A DESCRIPTION OF SIPHONOPHORA-PORTORICENSIS BRANDT (DIPLOPODA, SIPHONOPHORIDA, SIPHONOPHORIDAE), WITH A CATALOG OF ORDINAL REPRESENTATIVES IN THE NEW-WORLD
Rm. Shelley, A DESCRIPTION OF SIPHONOPHORA-PORTORICENSIS BRANDT (DIPLOPODA, SIPHONOPHORIDA, SIPHONOPHORIDAE), WITH A CATALOG OF ORDINAL REPRESENTATIVES IN THE NEW-WORLD, Journal of Natural History, 30(12), 1996, pp. 1799-1814
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.