Black Corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the Southwestern Atlantic
Author
Lima, Manuela M.
Author
Cordeiro, Ralf T. S.
Author
Perez, Carlos D.
text
Zootaxa
2019
2019-11-05
4692
1
1
67
journal article
24975
10.11646/zootaxa.4692.1.1
ead7ec31-b9d4-49f3-a006-a67fff6ad623
1175-5326
3528942
F054DC68-6A7E-4C80-9094-8ECCA4502CD6
Stylopathes adinocrada
Opresko, 2006
Fig. 31
,
32
Antipathes columnaris
:
Opresko, 1974:101–115
(em parte, fig. 15)
Stylopathes adinocrada
Opresko, 2006: 123–126
, figs 6–7.
Type and type locality.
USNM 1092612
(
holotype
):
Lesser Antilles
, off
Aves Island
,
360 m
;
UMML 7.678
(
paratype
): off
Suriname
,
7º27’57.6”N
,
55º10’58.8”W
,
134 m
.
Material examined.
Brazil
, off
Rio Grande do Norte
, Bacia Potiguar.
4º46’59.988”S
,
36º10’59.999”W
; depth:
423–461 m
.
Programa de Caracterização da Bacia Potiguar
, PETROBRAS,
Date
: 05/2011 (
MOUFPE—CNI 113
,
1 specimen
)
.
Diagnosis.
“Corallum monopodial and densely pinnulated mostly to the third and fourth order. Subpinnules forming a complex mass of anastomosing ramifications on both the anterior and posterior side of corallum. Primary pinnules arranged in three rows and loose verticils of three, consisting of two laterals and one anterior pinnule. Secondary pinnules in verticils of three, in pairs, or occurring singly. Highest order subpinnules predominantly in pairs or singly. Primary pinnules not easily discernable due to the dense subpinnulation. Cylindrical reticulated worm run extending along the posterior side of the stem. Spines small, conical, with rounded apex, and slightly inclined distally; mostly
0.03–0.04 mm
tall (up to
0.06 mm
); arranged in four to five longitudinal rows (in lateral view) with members of each row spaced
0.1–0.2 mm
apart. Polyps
1–1.3 mm
in transverse diameter; and arranged in a single series mostly on one side of the pinnules” (
Opresko, 2006
).
Description of Brazilian specimen.
Corallum (MOUFPE—CNI 113) monopodial and highly pinnulated, with a total length of
19.5 cm
, and with a “worm run” with a polychaete present in the tube (
Fig. 31
a–b). Subpinnulation occurring throughout the primary pinnules. Primary pinnules arranged in three rows not easily distinguishable because of dense corallum pinnulation. Primary pinnules with a length between 10 and
20 mm
. Number of secondary pinnules per posterior primary of approximately 11; Corallum pinnulated to the fourth order. Secondary pinnules slightly more abundant on the abpolypar side of the posterior primary pinnule, with denser pinnulation pattern at the proximal end of the primary pinnules. Spines small, arranged in approximately 5 rows in lateral view (
Fig. 31
c–d), with a size between
0.024 mm
and
0.06 mm
; distance between spines in the same row approximately
0.28 mm
. Polyps not visualized (lost tissue).
FIGURE 31.
MOUFPE-CNI 113:
Stylopathes adinocrada
Opresko, 2006
. a—Corallum morphology; b—Pinnulation pattern showing the “worm run”; c—Organization of spines; d—Spines magnified.
Remarks.
The material studied here is very similar to the
holotype
described by
Opresko (2006)
. Slightly larger, the specimen collected in
Brazil
presents a total colony length of approximately
20 cm
, whereas the
holotype
measures approximately
17 cm
. The pinnulation pattern follows that described for the
holotype
. The spines, however, are more spaced out,
0.28 mm
apart in the same row, whereas in the
holotype
they are
0.1–0.2 mm
apart in a row.
Stylopathes adinocrada
differs from
S. columnaris
mainly due to the less dense pinnulation pattern in the latter. In
S. columnaris
, subpinnules occur mainly in the distal portion of the primary pinnule, rarely covering the worm run, as occurs in
S. adinocrada
(
Opresko, 2006
)
. The worm run of MOUFPE—CNI 113 contained a specimen of the
Benhamipolynoe antipaticola
(Benham, 1927)
. This polychaete has already been recorded in association with other species of the genus
Stylopathes
, such as
Stylopathes tenuispina
(Siberfield, 1909)
and
Stylopathes columnaris
(
Duchassaing, 1870
)
(
Pettibone
et al.,
1970
;
Britayev
et al.,
2014
). This is the first record of
B. antipaticola
in association with
S. adinocrada
.
Distribution.
Caribbean Sea, from
Bahamas
to
Suriname
(
Opresko, 2006
), and Southwestern Atlantic,
Brazil
, off
Rio Grande do Norte
, Bacia Potiguar (this work) (
Fig. 32
); from
134 m
to
708 m
depths (
Opresko, 2006
).