Trimuricea bicolor, Samimi-Namin, Kaveh & Van Ofwegen, Leen P., 2016

Samimi-Namin, Kaveh & Van Ofwegen, Leen P., 2016, A revision of Trimuricea Gordon, 1926 (Cnidaria: Octocorallia: Plexauridae) with the description of six new species, Zootaxa 4105 (1), pp. 1-44 : 5-11

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.4105.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:621E2759-DDBF-4ADC-A1EC-3CA8F581C336
DOI	https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6077933
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/038E8793-9914-D965-D4C0-9FBD83103669
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Trimuricea bicolor
status	sp. nov.

Treatment

Trimuricea bicolor View in CoL n. sp.

( Figs. 4 View FIGURE 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 View FIGURE 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 View FIGURE 5 a), along with curved, hockeystick or boot-shaped sclerites, or spindles ( Fig. 5 View FIGURE 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 View FIGURE 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 View FIGURE 6 a); with sparse and simple tubercles.

The coenenchyme has narrow spindles, 0.25–0.50 mm long, with sparse, simple tubercles ( Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 b).

Colour. The live colony was reddish in the middle parts, orange in the periphery, and the polyps were white ( Fig. 30 View FIGURE 30. a 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.

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.