Cladodactyla

Thandar, Ahmed S., Zettler, Michael L. & Arumugam, Preyan, 2010, Additions to the sea cucumber fauna of Namibia and Angola, with descriptions of new taxa (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea), Zootaxa 2655, pp. 1-24 : 10

Cladodactyla sp.?

Figure 5

Material examined. SAM A28097, AHAB-9, stn. -87, Dredge, Angola, 7.236° S, 12.767° E, 10.46, 28.v.2004, 26 m, Forster & Zettler, 1 specimen.

Remarks. There is also present in this collection a minute form, obviously referable to the genus Cladodactyla . However, it was previously dried up and the only thing that remains is a thin layer of body wall with ossicles, but the insides of the specimen are unidentifiable. The specimen is about 4.5 mm long with a narrow anterior and a less narrow posterior end. The body appears to be angular, somewhat resembling the form of C. senegalensis Panning, 1940 a but there is no evidence of any tube feet and the calcareous ring is not identifiable with any degree of certainty. The body wall ossicles comprise imbricating smooth plates, apparently in one or perhaps two layers, each plate being more or less rounded or irregular ( Figure 5 A), up to 133 µm in size, with 3–20 holes. At the broad end of the specimen the plates are slightly elongated, up to 140 µm long, often with two series of holes ( Figure 5 C) whereas at the narrower end they are irregular with fewer holes ( Figure 5 B).

Habitat. Very coarse sediment with median grain size of 730 µm in water depth of 26 m.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Cladodactyla sp. indet. SAM A 28097. A. smooth imbricating plates from body wall; B. plates from the narrower end of the body; C. plates from broader end.