Porcupinella profunda Lopez-Gonzalez & Williams, 2011

Williams, Gary C., 2021, The deep-sea pennatulacean genus Porcupinella - with the description of a new species from Tasmania (Anthozoa, Octocorallia, Chunellidae), ZooKeys 1019, pp. 1-14 : 1

publication ID

https://dx.doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1019.61789

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:52C45355-2309-473A-9ABB-77B1D01A4FCD

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/0DEE81B7-C4B0-508A-962D-CB1FE0377564

treatment provided by

ZooKeys by Pensoft

scientific name

Porcupinella profunda Lopez-Gonzalez & Williams, 2011
status

 

Porcupinella profunda Lopez-Gonzalez & Williams, 2011 Figures 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 , 6 View Figure 6

Porcupinella profunda López-González & Williams, 2011: 311; Cordeiro et al. 2020b.

Material examined.

(Non-type/Voucher). CASIZ 180424, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Porcupine Abyssal Plain (48°49.64'N, 16°30.12'W); 4841 m; 17 March 1998; coll. BENGAL cruises (EU Marine Science and Technology Programme, 1994-1998, Bottom Trawl); two whole colonies wet-preserved in 75% ethanol, original fixative 3% buffered formalin. CASIZ 180425, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Porcupine Abyssal Plain (48°48.30'N, 16°25.97'W); 4839 m; 19 March 1998; coll. BENGAL cruises (EU Marine Science and Technology Programme, 1994-1998, Bottom Trawl); two whole colonies wet-preserved in 75% ethanol, original fixative 3% buffered formalin. CASIZ 180426, Northeast Atlantic Ocean, Porcupine Abyssal Plain (48°47.82'N, 16°40.37'W); 4847 m; 10 January 1998; coll. BENGAL cruises (EU Marine Science and Technology Programme, 1994-1998; Bottom Trawl); two whole colonies wet-preserved in 75% ethanol, original fixative 3% buffered formalin.

Habitat and distribution.

Recorded from the eastern Atlantic Ocean from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (southwest of Ireland), south to equatorial latitudes, 4510-5300 m in depth. ( López-González and Williams 2011: 314) (Fig. 6A View Figure 6 ).

Description.

The six whole colonies from the Porcupine Abyssal Plain that were examined for this study range in length from 29-41 mm (Figs 4 View Figure 4 , 5 View Figure 5 ). The colonies are slightly crescent-shaped to more-or-less straight. The polyp-bearing portion of the upper stalk is somewhat widened, forming a keel, where the relatively large lateral polyps are arranged (Fig. 4 View Figure 4 ). The axis is present throughout the length of the colonies, and is discernably wider in the rachis and is very close to the surface, which provides more rigidity to the polyp-bearing portion of the rachis. The total number of autozooids in any given colony is generally five - one terminal polyp and four lateral polyps. The siphonozooids are not particularly numerous and are presented as low rounded mounds on the surface of the rachis between the lateral and terminal autozoods and just proximal to the lateral autozooids. The distal portion of the stalk that contain the polyps is narrowly spearhead-shaped, and ends with a pointed tip or beak (Figs 4 View Figure 4 , 5A, B View Figure 5 ). A single terminal polyp emanates from the base of the distal terminus. Two pairs of lateral polyps are oppositely disposed on the spearhead-shaped upper portion of the stalk. (Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ). The proximal end of the short peduncle is somewhat [slightly] swollen and forms a relatively narrow, elongated bulb (Figs 4 View Figure 4 , 5A, F View Figure 5 ). Conspicuous sclerites are absent in all parts of the colony, with the exception of extremely small ovals in peduncle interior. The color of wet-preserved colonies is uniformly white throughout (Fig. 5 View Figure 5 ).

Remarks.

At least twenty-five collected colonies are known, thirteen of which are deposited at the Muséum national d’Histoire Naturelle (MNHN), six at the Biodiversidad y Ecología de Invertebrados Marinos of the University of Seville (BEIM), and six at the California Academy of Sciences (CAS).

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Cnidaria

Class

Anthozoa

Order

Pennatulacea

Family

Chunellidae

Genus

Porcupinella

Loc

Porcupinella profunda Lopez-Gonzalez & Williams, 2011

Williams, Gary C. 2021
2021
Loc

Porcupinella profunda

Lopez-Gonzalez & Williams 2011
2011