A DESCRIPTION OF SIPHONOPHORA-PORTORICENSIS BRANDT (DIPLOPODA, SIPHONOPHORIDA, SIPHONOPHORIDAE), WITH A CATALOG OF ORDINAL REPRESENTATIVES IN THE NEW-WORLD

Data on geographical distribution are provided for S. portoricensis Br andt, the type species of Siphonophora Brandt and the oldest species-g roup name in the genus, family, and Order; it appears to occur through out Puerto Rico. It is characterized by fusion of the distal three pod omeres of the anterior gonopods, which are sublinear in shorter, less mature males and bend caudad for varying lengths in longer individuals . In the New World, the Siphonophorida is represented by both families , the Siphonorhinidae by one genus and one species, Illacme plenipes C ook and Loomis, from San Benito County, California, and the Siphonopho ridae by 10 genera, six monotypic, 66 extant nominal species, and one subspecies; two fossil species of Siphonophora have been proposed alon g with an unnamed fossil form of Siphonocybe Pocock. The following new combinations are officially recorded: Columbianum gracilicornis (Carl ), Columbiozonium pearsei (Chamberlin), Cordillerium fuhrmanni (Carl), Yucatanium sabachana (Chamberlin), and Guatemalium barberi (Chamberli n). The Siphonophoridae ranges from southern California, northcentral Arizona, and central Texas to the Andes of central Peru and Sao Paulo state, Brazil. It also occurs on 10 islands in the Greater and Lesser Antilles, being newly recorded from Martinique, but apparently does no t cross the Straits of Florida and is unknown from Florida, the Bahama s, and the Turks and Caicos Islands.