Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand. Part 4

Transactions and Proceedings of the Royal Society of New Zealand, Volume 80, 1952, Page 59

Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand. Part 4 By C. R. Russell, 108 Knowles Street, Christchurch [Read before the Canterbury Branch, June 6, 1951; received by the Editor, June 15, 1951] Summary This paper contains a list of nineteen species of the Rotatoria not previously recorded in New Zealand. Nearly all the specimens were collected from small, weedy lakes and acid water swamps in the South Island. Keratella carinata, described as a new species in a previous paper, in this series is now declared to be a synonym of K. javana Hauer. Introduction From the samples that have been collected from the larger lakes of the South Island it is thought that a large portion of the rotifer fauna from these habitats has now been listed, and out of nine collections made during 1950–1 only two unrecorded species were found. Representative samples from North Island lakes, so far, do not show the wide variety of species found in the Southern lakes, but this may be due to the method of collection. Intensive collections will have to be made from the Northern lakes covering the seasonal changes of temperature and pH before any reliable indication can be gained of their populations. Alkaline pools and lakes generally have the largest populations, but acid swamps contain a larger variety of species. Two collections from North Canterbury swamps contained only two rotifers that had previously been recorded in this country, the remainder being unlisted. The rotifers so far found in New Zealand are contained in the following papers: Russell, “A New Rotifer from New Zealand,” Jour. Royal Micr. Soc., 1944, vol. 64, pp. 121–3. Russell, “A Reference List of the Rotatoria of New Zealand with Ecological Notes,” Trans. Royal Soc. N.Z., vol. 75. pp. 102–23. Russell, “Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand, Part I,” Trans. Royal Soc. N.Z., vol. 76, pp. 403–8. Russell, “Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand, Part 2.” Trans. Royal Soc. N.Z., vol. 77, pp. 351–4. Russell, “Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand, part 3,” Trans. Royal Soc. N.Z., vol. 78, pp. 161–6. Russell, “The Rotatoria of the Upper Stillwater Swamp.” Canterbury Museum Records, vol. 5, no. 5. At the suggestion of some rotifer workers the species have been listed in this paper in alphabetical order instead of being arranged in their systematic position. When Part 3 of “Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand” was written a number of unidentified slides remained from Professor E. Percival's collections from the Southern Lakes; these are included in this paper and marked (P) under the heading, “locality”. Genus Colurella Colurella hindenburgi Steinecke, 1916 1916. Schrift. Phys-okonom. Ges Konigsberg i P. Jahrg. 57: 90. 97. Locality. Lake Ellesmere, temp. 14°C, brackish water. Common. Lenth body 100μ, width 40μ, toes 52μ. Specimens generally were larger, and more acute posteriorly than those described by Steinecke.

Genus Cupelopagis Cupelopagis vorax (Leidy) 1857. Dictyophora vorax Leidy. Prod. Acad. Nat. Sc. Phila., vol. 9, p. 205. Locality. Victoria Lake, and lily ponds in Wilson's Nursery, Christchurch. Temp. 21–23°C. pH 8. Abundant. Both the free-swimming immature forms and the fully developed sessile females were found. Over-all length of fully grown animal 550μ, maximum width of body 270μ. Genus Cephalodella Cephalodella physalis Myers, 1924. 1924. Rotifer Fauna Wis., pt 2. Wis. Acad. Sc. Art. Lett., vol. 23, pp. 484–5. Locality. Acid water swamp near L. Katrine, North Canterbury. Temp. and pH unknown. Common. Length over all 160μ, toes 40μ, trophi 30μ. Cephalodella tantilla Myers, 1924 1924. Rotifer Fauna Wis., pt. 2, Wis. Acad. Sc. Art. Lett., vol. 23, p. 486. Locality. L. McGregor, Canterbury. Not common. Normal specimens. (P.) Genus Eosphora Eosphora anthadis Harring and Myers, 1920. 1920. Rotifer Fauna Wis., pt. 1, Wis. Acad. Sc. Art. Lett., vol. 20, pp. 641–2. Locality. Acid water swamp near L. Katrine, North Canterbury. Not common. Length 500μ over all. Genus Euchlanis Euchlanis meneta Myers, 1930 1930. Rotifer Fauna Wis., pt. 5, Wis. Acad. Sc. Art. Lett., vol. 25, p. 378. Locality. L. McGregor, Canterbury. Common. Length dorsal plate 160μ, width 140μ. Length ventral plate 140μ, width 100μ. Toes 70μ. The lateral sulci are very deep in most specimens which are longer and wider than those described by Myers. (P.) Genus Filinia Filinia terminalis (Plate) Triartha terminalis Plate. 1886. Jenische Natura., vol. 19, p. 19. Locality. L. Pearson, Canterbury. Temp 9°C. Common. It has also been found sparingly in other high-altitude lakes. I agree with Edmondson (1935) that F. terminalis (Plate) is not a synonym for L. longiseta Ehrenberg. In L. Pearson, specimens were found having a body-length of 400μ, and appendages 500μ and 480μ respectively in length. Apart from the much greater size of F. terminalis it differs from F. longiseta in both the anterior and posterior details and shape of body. (P.) Genus Lecane Lecane (Monostyla) pygmaea Daday, 1897. 1897. Lecane (Monostyla) pygmaea Daday. Math. Termész Ertes, vol. 15, p. 139. Locality. Acid water swamp near L. Katrine, North Canterbury. Not common. Length over all 146μ. Lecane arcula Harring, 1914. 1914. Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus., vol. 47, p. 539. Locality. Acid swamp near L. Katrine. North Canterbury. Not common. Length over all 146μ.

