Paraedwardsia heia, 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 : 15-18

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5281/zenodo.183642
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5663833
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/A431015F-FFB6-4B64-DFCC-11BDFAB0F32D
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Paraedwardsia heia
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Paraedwardsia heia View in CoL sp. nov.

Figs 1 View FIGURE 1 , 9 View FIGURE 9 ; Table 3

Diagnosis. With an elongate column bearing tenaculi. Aboral end rounded, with sparse covering of sand grains. Length of whole animal in contraction typically exceeds 15 mm.

Material examined. Holotype: CAS 175217, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 6, 37°40.02'N 123°27.00'W, 22Sep2002, 2697 m. Paratypes: CAS 175225, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 1, 37°41.10'N 123°31.03'W, 11Dec1996, 2799 m; CAS 175248, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 6, 37°39.97'N 123°26.95'W, 16Oct2000, 2730 m; CAS 175228, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 7, 37°39.99'N 123°27.97'W, 13Oct1999, 2805 m; CAS 175220, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 8, 37°40.11'N 123°28.98'W, 5Dec1996, ~ 2850 m; CAS 175244, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 10, 37°40.01'N 123°31.03'W, 16Oct2000, 3065 m; CAS 175233, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 12, 37°39.00'N 123°30.00'W, 21Jan1996, ~ 3015 m; CAS 175219, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 16, 37°38.07'N 123°27.05'W, 3Nov1997, 2690 m (2 specimens); CAS 175247, San Francisco, SFDODS Sta. 16, 37°38.01'N 123°26.98'W, 23Sep2003, 2694 m; CAS 175245, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 17, 37°38.00'N 123°28.03'W, 12Oct1996, 2862 m (3 specimens); CAS 175246, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 17, 37°38.00'N 123°28.03'W, 21Oct2001, 2862 m; CAS 175222, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 18, 37°37.95'N 123°28.93’W, 7Oct1998, 2950 m; CAS 175221, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 23, 37°36.96'N 123°28.93'W, 9Oct1999, 2970 m; CAS 175218, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 23, 37°36.95'N 123°29.02'W, 26Sep2002, 2954 m; CAS 175242, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 24, 37°36.97'N 123°27.92'W, 19Oct2000, 2650 m; CAS 175227, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 57, 37°42.97'N 123°32.95'W, 26Sep2003, 2750 m; CAS 175224, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 57, 37°42.97'N 123°32.95'W, 26Sep2002, 2750 m; CAS 175223, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 108, 37°38.95'N 123°24.94'W, 26Sep2003, 2670 m; CAS 175226, San Francisco, California, SFDODS Sta. 116, 37°35.08'N 123°29.06'W, 26Sep2003, 2730 m.

Tissue Cnida P. heia S. scamiti S. triangulus Tentacle Small basitrich None seen 16.0–24.7 (26.7) x (1.7) 15.6–18.3 x 1.9–2.7

2.1–3.4

Large basitrich 20.8–25.2 x 1.8–2.9 18.4–42.4 x 2.0–3.9 (19.7) 21.7–29.9 x

(3.3) 2.0–3.2

Spirocyst 11.4–16.6 x 2.1–3.3 9.5–17.8 x 1.8–2.8 10.8–18.3 x 2.2–3.6

(3.7)

18–26.4 x 3.1– 4.3

Nemathybome Basitrich Not applicable 33.4–52.4 x 2.3–3.7 63.8–89.8 x 4.0–5.4 Actinopharynx Small basitrich 10.2–14.7 x 1.9–3.2 (15.3) 17.0–20.9 x 1.7– 27.5–40.5 x 2.2–3.2

(3.6) 2.6

Large basitrich 16.7–23.0 x (2.1) 34.1–42.2 x 2.7–4.3 27.5–32.1 x 3.9–4.5

2.5–3.3

Microbasic p –mastigophore 40.0–48.0 x 4.1–5.4 None seen None seen

Filament Small basitrich 18.2–29.0 x 1.7–2.5 19.0 –22.1 x 1.7–2.5 25.6–33.5 x 2.0–2.8

Large basitrich 26.3 –34.5 x 5.2–7.0 29.6–44.8 x 2.9–4.3 50.1–63.8 x 3.2–4.3

(4.8)

Microbasic p –mastigophore 40.2–44.8 x 4.4–6.1 18.5–28.3 x 4.0–5.2 None seen External anatomy. Tentacles conical, blunt, 16, of approximately equal length in preserved specimens. Column slightly wider proximally than distally, divisible into capitulum and scapus ( Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 A). Capitulum faintly ridged, without periderm or adherent sediment; scapus with sand grains and detritus adhering to tenaculi; tenaculi (and thus sediment) sparser proximally ( Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 A). Mesenterial insertions more visible at capitulum than scapus except in highly contracted specimens. Aboral end rounded but not bulbous. Size varies considerably among specimens: expanded individuals 9–32 mm long, 2–3 mm diameter; contracted individuals 4–29 mm long, 0.5–5 mm diameter.

Internal anatomy and histology. Parietal and retractor muscles strong ( Figs. 9 View FIGURE 9 B, C). Retractor muscle branched on both surfaces of mesentery but without distinct pennon ( Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 C). Parietal muscle fanshaped; mesoglea of similar thickness in branches and central lamella; branches closest to body wall highly ramified, grouped, attached to the mesentery by single, slightly longer lamella ( Fig. 9 View FIGURE 9 B). No examined specimens contained gametes.

Cnidom. Spirocysts, basitrichs, microbasic p mastigophores ( Figs. 9 View FIGURE 9 D–G; see Table 3 for size and distribution).

Etymology. The species epithet is a Latin interjection of surprise that approximates our reaction to finding specimens of this genus among samples of Edwardsia and Scolanthus . It should be considered a participle in the nominative singular and translated as “the surprising Paraedwardsia .”

Distribution and habitat. Known only from the basin floor of the Farallons Escarpment, at depths of 2100–3100 m, cooccurring with E. mcmurrichi . These species may replace E. profunda in the greater Pacific Basin.

Similar species. Paraedwardsia previously contained two deep sea species, P. abyssorum Carlgren, 1951 , and P. l e m c h i Carlgren, 1956. Both have notably longer basitrichs in the tentacles than does P. h e i a: 20.8–25.2 μm in P. h e i a, 41–58 μm in P. abyssorum , and 35–50 μm in P. l e m c h i (see Carlgren 1951, 1956). Furthermore, P. h e i a tends to be longer, achieving a maximum length of approximately 30 mm, compared to 20 mm for P. abyssorum or P. lemchi .

Remarks. We infer that P. h e i a is more abundant than E. mcmurrichi in the Farallons Escarpment because P. h e i a was found in more of the samples, and specimens of P. h e i a were more abundant in each sample.