Sibogagorgia californica, Horvath, Elizabeth Anne, 2019

Horvath, Elizabeth Anne, 2019, A review of gorgonian coral species (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) held in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History research collection: focus on species from Scleraxonia, Holaxonia, and Calcaxonia - Part I: Introduction, species of Scleraxonia and Holaxonia (Family Acanthogorgiidae), ZooKeys 860, pp. 1-66 : 1

Sibogagorgia californica sp. nov. Figures 4, 5 A–C, 6A, B, 7 A–C

Type locality.

Holotype USA, California, Los Angeles County, West end, Santa Catalina Island, 300 meters. Paratype USA, California, Los Angeles County, NE × E of Long Point, Santa Catalina Island, 415-486 meters.

Type specimens.

Holotype SBMNH 422974; Paratype SBMNH 422973.

Material examined.

~8 lots (see Appendix 1: List of material examined).

Diagnosis.

Specimens rarely displayed growth in one plane. Sclerites of medulla with blunt tips, bearing minimal ornamentation, smooth in areas between widely spaced spiny processes; sclerites of colony surface and coenenchymal tissue intermediate between surface and medulla 7-radiates, but never 8-radiates. Thick, compact branches with color variation from pinkish orange to pale pink.

Description.

Colony (Figure 4, 6) fragments robust, tree-like, with thick, conspicuous branches. Specimen of Figure 4 approximately 18 cm tall, that of Figure 6 roughly 36 cm long (when gently stretched out). Coenenchyme is thick and tough (like cutting through raw carrot). Branches moderately smooth in appearance, although lumpy in many spots, with small calyces evident; appear somewhat moderately spaced, scattered irregularly, on all sides of branches; distal or lateral branch tips each end with round, swollen knob. Color of branch coenenchyme (Figure 4) bright reddish orange; specimen shown in Figure 6 creamy beige with orange polyp apertures (this could be normal color or could have bleached out due to earlier storage solutions); in both specimens, polyps of same orange hue, with tentacles white (more visible in specimen of Figure 4). Cross section samples of both colonies revealed obvious boundary canals, and both colonies have very few, but rather large penetration canals in the medulla. No blunt, stubby, ornate polyp tentacular sclerites (rods) were ever found in any of numerous tissue samples examined; outer surface sclerites are radiate (Figures 5C, 7C), most closely matching a 7-radiate configuration, with ornamentation often jagged and extensive; color of these sclerites a pale pinkish orange; medullary sclerites (Figures 5A, 7A) are spindles, with moderate ornamentation, not as bare as seen in most other species of the genus; these spindles are more or less white, but may often have a very pale yellow color.

Etymology.

Nearly all specimens examined, with the exception of two, are from locations within the vicinity of the California Channel Islands, thus a reference to the state of California, where most of the specimens were collected.

Common name.

Proposed, "California orange bubblegum" coral.

Distribution.

Based on the specimens in the SBMNH collection, ranges from at least Lincoln County, Oregon through southern California waters.

Remarks.

Preliminary examinations led to identification of this small group of specimens as Sibogagorgia cauliflora Herrera et al., 2010. The two colony morphs shown in their description matched well with that seen in the SBMNH specimens: either a vibrant orange-pink (Figure 4) or a more dull cream color with orange polyp apertures (Figure 6). Unfortunately, the paler-colored specimens at SBMNH had been stored in less than desirable conditions for a lengthy period of time; still, the resemblance was strong. However, the SBMNH specimens were decidedly different in the appearance of their radiate sclerites, taken from the surface cortex. In the species described here, surface radiates were not oval, with 8-radiate origination; this form of sclerite was never seen in examined specimens, despite numerous tissue/sclerite preparations, and is the key distinguishing feature of S. cauliflora . Several possibilities emerged: 1) that the SBMNH specimens were an endemic subspecies of S. cauliflora , or (because of their strictly southern California location), 2) a very similar, but different species, or 3) the specimens collected were an isolated group of S. cauliflora that just happened to be found in a location where, for some environmental reason, the distinctive 8-radiates that normally would form in development and growth, did not. Because of their collection location, and differences in sclerite forms, a new species designation is proposed for what may be a very closely-related, species.

From a taxonomic perspective, in their most recent molecular work Figueroa and Baco (2014) recommended that family Sibogagorgiidae be reinstated. According to WoRMS, the genus Sibogagorgia is still retained in the family Paragorgiidae ( Cordeiro et al. 2018c).

The museum collection at Moss Landing Marine Labs held a specimen that might be this species, collected in Monterey Bay, 36°26'42"N, 122°01'56"W, ~684 m; coll. G McDonald, 14 August 1974; C0071 [wet]. Coloring of this specimen showed either a slightly bleached condition (storage artifact) or the beige coloring with orange pimples, a slightly brighter condition than that seen in SBMNH 422978.

The SBMNH holotype specimen has, tightly wound around/across its branches, the attachment tendrils from the ends of a swell shark’s mermaid’s purse. The tree-like nature of species not only in this genus, but also in the genus Paragorgia , likely provides anchorage and hiding places for a number of organisms, ranging from brittle stars to fish.