Heteropolypus Tixier-Durivault, 1964

Dautova, Tatiana N., 2022, New species of deep-sea Heteropolypus soft corals (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) from the Kurile Islands, Sea of Okhotsk (Northwest Pacific), with summary data on distinctive characters of the known species of the genus, European Journal of Taxonomy 806 (1), pp. 128-147 : 129-130

Genus Heteropolypus Tixier-Durivault, 1964

Heteropolypus Tixier-Durivault, 1964: 49-57 , figs 15-28.

Type species: Heteropolypus insolitus Tixier- Durivault, 1964, by monotypy.

Diagnosis

Colonies are mushroom-shaped to obconic, distinctly separated into capitulum and sterile stalk. Polyps are dimorphic or trimorphic and have sclerites.Autozooids are few in number, large, sterile and retractile, arranged evenly over the capitulum or only at the margin. Anthocodial armature is often asymmetrically developed with ridges of sclerites more developed at dorsal side of autozooid. Siphonozooids are fertile, numerous, strongly armored, and densely set between autozooids. Mesozooids when present possess feebly developed tentacles and are retractile and scattered among siphonozooids or arranged mostly along the margin of the capitulum. Sclerites are rods, radiates, clubs, plates, spindles, and needles. Pharyngeal sclerites are predominately platelets, but rods may be also present. Tentacular sclerites are rods, clubs, spindles, plates, crosses, and capstans (6-, 7- and 8-radiate). Colour of alcohol-preserved specimens ranges from white to red and purple red.

Remarks

The diagnosis follows that published by Molodtsova (2013) and d’Hondt & d’Hondt (2020). A new morphological character regarding the arrangement of the mesozooids mostly along the margin of the capitulum was added to the genus diagnosis as this character was observed in the Heteropolypus roseus sp. nov.