Muricea pendula Verrill, 1864

Devictor, Susan T. & Morton, Steve L., 2010, Identification guide to the shallow water (0 - 200 m) octocorals of the South Atlantic Bight 2599, Zootaxa 2599 (1), pp. 1-62 : 39

Muricea pendula Verrill, 1864

( Figure 36 )

Muricea elegans (Agassiz ms.), Verrill, 1864a:9.

Muricea pendula Verrill, 1864a:45 . — Deichmann 1936:103; Plate 9 figs. 12–14.— Bayer 1961:191; Fig. 58d–f; Plate V fig. 3.— Cairns et al. 2002:34.

not Muricea pendula .— Riess, 1929:385; Plate 8 fig. 1.[= Muricea laxa Verrill ].— Kükenthal 1924:144.

Material examined. SERTC S 1327, 29 m, off Hilton Head Island , South Carolina, June 4, 2004 . SERTC S 1328, 63 m, off Anastasia Island , Florida, August 30, 2004 . SERTC S 2712, 24 m, off Charleston , South Carolina, August 15, 2006 .

Remarks. Muricea pendula colonies are planar and irregularly pinnate, with the twigs sometimes turned upward. Colonies may reach a large size (up to 0.5 m). The prominent calyces may be sparse around the base of the colony and are quite crowded near the tips. This species displays the strong polyp armature typical of the genus Muricea . Large (up to 1.5 mm) calicular spindles extend out from the calyx rim, giving a spiny or shelf-like effect to the calyces when the polyps are retracted. The large spindles are warty and may have one side that has numerous small spines. Smaller acute, warty spindles are found in the non-calicular coenenchyme, particularly near the base or surrounding the axis. The colony is a dark magenta to bright red when alive, and a dark to dull orange when preserved or dried. The sclerites are amber or orange.

There are numerous lots of this species in the NMNH from the shallow SAB.

Atlantic distribution: North Carolina to Florida Keys; Gulf of Mexico, 13–125 m ( Deichmann, 1936; Bayer, 1961; NMNH collections; SERTC collection).

Figures

FIGURE 36. Muricea pendula: A, sclerites (S1328); a–c) large spindles from calyx; d, e) elongate spindles from coenenchyme; f, g) small spindles from inner coenenchyme; h, i) spindles from coenenchyme (scale bar for a–c = 0.05 mm; d, e = 0.1 mm; f, g = 0.05 mm; h, i = 0.1 mm); B, live specimen (S1328), whole colony (height approximately 30 cm); C, preserved specimen (USNM 49748), showing orientation of sclerites in calyx and surrounding coenenchyme (scale bar = 0.5 mm); SEM image by F. M. Bayer/Smithsonian Institution.