Anthohebella parasitica Ciamician 1880

Anthohebella parasitica (Ciamician, 1880)

Fig. 73 A–C

See Boero et al. (1997a) for a complete synonymy.

Material examined. HCUS-S 0 80 (Hydrozoa Collection, University of Salento—fauna of the Salento Peninsula).

Description (based on our own observations; Boero 1980a; Boero et al. 1997a):

Hydroid. Hydrorhizas single stolons; colonies stolonal; hydranth with conical hypostome; hydrothecae campanulate, with curved margin, usually with annular thickening and a thin membranous diaphragm, on short and annulated pedicels. Gonothecae nearly twice the length of the hydrotheca, originating from hydrorhiza, on short and annulated pedicels tapered basally, wide and truncated distally, with 4–5 opercular flaps.

Swimming gonophores: rounded to cylindrical; manubrium reduced to a spadix, lacking a mouth; 4 radial canals; velum conspicuous; 4 atentaculate marginal bulbs; gonads on spadix.

Cnidome. Microbasic mastigophores.

Habitat type. Epiphytic on other hydroids (Boero & Fresi 1986; Boero et al. 1997a).

Substrate. Aglaophenia kirchenpaueri, A. octodonta, and Sertularella ellisii.

Seasonality. Present all year (Boero & Fresi 1986; De Vito 2006; Puce et al. 2009; this study) in the Mediterranean Sea.

Reproductive period. June–September (Boero & Fresi 1986; Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa 2002), and April (Puce et al. 2009) in the western Mediterranean; January–December (see Bouillon et al. 2004); September–October (De Vito 2006; this study) in Salento waters.

Distribution. Warm waters around the world (Medel & López-González 1996; Boero et al. 1997a; Bouillon et al. 2004; Gravili et al. 2008a).

Records in Salento. Common in the following localities: Torre dell’Inserraglio, Ponte del Ciolo (Presicce 1991); La Strea, Porto Cesareo (Faucci & Boero 2000; Ventura 2011); Otranto (Fraschetti et al. 2002; De Vito 2006; Gravili 2006; Gravili et al. 2008a; this study).

Remarks. The whole cycle was examined in the present study. Anthohebella parasitica is a thecate hydroid producing an anthomedusa (for more details see Boero 1980a).

References. Schneider (1898) as Lafoea parasitica; Babic (1911); Broch (1912) as Lafoëa (?) parasitica; Stechow (1919), Leloup (1934), Picard (1951b, 1958a), Riedl (1959, 1966), Marinopoulos (1979), Boero (1980a, 1981a, b), Boero & Fresi (1986), Gili (1986), Llobet et al. (1986), Riedl (1991), Medel & López-González (1996), all as Hebella parasitica; Boero et al. (1997a); Piraino et al. (1999), Faucci & Boero (2000), Fraschetti et al. (2002), Peña Cantero & García Carrascosa (2002), Bouillon et al. (2004), De Vito (2006), Gravili (2006), Galea (2007), Gravili et al. (2008a), Morri et al. (2009), Puce et al. (2009).