Muricea albida Verrill, 1868

Breedy, Odalisca & Guzman, Hector M., 2016, A revision of the genus Muricea Lamouroux, 1821 (Anthozoa, Octocorallia) in the eastern Pacific. Part II, ZooKeys 581, pp. 1-69 : 39-42

Taxon classification Animalia Alcyonacea Plexauridae

Muricea albida Verrill, 1868 Figures 27, 28

Muricea robusta (pars.) Verrill, 1866: 329.

Muricea albida Verrill, 1868b: 412; Verrill 1869: 437-439; Kükenthal 1919: 752; Kükenthal 1924: 146; Hickson 1928: 363-364; Riess 1929: 393-394; Harden 1979: 142-143.

Material.

Lectotype. YPM 1559a, dry, Pearl Islands, Panamá, 11-14 m, F.H. Bradley, 1866. Paralectotypes. PANAMÁ: MCZ 712; MCZ 4976; MCZ 7016; dry; YPM 563, 3 specimens; YPM 563h; YPM 1559b-d, ZMUC-ANT 190, 2 specimens (part of YPM 1559); dry; YPM 1633, 2 fragments, ethanol preserved, data as in the lectotype.

Description.

The lectotype is a 15 cm long and 12 cm wide, candelabrum-like colony, branching in one plane and mostly dichotomous (Fig. 27A). The colony arises from a conical holdfast, about 24 mm in diameter, partially devoid of coenenchyme. The stem is 10 mm in diameter slightly flattened, and 23 mm long, it bifurcates producing secondary branches that subdivide again at distances up to 1.5 cm apart, two of them remain as long simple branchlets. The branches and branchlets are stout, 7-10 mm in diameter and are tapered toward the tips, reaching 5-7 mm in diameter. The branches split at close angles, about 45°, and some branchlets project at acute or wider angles. The unbranched terminal ends are up to 11 mm long. The calyces are all around the branches, close together, slightly imbricate at the upper part of the branches (Fig. 27B). They are elongated, sub-conical, about 2 mm long, and mostly project at right angles to the branches. The coenenchyme is thick and compact. The sclerites are white, and greyish (Fig. 27 C–D). The outer coenenchyme and calycular sclerites are of various types. The larger ones are unilateral spinous spindles with the inner side with small numerous warts and the outer side with short spines, they are elongated, with blunt ends, or with one end tapered and the other wide and blunt, 0.60-1.41 mm long and 0.25-0.05 mm wide, (Fig. 28A). Furthermore, spiny spindles with one spiny end and a warty body are present, 0.29-0.6 mm long and 0.09-0.14 mm wide (Fig. 28B), the sharp or spiny ends project beyond the calyx border; and warty, elongated spindles 0.44-0.60 mm long and 0.07-0.11 mm wide (Fig. 28C). The axial sheath is composed of warty, irregular spindles, and radiates 0.18-0.30 mm long and 0.05-0.14 mm wide with acute or bifurcated ends, and radiates (Fig. 28D). Anthocodial sclerites are flat warty rods, some with one bifurcated end, 0.11-0.25 mm long and 0.01-0.03 mm wide (Fig. 28E).

Colour of the colony is white.

Distribution.

It is known from the type locality, Pearl Islands, and reported from Taboguilla Island. However, Muricea albida has not been found during our recent extensive surveys along Pacific Panamá.

Remarks.

The species was described by Verrill (1869) with specimens from Panamá, Hickson (1928) added some not relevant details to the description. Verrill did not designate a holotype for the species, thus we chose specimen YPM 1559a, that is probably the figured specimen ( Verrill 1869 Pl. 7, Fig. 9), as the lectotype of Muricea albida to clearly establish its taxonomic status.

Other material revised.

PANAMÁ: BM 1946.1.14.43, off Taboguilla, 9 m, C. Crossland, 22 November 1915.