Muricea austera Verrill, 1869

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 : 35-37

Taxon classification Animalia Alcyonacea Plexauridae

Muricea austera Verrill, 1869 Figures 24, 25, 26

Muricea austera Verrill, 1869: 430-432; Kükenthal 1919: 752; Kükenthal 1924: 142; Harden 1979: 143-1 44; Hickson 1928: 367-369.

Material.

Lectotype: YPM 1569a, dry, Pearl Islands, Panamá, 11-14 m, F.H. Bradley, 1866. Paralectotypes: MÉXICO: MCZ 4974; USNM 3094; dry, Cape San Lucas, Baja California, J. Xantus, April 1859- August 1861. USNM 52291; USNM 1130762 (part of YPM 8660); YPM 8660, dry, La Paz, Baja California, J. Pedersen, no date. PANAMÁ: USNM 1130761 (part of YPM 1569a); YPM809a-c; YPM 1569b; ZMUC-ANT 191 (part of YPM 809), dry, Pearl Islands, 11-14 m, F.H. Bradley, 1866.

Description.

The lectotype is a bushy colony, 20 cm long and 23 cm wide, with brittle coenenchyme that is partially lost on some branches and with mostly naked terminal ends (Fig. 24A). Two slightly flattened stems, each 7-10 mm in diameter, arise from a large holdfast, about 6 cm long, devoid of coenenchyme and with a small white sponge attached (Fig. 24A). The branching is mostly dichotomous and mostly in one plane (Fig. 24A). The stems extend up to 15 mm long and subdivide into secondary branches, that bifurcate up to 6 times producing subordinate branches, no more than 25 mm apart. Some branches are wider at the lower part of the colony, up to 10 mm in diameter, but they are mostly of even thickness up to the tips, 7-8 mm in diameter. The branches bifurcate at close angles 30°-45°, and curved upwards. Some occasional branch anastomosis occurs, especially at the base. Unbranched terminal ends are up to 5 cm long, with rounded tips, and 6-9 mm in diameter. Axes are brownish and lighter at the tips. The calyces are all around the branches, bent upwards and close together, not imbricate but a little overlapped (Fig. 24B). They are raised, up to 2 mm long. The coenenchyme is thick and rough, composed of reddish–brown, orange and light yellow sclerites (Fig. 24 C–E). The outer coenenchymal and calycular spindles are of various types: mostly unilateral spinous with the inner side heavily warty, and the outer side with short spines. They are elongated, with round ends, or with one end tapered and the other wide and blunt, or with one end acute or bifurcated, or tapered at both ends, 0.55-1.5 mm long and 0.20-0.50 mm wide (Fig. 25A). The largest sclerites are of a darker colour in the central part with lighter hues around the borders. Furthermore, leaf-like spindles are present, 0.22-0.65 mm long and 0.06-0.20 mm wide (Fig. 25B), with a spiny end that projects beyond the calyx border, and warty spindles, 0.35-0.48 mm long and 0.11-0.14 mm wide (Fig. 25C). The axial sheath is composed of warty radiates, 0.12-0.36 mm long and 0.12-0.2 mm wide, and spindles (Fig. 25D). An thocodial sclerites are pale yellow to whitish, 0.14-0.36 mm long and 0.02-0.06 mm wide (Figs 24E, 25E).

Colour of the colony is reddish brown.

Habitat and variability.

The colonies ramify producing a bouquet-like structure (Fig. 26A) or mostly grow in one plane (Fig. 26 B–C), in some cases, the holdfast extends for some distance along the substrate producing many more branches in a fringing-like colony that in some cases is growing upside down. The polyps are orange to yellow (Fig. 26 A–B). In the examined specimens the larger sclerites reach up to 0.2 mm long. The branches vary in diameter from 6-10 mm, in some cases few bifurcations occur forming candelabrum-like colonies or single finger-like short branches joint by extending holdfast.

Distribution.

It has a widespread distribution, from México to Perú. Type locality: Pearl Islands, Panamá.

Remarks.

Verrill (1868) described this species with specimens from Pearl Islands, Cape San Lucas and La Paz, Baja California. Later, Hickson (1928) revised a specimen from Taboguilla Island, Gulf of Panama and added some details about variation in calyx length (little larger) and found larger sclerites, up to 2 mm long. Verrill (1868) and Hickson (1928) considered the species as rare in Panamá, but we found it common at various localities around Pearl Islands and Gulf of Chiriquí.

