Tethocyathus prahli Lattig & Cairns, 2000

Reyes, Javier, Santodomingo, Nadiezhda & Cairns, Stephen, 2009, Caryophylliidae (Scleractinia) from the Colombian Caribbean, Zootaxa 2262 (1), pp. 1-39 : 10

Tethocyathus prahli Lattig & Cairns, 2000

Figs. 2N–O

Tethocyathus prahli Lattig & Cairns, 2000: 590–595 , fig 1.

Remarks: T. prahli is one of the few extant scleractinian species with a transpanamic distribution. This species was described based on specimens collected in the Colombian Caribbean and Cocos Island, and fossil material dating from the early Pleistocene ( Panama, Pacific coast), suggesting a relictual distribution of a previously more widespread species. In the Caribbean Sea, T. prahli has been found settled on empty shells of Pomacea sp. (a freshwater gastropod) and sea urchin skeletons. New material was collected in the Colombian Pacific represented by six T. prahli specimens; some of them were found in a well preserved condition, attached to empty shells of the gastropod Polystira sp. , but the majority of these Pacific samples were skeletons settled on wood debris and mud consolidates. T. prahli specimens are associated with river flow debris deposits in both the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. There are some morphological differences among the specimens according to their geographical distribution. Thus, thecal rings in the Caribbean corallites are thin and extend to near the calicular edge, whereas in the Pacific specimens the rings are retracted into the calicular space; palar ornamentation in the Caribbean samples is smaller, about 2/3 the size in comparison to the Pacific corallites.

Distribution: Previously known only from the type localities off the Magdalena River delta ( Colombia) and Cocos Island ( Costa Rica), between 303 and 333 m ( Lattig & Cairns 2000). Our records extend the distribution of T. prahli to the northern coast of the Colombian Pacific, off Octavia Bay to off the San Juan River delta (see Fig. 1 ); from 76 to 295 m depth. In the Caribbean, it is known from off the Magdalena River delta to off Punta Gallinas. The bathymetric range was also extended up to 76 m depth, off the northern coast of the Colombian Pacific.

Material: INV CNI241 , 1 specimen, holotype , E49; INV CNI242 , 1 specimen, paratype , E49; INV CNI905 , 4 specimens , E89; INV CNI320 , 1 specimen , SB2424 ( Cocos Island ); INV CNI1514 , 6 specimens , P14E11a115; INV CNI1516 , 1 specimen , P1E22b37; INV CNI1517 , 2 specimens , P3E17b27; INV CNI1518 , 1 specimen , P3E17b27.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Sites in the Colombian Caribbean Sea where Caryophylliidae specimens have been collected. Dashed lines show 100, 200, 500 and 1000 m depth isobaths, respectively. Upper left, general location showing the Exclusive Economic Zone of Colombia (gray line), in both Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean: 1, San Andres and Old Providence Archipelago; 2, stations at the northern coast of the Colombian Pacific.

FIGURE 2. A–B, Caryophyllia berteriana, INV CNI2553, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 1.5; C, Caryophyllia crypta, USNM 99187, Santa Marta, paratype, x 4; D–E, Caryophyllia barbadensis, INV CNI669, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 10; F–G, Caryophyllia ambrosia caribbeana, INV CNI364, off La Rada inlet, calicular and lateral views, both x 1.6; H–I, Coenocyathus parvulus, INV CNI671, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 10; J–K, Trochocyathus rawsonii, INV CNI681, off Gulf of Morrosquillo, calicular and lateral views, both x 3.2; L–M, Trochocyathus sp. cf. T. fasciatus, INV CNI379, off Santa Marta, calicular and lateral views, both x 4.6; N, Tethocyathus prahli, INV CNI905, off La Guajira (Punta Gallinas), calicular view x 2.7; O, T. prahli, INV CNI1514, off Chocó, Pacific Ocean, calicular view x 2.7; P–Q, Tethocyathus variabilis, INV CNI2404, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 4; R–S, Paracyathus pulchellus, INV CNI2305, off La Guajira, calicular and lateral views, both x 4.4; T–U, Polycyathus senegalensis, INV CNI809, off La Guajira, calicular view and colony, both x 2.7; V, Cladocora debilis, INV CNI877, off Palomino, colony fragment showing typical branching pattern, x 0.8. Scale bars for A–B, F–G,V = 1 cm;C, J–U = 5 mm; D–E, H–I = 1 mm.