Hydrozoanthus sp. 1

Reimer, James D., Poliseno, Angelo & Hoeksema, Bert W., 2014, Shallow-water zoantharians (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia) from the Central Indo-Pacific, ZooKeys 444, pp. 1-57 : 14

Taxon classification Animalia Zoantharia Hydrozoanthidae

14. Hydrozoanthus sp. 1 Figures 12C, 13

Specimens examined.

NA.

Photographic records

(n=1). Balicasag Island, Cebu Strait, Philippines (09°31'01"N 123°41'04"E), November 21, 1999.

Description.

Similar to Hydrozoanthus gracilis above, this azooxanthellate, colonial species is found as an epibiont on Plumularia habereri . As described in Di Camillo et al. (2010; as Parazoanthus sp.), this species has much smaller polyps than Hydrozoanthus gracilis , forming colonies only on the main branch(es) of Plumularia habereri colonies. Polyps are much less incrusted than Hydrozoanthus gracilis . The Plumularia habereri colonies hosting this species are much bigger than those with Hydrozoanthus gracilis , as shown by ( Di Camillo et al. 2010). Red scapus with yellow tentacles, 22 to 24 tentacles slightly longer than oral disk diameter (Figure 12C).

Distribution.

Regions recorded in this study (Figure 13). Cebu (21).

Previous records. Reported from Bunaken, North Sulawesi, in Di Camillo et al. (2010).

Remarks.

This undescribed species was informally and well described by Di Camillo et al. (2010) as " Parazoanthus sp.". Specimens and DNA sequences are needed to properly describe this species.