Calyptrophora diaphana Cairns, 2012

Cairns, Stephen D., 2018, Primnoidae (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Calcaxonia) of the Okeanos Explorer expeditions (CAPSTONE) to the central Pacific, Zootaxa 4532 (1), pp. 1-43 : 10-11

Calyptrophora diaphana Cairns, 2012

Figs. 1C, 4A –H

Calyptrophora diaphana Cairns, 2012: 56 –57, figs. 3, 9A, 40, 41; 2016b: 119.

Material Examined. EX 1606-9-01, 19.2543˚N, 166.635˚E (south of Wake Island), 1105 m , part of a large colony, SEM stubs 2393-2396, USNM 1424217 ; FK 17-157, 4˚30.827’S, 172˚16.088’W (off Orona Atoll , Phoenix Islands), 1225 m , 19 October 2017, 1 colony, Temple University .

Remarks. This species was adequately described and figured by Cairns (2012) and thus will not be fully redescribed or figured herein. The Wake Island specimen is quite similar to those collected from off New Zealand except that its polyp buccal cowl is not quite as pronounced. This specimen allows for the added observation of the colony form, which in this case is 0.5 m tall and 1.1 m in width, composed of a complicated series of lyrate-branching regions ( Fig. 1C). Also, there are about a dozen hypertrophied regions on this colony measuring about 9 x 9 mm that consist of a dense concentration of about 100 closely-spaced polyps that are not arranged in well define whorls. They do not appear to be galls produced by another organism. The specimen from the Falkor station had its polyps directed upward, contrary to all previously reported specimens, but is otherwise identical.

Comparisons. See C. lyra .

Distribution. Northern New Zealand region, off Wake Island, Phoenix Islands, 680–1225 m.