidae) together with N simplex. N. oculata is a junior synonym of Cellaria tenella Lamarck (1816), who described it from 'les mers Australes'. A full synonymy and discussion was given by Cheetham (1966). N. tenella has erect, quadriserial, jointed colonies, with elongated autozooids, all of the same size range and morphology. The zooids have a mainly proximal gymnocyst and a narrow cryptocyst. A pair of avicularia usually occur on the gymnocyst, each of which may also develop a rhizoid pore proximally. Ovicells are endozooidal and are closed by the operculum. They are not conspicuous and are marked by a slight distal elevation of the distal gymnocyst rim of the brooding zooid.

Four species of Nellia are known from Australia. N. simplex, together with N. tenella (as N. oculata), was listed by Hastings (1932), and N. tenuis by Harmer (1926); the latter two have been recorded from the Great Barrier Reef (Ryland & Hayward 1992). N. appendiculata (Hincks, 1883; 1893) occurs from Port Phillip, Victoria. The species differ in joint structure, and dimensions of autozooids, ovicells and avicularia, but are very similar in general appearance (Winston & Cheetham 1984). Colonies of all three species grow from creeping stolons formed by kenozooids, the erect branches also being anchored into the surface of sponges, algae, etc., which form the usual substrata. Ryland (1974) described colonies as dominant members of the tufted, sward-like growth of similar small, erect species which constitute the distinctive fauna of the shaded surfaces of boulders in shallow water in Queensland (Hall 1984).

Nellia tenella has been reported from Queensland, Victoria and Heard Island (Harmer 1926); it has also been collected off southern Western Australia. The vast range of N. tenella in time extends from the Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) of Jamaica to the Recent, where its distribution is pantropical and pantemperate, although some colder records occur (Winston & Cheetham, 1984).

Nellia has been suggested as the ancestral group from which the genus Vincularia was derived; its relationship with Poricellaria, which has an equally extensive range in time and space, was discussed by Winston & Cheetham (1984).

 

Diagnosis

Colonies erect, usually jointed and branching, of quadriserial branches, with a rooted basal zone. Zooids with gymnocyst developed mainly proximal to the the opesia, and a narrow border of cryptocyst. Ovicells are endozooidal, inconspicuous, with little difference from non-brooding zooids. Adventitious avicularia present or absent, varying in size in different species.

 

General References

Busk, G. 1852. Catalogue of marine Polyzoa in the collection of the British Museum, Part 1. London : Trustees of the British Museum pp. 1-54.

Cheetham, A.H. 1966. Cheilostomatous Polyzoa from the Upper Bracklesham Beds (Eocene) of Sussex. Bulletin of the British Museum (Natural History) 13(1): 1-115

D'Orbigny, A. 1851. V, Bryozoaires. pp. 1-188 in D'Orbigny, A. (ed.). Paléontologie Française, Terrains Crétacés. Paris : Victor Masson.

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

Hall, D.N. 1984. Cheilostome Bryozoa from Townsville Harbour and Picnic Bay, North Queensland. Proceedings of the Royal Society of Queensland 95: 57-70

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

Hastings, A.B. 1932. The Polyzoa, with a note on an associated hydroid. Scientific Reports of the Great Barrier Reef Expedition 1928-1929 4(12): 399-458

Hincks, T. 1883. Contributions towards a general history of the marine Polyzoa. XI. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 5 11: 193-202

Hincks, T. 1893. Contributions towards a general history of marine Polyzoa. Appendix, continued. Annals and Magazine of Natural History 6 11: 175-182; 12: 140-147

Lamarck, J.B.P.A. de M. 1816. Histoire naturelle des animaux sans vertèbres. Paris : Verdière Vol. 2 568 pp.

Ryland, J.S. 1974. Bryozoa in the Great Barrier Reef Province. Proceedings of the 2nd International Coral Reef Symposium 1: 341-348

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

Winston, J.E., & Cheetham, A.H. 1984. The Bryozoan Nellia tenella as a living fossil. pp. 257-265 in Eldredge, N., & Stanley, S. (eds). Living Fossils. New York : Springer Verlag.

 

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)
		12-Feb-2010	(import)