Molpadia oolitica ( Pourtalès 1851 ), Pourtales, 1851

Pawson, David L., Pawson, Doris J. & King, Rachael A., 2010, A taxonomic guide to the Echinodermata of the South Atlantic Bight, USA: 1. Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea), Zootaxa 2449, pp. 1-48 : 40-41

Molpadia oolitica ( Pourtalès 1851)

Figure 34

Chiridota oolitica Pourtalès 1851: 13 .

Molpadia oolitica .— Pawson et al, 2001: 322, figs. 3C–E.

Material examined. DML 1475, N.C., 4°22.8’N, 75°51.4’W, R/V Eastward E-60-65, 3 November 29, 1965, 200 m.

Diagnosis. Large species up to 150 mm long; phosphatic bodies abundant, therefore adult animals dark red to blackish. Body wall ossicles three-pillared tables (245 µm in diameter), with up to 12 holes, disc with marginal projections as holes often incomplete; tables reduced with age. Tail with elongate oval tables (110µm long), with three-pillared spire and up to 20 perforations.

Distribution. MA south to E and W FL, Gulf of Mexico.

Habitat. Mud, buried or in shallow depressions in seabed. 90– 720 m.

Remarks. The dark red to blackish body of this species, and the posterior grayish tail, are distinctive.

Figures

FIGURE 34. Molpadia oolitica (Pourtalès 1851). A, whole animal; B, C, body wall tables; D, tail tables; E, phosphatic deposits.