Endothecium reduplicatum Fraser 1935

Endothecium reduplicatum Fraser, 1935b

Endothecium reduplicatum Fraser, 1935b: 107, pl. 1, figs. 3a–c.

Sagamihyra reduplicata.— Hirohito, 1995: 42 [incorrect original spelling].

Sagamihydra reduplicata.— Hirohito, 1995: 43, figs. 12 a–d, pl. 3, fig. D.

Halecium reduplicatum.— Bouillon et al., 2006: 313.

Syntypes. BCPM 976-00457-001: Japan, Sagami Bay, several colony fragments, some detached and others on small rocks, in poor condition, with gonothecae, labelled " type "; 60% IPA.

BCPM 976-00457-002: Japan, Sagami Bay, three fragments, up to 1.3 cm high, in fairly good condition, with gonothecae; slide.

BCPM 976-00457-003, Japan, Sagami Bay, one colony fragment, 7 mm high, in only fair condition, with gonothecae; slide.

Lectotype, by present designation. RBCM 976-00457-004: Japan, Sagami Bay, one colony fragment (longest colony fragment on slide BCPM 976-00457-002), 1.3 cm high, in fairly good condition, with gonothecae; slide.

Paralectotypes. BCPM 976-00457-001: Japan, Sagami Bay, several colony fragments, some detached and others on small rocks, in poor condition, with gonothecae, labelled " type "; 60% IPA.

BCPM 976-00457-002: Japan, Sagami Bay, two colony fragments, up to 1.1 cm high, in fairly good condition, without gonothecae; slide.

BCPM 976-00457-003: Japan, Sagami Bay, one colony fragment, 7 mm high, in only fair condition, with gonothecae; slide.

Type locality. Japan: Sagami Bay, Hayama, at low tide (Fraser 1935b).

Current status. Valid, as Sagamihydra reduplicata (Fraser, 1935b).

Remarks. Endothecium reduplicatum is based on hydroids from the collection of Emperor Hirohito of Japan, sent for identification to Fraser by Dr. Hirotaro Hattori. No name-bearing type of the species has previously been designated. The first of the syntype samples listed above from the Fraser Hydroid Collection at the RBCM, in fluid (BCPM 976-00457-001) and containing a label marked “ type ”, has been dry in the past and is now in poor condition. Syntype specimens on the two slides, likely taken from the same material in fluid preservative, are much better preserved. The best specimen, designated here as the lectotype (RBCM 976-00457-004), is the longest colony fragment on the first of these slides (BCPM 976-00457-002). It can also be identified as the fragment on the right and the only fragment having gonothecae. Detailed collection data are lacking for all three collections of the species at the RBCM.

Other specimens of this hydroid, collected from the type locality prior to its original description by Fraser (1935b), exist in the Emperor Shōwa Hydroid Collection at NMNS (NSMT-HyR 954; NSMT-HyR 956). We do not know if any of these were examined by Fraser in describing the species. They have not been included here in the syntype series.

As noted above, Endothecium Fraser, 1935b is a junior homonym and has been replaced by Sagamihydra Hirohito, 1995. The species upon which it was based on is considered valid (Hirohito 1995, as Sagamihydra reduplicata; WoRMS, as Halecium reduplicatum). Sagamihydra reduplicata was subsequently reported, but not described or illustrated, from Panama and Mexico in the tropical eastern Pacific by Fraser (1938a, 1948).