Russell—Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand Lecane luna var. presumpta Ahlstrom 1938. 1938. Jour. Elisha Mitchell Sci. Soc., vol. 54, no 1, p. 97. Locality. L. McGregor, Canterbury. Fairly common. Length over all 163μ. (P.) Genus Lepadella Lepadella latusinus var. americana Myers, 1934. 1934. Amer. Mus. Nov. no. 760, p. 7. Locality. L. Ellesmere. Canterbury, a brackish lake, and in L. McGregor, Canterbury, where it occurred in Professor Percival's collections. L. latusinus was described by Hilgendorf (1899) from Taieri Beach, and was also found at Mt. Cook by Murray; it has since been found in many habitats. L. latusinus is a very variable species. and it is considered that a search would show a complete range of forms from L. latusinus to var. americana Lepadella whitfordi Ahlstrom, 1938. 1938. Jour. Elisha Mitchell Sc. Soc., vol. 54, no. 1, p. 100. Locality. L. McGregor, Canterbury. Not common. Length over all 133μ. The collar was clear but not pronounced. (P.) Genus Mytilina Mytilina trigona (Gosse) Diplax trigona Gosse. 1851. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, sei. 2, vol. 8, p. 201. Locality. L. McGregor, Canterbury. Not common. Total length 185μ, toes 70μ. (P.) Genus Pompholyx Pompholyx complanata Gosse, 1851. 1851. Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist, sei. 2. vol. 8, p. 203. Locality. L. Pearson, Canterbury. Common. Length. 114μ. (P.) Pompholyx sulcata Hudson, 1885. 1885. Jour. Royal Micr. Soc. p. 613. Locality. L. Alice Temp. 8°C. pH 6. Not common. Total length 115μ. Genus Proales Proales longidactyla Edmondson, 1948. 1948. Amer. Micr. Soc., vol. LXVII, pp. 150–2. Locality. Acid water swamp near L. Katrine, North Canterbury. Not common. Total length of animal 146μ, head 41μ, toes 20μ. The specimens differ in several particulars from the animal described by Edmondson: the head is longer, there are a number of longitudinal folds round the body, the toes are shorter with their distal points recurved, and in dorsal view the animal is somewhat bdelloidal in appearance. In trophi and other details the animals are identical. It should be noted that Edmondson's specimens came from the psammon. Genus Scepanotrocha Scepanotrocha rubra Bryee, 1910. 1910. Quek. Micr. Club. ser. 2; vol. II p. 78. Locality. Acid swamp near L. Katrine, North Canterbury. Not common Length over all 212μ; 7–8 teeth on each ramus. This is the first time any member of this genus has been recorded in New Zealand.

Genus Squatinella Squatinella mutica (Ehrenberg) Stephanops muticus Ehrenberg. 1831 Abh. Akad. Wiss. Berlin. p. 138. Locality. Pools near Auckland, where it was collected by Mr. I. W. T. Munro, of Christchurch. Total length 110μ. Fairly common. Genus Trichotria Trichotria truncata (Whitelegge) Dinocharis truncatum Whitelegge. 1889. Proc. Royal Soc. N.S.W, vol. 23, p. 315. Locality. L. McGregor, Canterbury. Not common Length of body 110μ, width 90μ. foot 45μ, toes 90μ (P.) Acknowledgments This paper would not have been possible without the assistance I have received from a number of people throughout the Dominion who have sent me samples. I would like to thank Professor E. Percival, of Canterbury University College, for the use of his extensive back-country lake collections; Mr. H. Talbot, of Springfield, for collections from the Lake Katrine and other districts; Mr. B. T. Cunningham, of the Fisheries Laboratory, Wellinington, for samples from Lake Alice; Mr. I. W. T. Murno, of Christchurch, for collections from Auckland; Miss Violet Jolly, of Otago University, for samples from both North Island and Southern lakes. I am also indebted to Mr. K. M. Wilson, of Christchurch, for the use of the ponds at his plant nursery, where the life history of some sessile rotifers is being studied. Bibliography Edmondson, W. T., 1935. Some Rotatoria from Amzona Trans. Amer. Micr. Soc., vol. 54. no 4. p. 303. Edmondson, W. T., 1948. Two New Species of the Rotatoma from Sandy Beaches. Trans. Amer. Micr. Soc, vol. 67, no 2, pp. 150–2 Hilgendorf, F. W., 1899. A Contribution to the Rotitera of New Zealand Trans. Royal Soc. N.Z., vol. 31, p. 131. Russell, C. R. See introduction. Correction to “Additions to the Rotatoria of New Zealand.” Part 3 Trans. Royal Soc. N.Z., vol. 78, pp. 161–6. Keratella carinata n.sp. Dr. Bruno Berzins, of Lunds University, Sweden, has very kindly forwarded me a description and sketch of Keratella cochlearis var. Javana Hauer, 1937 Archiv. Hydrobiol., supl. xv, p. 382. This animal was described from a single specimen collected from Java. Ahlstrom, Bull. Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist, vol. LXXX, p. 434, gives a description of Hauer's animal without a drawing, and raises it to specific rank as K. javana Hauer. Although K. carinata differs in the length and shape of the anterior and posterior spines, the dorsal patterns which are of an unusual type are identical, and from a re-examination of the material I have no hesitation in saying that K. carinata must be considered a synonym for K. javana Hauer. I am much indebted to Dr. Berzins for sending me the description with a sketch of the type specimen.