Adelogorgia hannibalis, Breedy, 2018

Breedy, Odalisca, 2018, Revision of the genus Adelogorgia Bayer, 1958 (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia) with the description of three new species, Zootaxa 4369 (3), pp. 327-348 : 341-344

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4369.3.2

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4939D717-EC0A-488C-86C7-62D0BD2F976F

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5977072

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03EA87C4-FFA8-EC3A-FF27-AEEAFED5A27F

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Adelogorgia hannibalis
status

sp. nov.

Adelogorgia hannibalis View in CoL sp. nov.

( Figs. 10–11 View FIGURE 10 View FIGURE 11 , 7B View FIGURE7 )

Material examined.

Holotype: STRI 1206 About STRI A, ethanol preserved, Hannibal Bank , Panamá, 184 m deep, Dive 1552, submersible DeepSee, M / V SeaHunter, 9 March 2012.

Paratypes: STRI 1205, 1206B, 1207-1212, data as the holotype. STRI 1243 About STRI , ethanol preserved, Hannibal Bank , Panamá, 200 m deep, Dive 1552, submersible DeepSee, M / V SeaHunter, 9 March 2012 . STRI-HH 1047 , ethanol preserved, Hannibal Bank , 181 m deep, Dive 288, submersible Nadir, M / V Alucia, 2 April 2015. HH 1088, ethanol preserved, Hannibal Bank, 182 m deep, Dive 290, submersible Nadir, M / V Alucia, 5 April 2015 . STRI-HH 1090 , ethanol preserved, Hannibal Bank , 203 m deep, Dive 290, submersible Nadir, M / V Alucia, 5 April 2015 . STRI-HH 1142 , ethanol preserved, Hannibal Bank , 188 m deep, DR 310, submersible Nadir, M / V Alucia, 5 April 2015.

GenBank accession numbers MF579539 View Materials and MF579542 View Materials .

Diagnosis. Colonies flexible with few branches, branching dichotomous, without anastomoses. Branches thin, of uniform thickness 1.5–2 mm in diameter. Branching up to 12 times, mostly 3–6 times. End branches up to 70 mm long. Polyps distributed all around branches. Polyp mounds prominent, sparsely placed, closer at branch tips. Anthocodiae with about 8 slightly curved spinous rods in points up to 0.2 mm long. Coenenchyme with tuberculate spindles, up to 0.15 mm long, double discs with serrate edges up to 0.11 mm long and 0.09 mm wide; and leaf clubs up to 0.19 mm long. Outermost coenenchyme with predominance of double discs. Axial sheath with less complex spindles and smaller radiates. Colony orange. Sclerites orange, red, whitish to transparent.

Description. The holotype is a sparse, flexible colony, 18 cm long and 16 cm wide colony. The branching is mostly dichotomous ( Fig. 10A View FIGURE 10 ). The stem, 2 mm diameter and 3 mm long, rises from a 1 cm diameter holdfast. The stem subdivides producing branches of uniform thickness, 1.5–2 mm diameter. They bifurcate mostly 0.5–2.5 cm apart at angles of 30–90°. Some branches extend and curl inwards in larger angles (180°). The colony branches up to 12 times. Unbranched terminal ends are 3–7 cm long ( Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 A-B). The polyps are distributed all around the branches, up to 2 mm apart, closer at the tips ( Fig. 10B View FIGURE 10 ). The axes are composed of longitudinal gorgonin layers with a loculated central cord filled with organic fibres without mineralization ( Fig. 7B View FIGURE7 ). The polyps are fully retractile into raised polyp mounds, 0.5-0.75 mm height, with circular apertures ( Fig. 10B View FIGURE 10 ). The polyp mounds do not have a special type of sclerites but they mostly contain leaf clubs and spindles. The anthocodiae are composed of eight points consisting of a few vertically arranged spiny rods each one, without a collaret. The anthocodial rods are 0.148–0.2 mm long and 0.029–0.06 mm wide ( Fig. 11A View FIGURE 11 ). The coenenchyme is thin. The superficial layer with a dominance of double discs. Beneath this layer, warty spindles, radiates, and immature forms. The leaf clubs are 0.11–0.196 mm long and 0.04–0.08 mm wide (at the head) with warty handlers and from elongated warts to foliate heads ( Fig. 11B View FIGURE 11 ). The spindles are 0.11–0.17 mm long and 0.06–0.078 mm wide ( Fig. 11C View FIGURE 11 ), immature forms 0.09– 0.10 mm long and 0.05–0.08 mm wide; radiates are 0.05–0.09 mm long and 0.02–0.05 mm wide ( Fig. 11D View FIGURE 11 ). The double discs are 0.06–0.088 mm long and 0.08–0.11 mm wide (along the disc’s crests) ( Fig. 11E View FIGURE 11 ). Coenenchymal sclerites are orange, red and whitish to transparent ( Fig. 10C View FIGURE 10 ). Colour of the colony is orange, with reddish polyp mounds ( Fig. 10 View FIGURE 10 A-B).

The colony has some nude branches colonised by polychaete tubes and cirripedia.

Variability. The colony colour varies to lighter hues of orange in some paratypes (STRI 1209, 1212) and the branch thickness reaches up to 3 mm in the paratype STRI 1212. The polyp mounds extend up to 1 mm in STRI 1212. The paratype series are 7-16.5 cm long. All of them with scant branching, less than the holotype, which is the most copious colony. The paratype sclerites are consistent with the holotype.

Habitat and Distribution. The species was found on the Hannibal Bank, a coastal guyot-type seamount that rises from approximately 500 m to 45 m, located 50 km from the mainland ( Cunningham et al. 2013). The seamount is relatively protected as part of the Coiba National Park and World Heritage. The species was found on rocky substrate with strong currents. It is only known from the type locality, Hannibal Bank, from 180 to 200 m deep.

Etymology. Named after the Hannibal Bank and the surveyor USS Hannibal that discovered and charted the bank for the first time, presumably in 1934. The name Hannibal evokes the Carthaginian general, considered one of the greatest military commanders in ancient history. In genitive: hannibalis (L) meaning ¨of Hannibal¨.

Remarks. This species is the only one that has colonies with elongated branches and free branches up to 7 cm long. Furthermore, it has a characteristic orange colony. The closest species is A. osculabunda (as discussed above). However, the flabellate branching pattern in A. osculabunda , the prominent polyp-mounds and the coenenchymal sclerites, make clear distinction among these two species. The comparative characteristics are in Tables 1 and 2.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Cnidaria

Class

Anthozoa

Order

Alcyonacea

Family

Gorgoniidae

Genus

Adelogorgia

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