Thouarella, Gray, 1870

Schejter, L., Genzano, G., Pérez, C. D., Acuña, F., Cordeiro, R. T. S., Silva, R. A., Garese, A. & Bremec, C. S., 2020, Checklist of Benthic Cnidaria in the SW Atlantic Ocean (54 ºS- 56 ºS), Zootaxa 4878 (2), pp. 201-239 : 225-226

Thouarella spp.

Material examined: 37 specimens not identified from four diferente morphotypes.

BBB 2016: St. 12; St. 13; St. 18; St. 21; St. 28; St. 32; St. 36; St. 38; St. 40. PD BB 17: St. 9; St. 10; St. 16; St. 21;

St. 23; St. 27; St. 29; St. 30; St. 43. GARCÍA 15: St. 17; St. 17bis.

Distribution: Thouarella is the most speciose genus within the Family Primnoidae , especially diversified in subantarctic waters, mostly in depths from 400 to 5850 m ( Taylor et al. 2013). Thouarella spp. were one of the dominant group in the studied area and were recorded at almost all stations ( Schejter et al. 2020).

Remarks: At least five species of Thouarella were already found in the Burdwood bank area: T. antarctica (Valenciennes, 1846) , T. brucei Thomson & Ritchie, 1906 , T. striata Kükenthal, 1907 , T. chilensis Kükenthal, 1908 , T. viridis Zapata-Guardiola & López-González, 2010 ( Taylor et al. 2013); and one is first reported herein: T. variabilis Wright & Studer, 1889 . Two potentially new species were identified from the Marine Protected Areas Namuncurá I and II, which did not fit in any species described so far. There are at least 38 valid Thouarella species ( Núñez-Flores et al. 2020); however, as morphological plasticity is common among species of Thouarella , such as in T. variabilis Wright & Studer, 1889 , further assessments (Scanning Electron Micrographies and COI, MutS sequencing) are needed in order to confirm if they are new species and identify at species level the four morphotypes analysed. This fact reinforces the still poorly known octocoral diversity in the region, despite several studies on that fauna.