Acanthopathes humilis (Pourtalès, 1867)

Fig. 35

Antipathes humilis Pourtalès, 1867: 112; 1880: 118, pl. 3, figs. 18, 19, e 32.

Aphanipathes humilis: Brook, 1889: 131; Opresko, 1972: 994–999, fig. 10.

Acanthopathes humilis: Opresko, 2004: 230–232, fig. 12; Loiola, 2007: 257–260, fig. 5; Opresko, 2009: 362.

Type and type locality. MCZ 3 (lectotype), MCZ 57348, MCZ 57350 (paralectotype): off Cuba, 493 m.

Diagnosis. “Colonies small, flabellate, branched in one or more parallel plans; branching unilateral or irregularly bilateral; main stem and primary branches slightly thicker than terminal branchlets; branches small, 1–3 cm long, straight or slightly curved. Spines acicular, smooth and conspicuously anisomorphic; 0.5–0.7 mm long at the circumference of the polyps, 0.05 mm under the peristome, and 0.3–0.4 mm on other parts of the axis; arranged in 15–20 longitudinal rows, with 40–50 spines per centimeter in each row. Polyps 1.0 mm long, uniserially arranged on only one side of the corallum (six or seven per centimeter)” (Opresko, 1972).

Distribution. Caribbean Sea (Opresko, 2004; Loiola, 2007; Opresko, 2009) and off Brazil (fig. 35) (Loiola, 2007); from 129 m to 494 m depths (Opresko, 2009).