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Hydra braueri Bedot 1912 (Cnidaria: Hydrozoa): investigations into the taxonomic status of an enigmatic species
Author(s) -
CAMPBELL RICHARD D.,
HOLSTEIN THOMAS W.
Publication year - 1991
Publication title -
zoologica scripta
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.204
H-Index - 64
eISSN - 1463-6409
pISSN - 0300-3256
DOI - 10.1111/j.1463-6409.1991.tb00295.x
Subject(s) - lernaean hydra , hydrozoa , biology , cnidaria , taxonomy (biology) , zoology , synonym (taxonomy) , tardigrade , ecology , genus , coral , microbiology and biotechnology
Hydra braueri Bedot, 1912, described 100 years ago by August Brauer, has influenced the development of hydra taxonomy but it has been observed rarely and its characters are puzzling. Hydra braueri has some characters normally associated with H. circumcincta Schulze, 1914 and others associated with H. oligactis Pallas, 1766. We show that the original description of H. braueri was derived from a mixture of these two species. This conclusion is based on an analysis of the original descriptions, on the succeeding literature on the animal, on examination of some of the early specimens still preserved in museums, and from study of other species of European hydra. Thus, H. braueri is a junior synonym of H. circumcincta , but some of the characters associated with the name H. braueri represent H. oligactis .