Isarachnanthus bandanensis Carlgren, 1924

Stampar, Sérgio N., Mills, V. Sadie & Keable, Stephen J., 2020, Ceriantharia (Cnidaria) from Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica with Descriptions of Four New Species, Records of the Australian Museum 72 (3), pp. 81-100 : 95

Isarachnanthus bandanensis Carlgren, 1924

Isarachnanthus bandanensis Carlgren, 1924: 187–190 , 195; Cutress, 1977: 145; den Hartog, 1977: 235; Cutress & Arneson, 1987: 54, 56–58; den Hartog, 1997: 352; Stampar et al., 2012: 1–2, 5–9.

Specimen examined. AM G18865, South end of Casuarina Beach, Lizard Island, Queensland, Australia (near rock on rubble reef), 14.6811°S 145.4470°E (xii/1974), low tide .

Remarks. This is a nocturnal species, so observing individuals of it requires a specific approach and opportunities for this are limited in many locations. The specimen examined is not complete and is a young individual with no gonads, but it is possible to verify it has a well-formed mesentery. Carlgren (1924) described the species based on specimens from the Banda Islands, Indonesia. From this text, the diagram of the mesenteries, part of the cnidome and the tentacle organization match the specimen examined here, however there are also similarities to Isarachnanthus panamensis Carlgren, 1924 which need to be resolved through comparison of material from the type locality of both species. Additionally, there is a need for a review of the genus, especially with the use of molecular data, to verify the consistency of Pacific Ocean species.

Distribution. Australia, French Polynesia, Hawaii, and Indonesia, depth: shallow waters.