Four new species and a ribosomal phylogeny of Rhabdopleura (Hemichordata: Graptolithina) from New Zealand, with a review and key to all described extant taxa Author Gordon, Dennis P. National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Private Bay 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6241, New Zealand Author Randolph Quek, Z. B. 0000-0001-7998-7052 National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Private Bay 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6241, New Zealand & Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117558, Singapore randolphquek@u.nus.edu Author Huang, Danwei National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Private Bay 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6241, New Zealand & Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, 16 Science Drive 4, Singapore 117558, Singapore & National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Private Bay 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6241, New Zealand & Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum, National University of Singapore, 2 Conservatory Drive, Singapore 117377, Singapore & National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Private Bay 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6241, New Zealand & Tropical Marine Science Institute, National University of Singapore, 18 Kent Ridge Road, Singapore 119227, Singapore & National Institute of Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA), Private Bay 14901, Kilbirnie, Wellington 6241, New Zealand text Zootaxa 2024 2024-03-14 5424 3 323 357 http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5424.3.3 journal article 10.11646/zootaxa.5424.3.3 1175-5326 10821361 524CF65D-F877-42E1-B983-EDC7D3ED1623 Rhabdopleura manubialis Jullien & Calvet, 1903 ( Figs 4G , 6E ) Type locality. Off the southeastern tip of Pico Island , Azores , 318 m [ 38.4000° N , 28.0239° W in Stebbing (1970a , p. 211), the original Paris meridian corrected to Greenwich], on dead bryozoans and a sertularian hydroid “en compagnie de Rhabdopleura Grimaldii. ” Key features. Inception of ringed erect tubes is indirect. The species occurred at the same station as R. grimaldii , but the light-yellowish <3 cm-long colony lacked the ‘tubes très fins’ and had dormant buds (‘statoblasts’) in adherent parts of some blind-ending side branches. The dark pectocaulus is visibly continuous from the main creeping tube(s) into the side branches. Comment. MNHN Paris sent two close-up images of this species based on the unique syntype (MNHN-IB-2014-387), which occurs on a fenestrate bryozoan, but the information content is very limited, again because creeping tubes are highly transparent and reflective; fusellar sutures were not clear enough in the images for zigzag angles to be measured. One erect ringed tube [ Fig. 6E ] was well imaged, however [ 784 m long, diameter 118‒131 (126) μm], with fusellus height 11‒24 (18) μm]. Creeping-tube width is 98‒110 (104) μm (n = 2), adherent-tube convexity width 177‒178 μm and creeping-tube stolon width is 20‒32 (26) μm (n = 3). Fusellar-collar extensions are greater than in R. grimaldii and there is no trace of a narrowing pectocaulus in side-branches. It is clear that the species is not synonymous with R. grimaldii . The Latin epithet manubialis means ‘manual’ or ‘captured,’ with no obvious application to the description or illustration. If we assume that the sole illustration of the species was accurately rendered (as per camera lucida), zigzag angles are 57°‒81°, mean 72°, mode 70° ( n = 34); the range of angles (57‒81°) just overlaps with that for R. normani [54‒61°, mean 57°, mode 55°] based on Allman’s (1869 , pl. 8, fig. 4) illustration. Rhabdopleura manubialis has been treated as a junior synonym of R. normani but more work needs to be carried out on the latter species. External tube diameter between fusellar collars is 143‒154 (148) μm ( n = 10) and fusellus height is 24‒41 (33) μm ( n = 20), i.e. less than and almost completely non-overlapping with equivalent metrics for R. normani .