Salacia alata
General description:
Holotype: NTM C 12646, NTM C12647, MV F86914, microslides from holotype; infertile colony on red alga on Eunice tubifex, West of North Peron Island, Northern Territory, Australia [12°06.96'S, 129°58.86'E].
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Taxon
Salacia alata Watson, 2000
Salacia alata
General description:Salacia alata resembles Salacia dubia Billard, 1922, but in that species the hydrothecae are conical, not tubular, not bent acutely outwards and the species lacks an internal abcauline shelf.
Salacia alata
General description:The specific name, ‘alata’, refers to the sharply bent wing-shaped hydrothecae.
Salacia alata
General description:Hydrorhiza tubular, reptant on alga.
Stems simple, to 12 mm high, monosiphonic, proximal stem tubular, of same diameter as hydrorhiza, athecate, of variable length, ending in a strong hinge joint; perisarc moderately thick, smooth. Stem internodes short, nodes transverse, collar-shaped, sometimes indistinct, a pair of hydrothecae on each internode, infrathecal and suprathecal parts short.
Hydrothecae biseriate, opposite, tubiform, narrowing distally, adcauline walls in contact in front, separated behind, conjoined part straight to convexly curved, of variable length, free adcauline wall bending sharply outwards to become almost perpendicular or at obtuse angle to cauline axis, abcauline wall straight, a thick shelf of perisarc in flexure. Margin of hydrotheca tilted downwards at c. 45° to cauline axis with two small opposite lateral cusps, aperture subcircular, sometimes a remnant of abcauline opercular flap inside, marginal perisarc thin.
Hydranth without caecum, with 16 - 20 tentacles.
Colour: Pale honey brown.
Distribution:Northern Australia (Northern Territory).
Habitat:Subtidal, epiphytic on algae and epizoic on invertebrates.