Verrill did not designate a holotype for the species. The specimen YPM 1569a is the largest of the syntype series and closely matches Verrill’s description of the species, therefore, we designate this specimen as the lectotype of Muricea austera with the purpose of clearly establishing its taxonomic status.

Other material revised.

COSTA RICA: UCR 623-624, 633a, dry, Bajo Isla Chora, Sámara Bay, Guanacaste, 10 m, H. Guzman, 18 March 1984; UCR 779, dry, Peñón de la Bruja, Santa Rosa National Park, 10 m, J. Cortés, 5 March 1994; UCR 836, dry, Cabo Blanco Islet, SW from Cabo Blanco National Reserve, Puntarenas, 12 m, L. Mena, 26 April 1994. ECUADOR: IIN 4b, 5, 6, dry, Tambip, Salinas, 12-14 m, F. Rivera, P. Martínez, 20 July 2010; IIN 23, dry, Bajo Lunes, Salinas, 18 m, F. Rivera, P. Martínez, 21 July 2010; IIN 62, dry, Gigima, Salinas, 12-14 m, F. Rivera, P. Martínez, 22 July 2010; IIN 104, 118, dry, Los Ahorcados, Machalilla National Park, 10-12 m, F. Rivera, P. Martínez, 25 July 2010. EL SALVADOR: UCR 1936, ethanol preserved, Departamento la Libertad, Playa Mizata, J. Segovia, 26 February 2010. MÉXICO: M 11, dry, León echado Island, San Carlos Bay, Sonora, 5-25 m, J.L. Carballo, 6 December 2000; M 29, dry, Lobos Island, Mazatlan Bay, Sinaloa, 5-25 m, J.L. Carballo, 17 November 1998. STRI 1128, ethanol preserved, El Faro, Oaxaca, 8 m, R. Abeytia, 2 September 2004; STRI 1139, ethanol preserved, El Faro, Oaxaca, 8 m, R. Abeytia, 13 August 2004. PANAMÁ: STRI 25, 27, dry, Santa Cruz Island, Chiriquí Gulf, 5-10 m, H. Guzman, 10 December 2001; STRI 143, 204, Jicarita Island, Chiriquí Gulf, 10-20, H. Guzman, 9 May 2002; STRI 145, dry, Jicarita Island, Chiriquí Gulf, 10-30 m, H. Guzman, 19 April 2002; STRI 290, Piedra Hacha, Chiriquí Gulf, 20-30m, H. Guzman, 22 April 2002; STRI 319, dry, Chiriquí Gulf, 5-10 m, H. Guzman, 24 April 2002; STRI 406, Seca Grande Islande Chiriquí Gulf, 20 m, H. Guzman, 26 August 2002; STRI 417, Chiriquí Gulf, 20 m, H. Guzman, 26 August 2002; STRI 445, Jacarita Island, 10-25 m, H. Guzman, 29 August 2002; STRI 525, Bajo Bolano, Chiriquí Gulf, 25 m, H. Guzman, 16 April 2003; STRI 751, Roca Trollope, 10-20 m, H. Guzman, 6 August 2003; STRI 777, Pearl Islands, 3 m, H. Guzman, 11 August 2003; STRI 791, San José Island, 3 m, H. Guzman, 11 October 2003; STRI 810, Pearl Islands, 2 m, H. Guzman, 6 April 2004; SRTI 821, 822, Pearl Islands, 3 m, H. Guzman, 6 April 2004; STRI 834, Pearl Islands, 27 m, H. Guzman, 7 April 2004; STRI 838, Pearl Islands, 2 m, H. Guzman, 8 April 2004; STRI 845, Pearl Islands, 3 m, H. Guzman, 20 April 2004; STRI 866, Achotines, Chiriquí Gulf, 3-10 m, H. Guzman, 5 May 2004; STRI 900, 901, 930, Pearl Islands, 10 m, H. Guzman, 23 September 2004; STRI 943, Pearl Islands, 3-20 m, H. Guzman, 23 September 2004; ethanol preserved, STRI 137B,145B, 1213, Saboga Island,1-5 m, H. Guzman, 14 December 2001; STRI C5, Coiba Island, Chiriquí Gulf, H. Guzman, 3 August 2002.