Trimuricea inermis (Nutting, 1910)

Williams, Gary C., 2018, Illustrated Key and Synopses of Shallow-water Gorgonians and Pennatulaceans of the Central Philippines, Part 2 (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64 (13), pp. 361-398 : 366

Trimuricea inermis (Nutting, 1910)

Figures 12 , 13 , 14 , 15

MATERIAL EXAMINED.— CASIZG 207510; Philippines, Negros, Siaton Province, Si-it; 21 m depth; 5 April 2016; coll. G.C. Williams; one whole colony wet-preserved in 95% ethanol.

REMARKS.— Samimi-Namin and Ofwegen (2016) provided a taxonomic revision of the genus and added several new species from the Indian Ocean. According to their revision, the specimen examined here is most similar to T. inermis regarding colony shape and sclerite shape and size, but it would be beneficial to compare it with type material to better elucidate the taxonomic status of the Philippine material. Sclerites of the genus Trimuricea are unusual, in that the sclerite complements of the polyps and calyces are dominated by triradiates and thornscales. The color of living colonies of the Philippine material is pinkish red, turning to light brown when preserved in ethanol ( Fig. 12 ).

SPECIES.— Eleven described species, according to Samimi-Namin and Ofwegen (2016) and Ofwegen (2010e). Nine of the eleven species are distributed in the Indian Ocean.

OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION.— The genus has an Indo-West Pacific distribution, and is rarely or infrequently encountered at many localities.

REFERENCES.— Grasshoff (1999); Fabricius and Alderslade (2001); Ofwegen (2010e); Samimi-Namin and Ofwegen (2016).

Figures

FIGURE 12. Trimuricea cf. inermis (CASIZ 207510). A. Underwater photograph, Negros (Siaton Province), April 2016. B. Wet-preserved colony, scale bar = 20 mm.

FIGURE 13. Trimuricea cf. inermis. Scanning electron micrographs of sclerites from the polyps, calyces, and surface coenenchyme, scale bar = 0.10 mm.

FIGURE 14. Trimuricea cf. inermis. Scanning electron micrographs of sclerites from the polyps, calyces, and surface coenenchyme, scale bar = 0.10 mm.

FIGURE 15. Trimuricea cf. inermis. Scanning electron micrographs of sclerites from the calyces and surface of the coenenchyme. Scale bar = 0.10 mm.