A revision of Trimuricea Gordon, 1926 (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Plexauridae) with the description of six new species
Author
Samimi-Namin, Kaveh
Author
Van Ofwegen, Leen P.
text
Zootaxa
2016
4105
1
1
44
journal article
10.11646/zootaxa.4105.1.1
cf0a97f6-504a-4de4-a51c-a11c5c80bca3
1175-5326
271230
621E2759-DDBF-4ADC-A1EC-3CA8F581C336
Trimuricea bicolor
n. sp.
(
Figs. 4
b, 5–6, 30b)
Material:
Holotype
,
RMNH
Coel. 39860, Buginesia Prog. UNHAS-NNM 1994/1995,
Indonesia
, SW Sulawesi, Spermonde Archipelago, SW of Kudingareng Keke (=
14 km
WNW of Ujungpandang), 5° 06ʹ S, 119° 17ʹ E, coral reef; scuba diving, coll. B.W. Hoeksema,
5 September 1994
.
Description.
The
holotype
is
10 cm
high and
11 cm
wide, branched in one plane, and a few anastomoses are present (
Fig. 4
b). The stem is
1 cm
long,
0.5 cm
thick and partly devoid of coenenchyme. The branches are only
2–3 mm
thick and the terminal twigs up to
4 cm
long. The calyces are dome shaped, up to
1 mm
high and wide, closely set together and situated all around the branches.
The points have triradiates (
Fig. 5
a), along with curved, hockeystick or boot-shaped sclerites, or spindles (
Fig. 5
b),
0.10–0.20 mm
long. The upper ray of the triradiates and upper part of the spindles is slightly echinulate for up to
0.15 mm
. The collaret spindles are
0.25–0.30 mm
long (
Fig. 5
c); the middle part of the convex side is slightly more tuberculate than the concave side and both ends. The concave sides are more tuberculate at both ends than in the center. These polyp sclerites have very few tubercles. A few tentacle scales are present, up to
0.10 mm
long.
The calyces have thornscales,
0.20–0.40 mm
long, with an echinulate thorn that is up to
0.15 mm
long, narrow lateral arms and roots that do not branch (
Fig. 6
a); with sparse and simple tubercles.
The coenenchyme has narrow spindles,
0.25–0.50 mm
long, with sparse, simple tubercles (
Fig. 6
b).
Colour.
The live colony was reddish in the middle parts, orange in the periphery, and the polyps were white (
Fig. 30
b); the preserved colony is white. All sclerites are colourless.
Etymology.
The specific epithet is derived from the Latin
bicolor
(of two colours) in reference to the live colour of the
holotype
.
FIGURE 2.
Sclerites of
T
.
africana
Gordon, 1926
, holotype, BMNH 1933.5.3.102: a, point triradiates; b, point spindles; c, collaret spindles; d, tentacle scale; e, spindle and unilateral spinose spindles of coenenchyme.
FIGURE 3.
Sclerites of
T
.
africana
Gordon, 1926
, holotype, BMNH 1933.5.3.102: a, small calicular thornscale; b, calicular thornscales; c, coenenchymal spindles. Scale at a only applies to a.
FIGURE 4.
Holotype colonies: a,
T. africana
, Gordon, 1926
, BMNH 1933.5.3.102; b,
T. bicolor
n. sp.
, RMNH Coel. 39860; c,
T. caledonica
SMF 6752; d,
T. flava
n. sp.
, RMNH Coel. 39861.
FIGURE 5.
The polyp sclerites of
T. bicolor
n. sp.
, RMNH Coel. 39860: a, point triradiates; b, point spindles; c, collaret spindles.
FIGURE 6.
Sclerites of
T. bicolor
n. sp.
, RMNH Coel. 39860: a, calicular thornscales; b, coenenchymal spindles.
Remarks.
This species mostly resembles
Trimuricea inermis
(
Nutting, 1910
)
, as both have sclerites with only simple tubercles.
Trimuricea bicolor
n. sp.
differs in having longer, slender spindles (up to
0.50 mm
long in
T. bicolor
,
to
0.35 mm
in
T. inermis
) and the thornscales have a less complex base.
T
.
omanensis
and
T
.
reticulata
also have spindles with simple tubercles.
T
.
reticulata
has thornscales with much longer, smooth thorn, and more complex base.
T
.
omanensis
has shorter spindles and thornscales.