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Family: Halopterididae
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Polyp: Colonies erect. Hydrorhiza creeping, branching stolons. Hydrocaulus monosiphonic, unbranched, with basal part devoid of hydrothecae and hydrocladia, homomerously segmented by (mostly) oblique nodes. Hydrocladia alternate. Hydrothecae on hydrocaulus and hydrocladia. Cauline thecate internodes with one hydrotheca and three or four nematothecae each: one median inferior, one pair of laterals, and one smaller in upper axil of hydrotheca (the latter can be missing but is most often found). Cladial thecate internodes with three nematothecae: one median inferior and one pair of laterals. Cauline and cladial athecate internodes with only one nematotheca. Hydrotheca cup-shaped, rim smooth. Nematothecae two-chambered. Reproduction: Gonophores as sporosacs. Gonothecae of both sexes on same cormoid, developing below hydrotheca: female spindle-shaped, with two nematothecae near base; male oblong, with one nematotheca near base. Ecology and Distribution: Western tropical Atlantic. In Bocas del Toro, H. alternata was collected from Punta Hospital, near Bocatorito Bay, and Punta Caracol. Similar taxa: Halopteris diaphana. Congeneric Halopteris carinata has also been recorded in Bocas del Toro. Bocas Species Database Distribution: Bonaire, Aruba, Trinidad, Tobago, Curaçao, Klein Bonaire, Isla la Tortuga, Los Frailes, Antigua, St. Kitts, St. Barthelemy, St. Martin, Virgin Islands, Jamaica, Colombia, and Belize. |