Edwardsia juliae, Daly, Marymegan & Ljubenkov, John C., 2008

Daly, Marymegan & Ljubenkov, John C., 2008, Edwardsiid sea anemones of California (Cnidaria: Actiniaria: Edwardsiidae), with descriptions of eight new species, Zootaxa 1860, pp. 1-27 : 9-10

Edwardsia juliae sp. nov.

Figs. 1 , 5 ; Table 1

Diagnosis. With 12 tentacles and well spaced nemathybomes forming longitudinal rows between each pair of mesenteries. Length of whole animal in contraction 5–10 mm; diameter to 2 mm.

Material examined. Holotype: CAS 175212, San Diego, California, Bight 0 3 Sta. 4278, 33°52.6818’N 118°32.7’W, 22­Jul­2003, 64 m. Paratypes: CAS 175199, collected with holotype (2 specimens); CAS 175200, Monterey Bay, California, 37°1.65024’N 122°16.05045’W, 19­Aug­1999, 50 m; CAS 175203, San Diego, California, 32.49305°N 117°9.7728’W, 23­Jul­1997, 26.2 m (> 10 specimens); CAS 175206, Long Beach, California, 21­Jul­1995, 24 m (2 specimens).

External anatomy. Tentacles short, blunt in contraction, in single cycle of 12 ( Fig. 5 A). Preserved specimens variable in shape from stout to vermiform ( Figs. 5 B, D). Scapus with small nemathybomes in single longitudinal rows between macrocnemes ( Figs. 5 B, E). Periderm thin, sandy, deciduous; scapus beige to grey. Physa slightly rounded or blunt cone, often with sandy film; may be retracted inside scapus ( Figs. 5 B, D, F).

Internal anatomy and histology. Parietal and retractor muscles relatively small, weak ( Figs. 5 C, H). Retractor muscle pennon with single branch ( Fig. 5 C). Branches of retractor widely spaced, typically unramified and variable in height: taller branches on ends, shorter branches in middle ( Fig. 5 C). Parietal muscle trianguloid; central lamella and unramified lateral branches of approximately equal thickness ( Fig. 5 H). Gonochoric; all examined specimens either male or female.

Nemathybomes small, single, slightly protrusive ( Fig. 5 B, C, E). Epidermis and mesoglea of scapus thickest at nemathybomes, relatively thin elsewhere, becoming thick, glandular on physa ( Figs. 5 F, G).

Cnidom. Spirocysts, basitrichs, microbasic p ­mastigophores ( Figs. 5 I– O; see Table 1 for size and distribution).

Etymology. Named for Julie Schneider Ljubenkov, accomplished artist and natural historian of the botanical and marine environment of the Luiseños (Native Americans) in southern California and illustrator of the whole animals for this paper.

Distribution and habitat. Co­occurs with E. olguini on continental shelf of southern California between 10 and 100 m; both may be collected in a single core. Northern range extends into southern Washington (JL, pers. obs.); specimens from northern waters typically larger. In all regions, E. juliae more abundant in sandy than muddy sediments.

Similar species. Only three species of Edwardsia with 12 tentacles have previously been described: E. andresi Danielssen, 1890 , E. fusca Danielssen, 1890 , and E. jonesi Seshaiya & Cutress, 1969 . All of these differ in habitat from E. juliae : the first two are from deeper water of the North Atlantic ( E. andresi : 150–450 m, E. fusca : 270 m; see Fautin 2007); the third is estuarine. Both E. andresi and E. fusca have nemathybomes scattered on the scapus, whereas E. jonesi and E. juliae have nemathybomes in rows. The nemathybome nematocysts differ: at 42.3–52.7 μm, the basitrichs of E. juliae are smaller than those of E. andresi (48–67 μm: Carlgren 1921) and E. jonesi (48–72 μm: Seshaiya & Cutress 1969) and larger than those of E. fusca (31–36 μm: Carlgren 1921).

Remarks. Based on per­sample abundance and frequency of occurrence, this is the most abundant edwardsiid in offshore waters in southern and central California. Although many cores contain a single specimen, small aggregations of 30–40 anemones may be collected in a core (= 300–400/m2); occasionally up to 250 (= 2500/m2) have been collected in cores at 80 m off both Monterey and Los Angeles.

Figures

FIGURE 1. Comparative external anatomy of Edwardsiidae from southern and central California. Scale bar = 5 mm. A. Edwardsia californica (McMurrich, 1913). B. Edwardsia handi sp. nov. C. Edwardsia juliae sp. nov. D. Edwardsia mcmurrichi sp. nov. E. Edwardsia olguini sp. nov. F. Edwardsia profunda sp. nov. G. Paraedwardsia heia sp. nov. H. Scolanthus scamiti sp. nov. I. Scolanthus triangulus sp. nov.

FIGURE 5. Edwardsia juliae sp. nov. A. Tentacle crown. B. External anatomy, holotype CAS 175212. Scale bar = 2 mm. C. Cross section of column, showing retractor muscle, parietal muscle, and nemathybome, CAS 175206. Note dense periderm covering epidermis. Scale bar = 300 μm. D. Size and shape variation of contracted specimens. Scale bar = 10 mm. E. Detail of Fig. 5 B, showing nemathybomes on scapus. F. Longitudinal section through retracted aboral end, CAS 175206. Note denser, thicker epidermis on physa compared to scapus. Scale bar = 400 μm. G. Detail of Fig. 5 F, showing transition between scapus and physa. H. Cross section of parietal muscle, CAS 175206. Scale bar = 100 μm. I – O, Cnidae. Scale bar after O = 20 μm, applies to all capsules. I. Spirocyst. J. Large basitrich of tentacle. K. Small basitrich of tentacle. L. Small basitrich of filament. M. Microbasic p ­ mastigophore of filament. Cnidae of similar size and morphology are found in actinopharynx. N. Large basitrich of nemathybome. O. Large basitrich of filament. Cnidae of similar size and morphology are found in actinopharynx.