A new species of cellaria (Bryozoa: Cheilostomata) from northeastern Brazil, with a tabular identification key to the Atlantic species

Abstract

A new species of the erect cheilostome bryozoan Cellaria Ellis & Solander, 1786 is described from Bahia, NE Brazil. Cellaria oraneae sp. nov. is the first formally characterized species of the genus reported from Northeastern coast of Brazil, distinguished from all congeners by the combination of hexagonal autozooids and rhomboid fertile zooids, hexagonal interzooidal avicularium with sagittate foramen, completely immersed ovicell with oval aperture and proximal rectangular lip. A brief discussion of the diversity of Cellaria from the Atlantic Ocean and a tabular identification key to these species are also provided.