Crucella Gutt, 1990

O’Loughlin, P. Mark, Mackenzie, Melanie, Paulay, Gustav & VandenSpiegel, Didier, 2014, Four new species and a new genus of Antarctic sea cucumbers with taxonomic reviews of Cladodactyla, Pseudocnus, Paracucumidae and Parathyonidium (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Dendrochirotida), Memoirs of Museum Victoria 72, pp. 31-61 : 51-55

Crucella Gutt, 1990

Key 2; figure 12

Diagnosis (emended). Body cylindrical, not vermiform, with narrowed tail; body wall thin; 10 dendritic or sub-digitiform tentacles, ventral pair small; tube feet distributed around body, sometimes unevenly; body wall ossicles perforated plates, some with knobs, some with low secondary layering forming domes, some with spires; mid-body plates generally spaced apart, some plates possibly contiguous but not imbricating.

Type species. Crucella hystrix Gutt, 1990 (type locality Weddell Sea)

Assigned species and type locality. Crucella hystrix Gutt, 1990 (Weddell Sea); C. scotiae ( Vaney, 1906) (Antarctic Peninsula); Crucella susannae O’Loughlin sp. nov. (South Shetland Islands)

Remarks. Crucella is reviewed above in the Remarks and Key for Paracucumidae .

Crucella susannae O’Loughlin sp. nov.

Zoobank LSID. http://zoobank.org:act: 962A6E3A-4177-4585- A1BB-A4AC17FD1E90

Key 2; figures 12, 13, 14

Material examined. Holotype. Antarctica, South Shetland Islands , off King George Island, 61.83ºS 58.63ºW, 191 m, CCAMLR RV Polarstern ANT–XXVIII/4 stn 79/264, S. Lockhart, 31 Mar 2012, NMV F193782 .

Paratypes. Off Elephant Island , 60.98ºS 55.69ºW, 92 m, CCAMLR RV Polarstern ANT–XXVIII/4 stn 79/229, 24 Mar 2012, NMV F193784 (17) ( UF tissue sequence code MOL AF1293 ) ; Bransfield Strait , 62.45ºS 055.27ºW, 244 m, CCAMLR RV Polarstern ANT– XXVIII/4 stn 79/269, 1 Apr 2012, NMV F198491 (1) ; South Orkney Islands, 60.59ºS 45.15ºW, AMLR 2009 stn 78/8, 92–105 m, 11 Feb 2009, NMV F169315 (1).

Description. Up to 52 mm long, 28 mm diameter (strongly contracted, tentacles deeply withdrawn); body bluntly rounded and upturned orally, tapered upturned cone-shaped anally; body wall thin, firm, parchment-like to soft leathery; 8 large, 2 small ventral, dendritic tentacles; solid typical cucumariid calcareous ring present, lacking any posterior prolongations; completely covered with small tube feet, close-set and about 0.4 mm diameter ventrally, scattered and about 0.2 mm diameter dorsally; with numerous small peri-anal papillae; lacking macroscopic anal scales; 2 tufts of gonad tubules, not branched; respiratory trees present; 1 polian vesicle.

Dorsal body wall with scattered, not imbricating or contiguous, thick, single-layered, oval to round plates, with up to 22 perforations, irregular margins sometimes with blunt denticulations, sometimes with surface knobs, up to 168 µm long. Ventral body wall ossicles similar to dorsal. Tentacles with perforated plates and long, narrow, perforated, rod-like plates, with marginal digitiform and blunt denticulations, plates smooth or with some surface knobs, up to 560 µm long. Ventral tube feet with endplates with rounded margin, large and small perforations irregularly arranged, up to 360 µm diameter; lacking tube foot support ossicles. Peri-anal ossicles include plates as in body wall; numerous larger, oval, perforated plates with low secondary layering, up to 280 µm long; and pyramidal multi-layered anal scales, about 360 µm high and wide at base.

Colour. Live: Body pale brown and blue-grey. Preserved: pale brown to grey to off-white.

COI DNA barcode of paratype: TATTATGATAGGAGGTTTTG- GTAATTGGTTAATTCCATTAATGATAGGAGCACCAGA- CATGGCCTTCCCTCGAATGAATAAAATGAGATTCTGAT- TAATTCCCCCTTCTTTTGTGCTTCTGCTTACCTCCGCAA- GAATAGAAAATGGGGCTGGTACAGGTTGAACTTTATAC- CCCCCTCTTTCAAGAAAAATAGCTCACGCAGGAA- GATCAGTAGATCTTGCTATTTTTTCGCTACATCTAGCAG- GAGCCTCCTCTATTCTTGCCTCCATAAAATTTATAAC- TACCATAATAAAAATGCGAACCCCAGGAATTTCATTT- GACCGTCTACCACTTTTTGTCTGATCCGTTTTTATAACA- GCCTTCCTATTAGTATTAAGCCTCCCAGTTTTAGCAGGT- G C TATA ACA AT GT TAT TA AC C GAC C GA A A A AT- TAAAACAACCTTCTTTGACCCAGCAGGAGGAGGAGACC- CCATTTTATTTCAACACTTATTCTGATTCTTTGGACATC- CAGAAGTTTATATACTTATTTTACCAGGGTTCGGAATGA- TATCTCACGTTATTGCACACTATAGAGGAAAGCAA- GAACCATTTGGGTACTTAGGAATGGTTTACGCTATGG- TAGCAATAGGAGTATTAGGCTTCCTAGTATGAGCTCAC

Distribution. Western Antarctica, South Shetland, Elephant, South Orkney Islands, 92– 244 m.

Etymology. Named for Susanne Lockhart (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s US AMLR Program), in appreciation of her initiative and hard-working role in quantitatively collecting, preserving, documenting and donating to Museum Victoria many hundreds of specimens of sea cucumbers from the 2012 CCAMLR demersal finfish trawl survey.

Remarks. Crucella susannae is distinguished from other species in family Paracucumidae in the key. We judge that the preserved dark brown colour of the holotype (NMV F193782) is a result of discolouration from trawl contents.