Scutoplites saojorgensis (Berning, 2013) n. comb.

(Fig. 3)

Notoplites marsupiatus: Calvet 1931: 69.

Notoplites saojorgensis Berning 2013: 2, fig. 1.

Material examined. MNHN-IB-2008-4163 (holotype): Princess Alice, Stn 1349, São Jorge, 38°35’30’’N, 28°05’45’’W, 1250 m, 19 Aug. 1902, a large colony free of a substrate, dry (see Berning 2013) (Fig. 3 A–C) . MOM INV-22675 (formerly MOM 42 0877) and MON INV-22988 (formerly MOM 42 1213) (paratypes): same locality information as holotype (see Berning 2013) . Additional material examined using SEM: ZMH Br2029: R / V Meteor, M150, Stn 142, Princess Alice Bank, 37°54.975’N, 29°03.868’W, 995 m, 6 Sept. 2018, a 4.5 cm tall colony in ethanol, sequenced by Orr et al. (2022), Genbank Accession Codes: OK244933, MZ677661, MZ678042 (Fig. 3F) . SMF 44839: R / V Meteor, M151, Stn 47-1, Açor Bank, 38°01.872‘N, 29°25.558‘W, 830 m, 14 Oct. 2018, a large colony (c. 4 cm) on dead coral skeleton, in ethanol . MHNUSC-Bry 789–792: D10, Iberia Seamount “Bolinha”, 39º19‘53.77‘‘N, 29º45‘20.08‘‘W, 1280 m, 4 Sept. 2019 (sample EX 2_D10_ R 22_B01), fragments dry and in alcohol (Fig. 3 D, E) . Additional material examined optically: SMF 44841: R / V Meteor, M151, Stn 53-1, Açor Bank, 38°01.875’N, 29°25.565’W, 830 m, 15 Oct. 2018, one large colony in ethanol . SMF 44842: R / V Meteor, M151, Stn 53-2, Açor Bank, 38°01.878’N, 29°25.562’W, 830 m, 15 Oct. 2018, one colony on dead coral skeleton, in ethanol .

Remarks. The original material reported from the Azores by Calvet (1931) as N. marsupiatus, collected at 1250 m depth off south-central São Jorge Island, was revised by Berning (2013) and described as a new species, N. saojorgensis . This species shows robust internodes with wide, club-shaped autozooecia provided with a quite large scutum with long fissures and generally lacking distal orificial spines, while the lateral avicularium is clearly visible in frontal view, and the ooecia have a small triangular proximomedian fenestra. We ourselves have revised also material collected at 1280 m depth in the Iberia Seamount, situated on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge halfway between the central and western groups of Azorean islands, as well as southwest of the central group of islands between 830 and 995 m depth.

According to the original description (Berning 2013), the scutum base of N. saojorgensis occasionally bears a single, greatly enlarged spine, whereas a smaller single spine distal to the orifice is present only in median autozooids at branching points. Both types of spines are also present in Iberia Seamount material, but some autozooids also have a variously developed distal spine located directly in the area where the lateral avicularium joins the external wall of the autozooid (Fig. 3 D, E).

Freshly collected material enables us to further describe the colonies, which grow several cm in height (> 4.5 cm), forming a single, central stem. The stem has a zig-zag pattern with new lateral branches arising at each bend. The lateral branches lack the zig-zag pattern but bifurcate once at some distance to the colony axis (Fig. 3F). The zooecia are translucent when fresh and clean. The porcelain-white aspect depicted by Berning (2013: fig. 1A) is likely to appear only when the colony is dried.

At present, N. saojorgensis is known only from the Azores archipelago at 830–1280 m depth, occurring in and around the central group of islands. Based on the characters of the species, N. saojorgensis is here included in Scutoplites n. gen.