A new alien bryozoan <i>Celleporaria brunnea</i> (Hincks, 1884) in the Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean)

Abstract

SUMMARY: The ascophoran Bryozoa Celleporaria brunnea, a new record for the Mediterranean Sea, was found on Mytilus galloprovincialis collected in the inner part of Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea, Turkey) in September 2004. The species was previously reported from the Pacific coast of the United States. Its occurrence in the polluted inner part of Izmir Bay, near Alsancak Harbour, suggests that it has been newly introduced to the area, possibly via ship hulls. The morphological, ecological and zoogeographical characteristics of the species are given and discussed.

Further Mediterranean expansion of the non-indigenous bryozoan <em>Celleporaria brunnea</em>: multiple records along the Italian coasts

“…Morphological characters described for our specimens, such as the colour of the colony, the suboral and interzooecial avicularia, the ooecium and the oral spines, are in accordance with the original descriptions of Hincks (1884) and the later ones of Hastings (1929), Osburn (1952), Soule (1961, Soule and Soule (1964), Soule et al (1995), Koçak (2007), Seo andMin (2009), Canning-Clode et al (2013) and Harmelin (2014). Despite these morphological similarities, a comparison between our morphometric measurements and literature data has highlighted some differences.…”

“…Orifice measurements are mostly in accordance with those previously reported for H. brunnea material from Ecuador (Osburn 1952). On the other hand, orifice measurements of our specimens are different to those of Koçak (2007), Canning-Clode et al (2013) and Harmelin (2014). Koçak (2007) described the orifice as clearly broader than long, Canning-Clode et al (2013) reported an orifice that is bigger in size in both length and width and Harmelin (2014) reported similar values for both length and width, with just a slightly longer orifice on average.…”

“…On the other hand, orifice measurements of our specimens are different to those of Koçak (2007), Canning-Clode et al (2013) and Harmelin (2014). Koçak (2007) described the orifice as clearly broader than long, Canning-Clode et al (2013) reported an orifice that is bigger in size in both length and width and Harmelin (2014) reported similar values for both length and width, with just a slightly longer orifice on average. In our specimens, the interzooidal avicularia are highly variable and show similarities to those measured by Osburn (1952), Winston (1986) and Koçak (2007), but are different from the smaller values described by Harmelin (2014).…”

“…Koçak (2007) described the orifice as clearly broader than long, Canning-Clode et al (2013) reported an orifice that is bigger in size in both length and width and Harmelin (2014) reported similar values for both length and width, with just a slightly longer orifice on average. In our specimens, the interzooidal avicularia are highly variable and show similarities to those measured by Osburn (1952), Winston (1986) and Koçak (2007), but are different from the smaller values described by Harmelin (2014). Furthermore, in the Californian specimens described by Soule et al (1995), the 'pseudosinus' tends to be closed by small condyles, a feature that was absent in both our specimens and Harmelin's C. sp.…”

“…In 2004, C. brunnea was discovered on aquaculture steel cages in southern Korea, where it was considered to have been introduced from the eastern Pacific Ocean (Seo and Min 2009). In the Mediterranean Sea, C. brunnea was recorded for the first time in 2004 near Alsancak harbour, in the inner part of Izmir Bay (Turkey, Aegean Sea), fouling on Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819 (Koçak 2007). In addition, Harmelin et al (2009) reported the presence of the species in the coastal waters of Lebanon, on the basis of preserved material collected between the late 1990s and the early 2000s.…”