Mesothuria verrilli ( Théel, 1886b ), Sb

Madeira, Patrícia, Kroh, Andreas, Cordeiro, Ricardo, De, António M., Martins, Frias & Ávila, Sérgio P., 2019, The Echinoderm Fauna of the Azores (NE Atlantic Ocean), Zootaxa 4639 (1), pp. 1-231 : 177-178

Erroneous— Mesothuria verrilli ( Théel, 1886b)

Reports for the Azores:

non Holothuria verrilli Théel, 1886 b—Marenzeller 1893: 7–9, pl. 1, fig. 2, pl. 2, fig. 2 [misidentified M. milleri ]; non Allantis intestinalis verrilli ( Théel, 1886b) — Hérouard 1902: 18–21, pl. 1, figs. 3–6 [misidentified M. milleri ]; non Mesothuria verrilli ( Théel, 1886b) — Perrier 1902: 307–312, figs. 3–4, pl. 16, figs. 22–31 [misidentified M. milleri ]; Hér- ouard 1923: 10–13 [misidentified M. milleri ]; Mortensen 1927a: 381–382, figs. 224.4–5; Deichmann 1930: 93–94, pl. 6, figs. 1–8; Nobre 1938: 152; Harvey et al. 1988: 184; Pérez-Ruzafa et al. 1992b: 144; García-Diez et al. 2005: 51 [all these are based on previous misidentifications].

Type locality: off Ambergris Cay, Caribbean. See: Théel (1886b: 6; as Holothuria verrilli ); Gebruk et al. (2012: 268–274, fig. 2).

Occurrence: reliable records are restricted to Caribbean waters ( Gebruk et al. 2012).

Depth: 700– 2,683 m ( Gebruk et al. 2012).

Habitat: soft bottoms ( Gebruk et al. 2012).

Remarks: in the original description for this species, Théel (1886b) included diagnostic characteristics that could encompass other closely related species such as M. intestinalis and M. milleri . As a consequence, this species originally described for the Caribbean soon found its geographical range extended to the entire North Atlantic. Later reviews, such as Gebruk et al. (2012) have concluded that M. verrilli is restricted to the western Atlantic, and NE Atlantic records are most probably confusions with either M. intestinalis or M. milleri . Thus, reports of this species from the Azores should be dismissed as misidentifications.