Euthyonidiella trita ( Sluiter, 1910 )

Pawson, David L., Pawson, Doris J. & King, Rachael A., 2010, A taxonomic guide to the Echinodermata of the South Atlantic Bight, USA: 1. Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea), Zootaxa 2449, pp. 1-48 : 22-23

Euthyonidiella trita ( Sluiter, 1910)

Figure 14

Thyone trita Sluiter, 1910: 339 , fig. Ea–c.

Phyllophorus tritus .— Deichmann 1930: 147, pl.18, figs. 4–8. Euthyonidiella trita .— Hendler, et al, 1995: 267, figs 146, 181G, H.

Material examined. None.

Diagnosis. A tiny species, up to 3cm in length. Color violet to gray. Numerous cylindrical tube feet scattered over entire body. 18 tentacles of 2 distinct sizes surround mouth. Body wall ossicles oblong tables (up to 70 μm) with irregular margins. Most tables have 4 large disk perforations, but a few have 1 to 4 smaller additional holes. Short spires composed of 2 pillars, each ending in several small spines.

Distribution. NC to E and W FL, Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean.

Habitat. Near the shoreline, under rocks, and in tidal pools. Littoral; low-tide mark to 4m.

Remarks. This is typically a shallow-water species. A single specimen from a depth of 100 m from off North Carolina (USNM E16418) was identified by DLP as Euthyonidiella sp. aff. Trita , but it could not be referred with any confidence to trita . This species has large eggs, 0.5 mm in diameter ( Hendler et al., 1995).

Figures

FIGURE 14. Euthyonidiella trita (Sluiter, 1910). A, whole animal; B, C, tables in lateral and top view.