Muriceopsis metaclados, Castro & Medeiros & Loiola, 2010

Castro, C. B., Medeiros, M. S. & Loiola, L. L., 2010, Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from Brazilian reefs, Journal of Natural History 44 (13 - 14), pp. 763-827 : 831-832

Muriceopsis metaclados sp. nov.

Material

Holotype. Brazil: Ceará: off Iguapé Point and Maceió Point ( NOAS #1693 , 03°30′ S, 037°56.5′ W, 49 m, August–December 1967 one colony plus five fragments) ( MNRJ 03281 ) ( Figure 3 ).

Paratypes. Brazil: Ceará – off Acaraú (identified by F.M. Bayer as Muriceopsis sp. ) ( USNM 55799 , 44 m) , Bahia, off Todos os Santos Bay (13°04′30″ S, 038°23′30″ W) ( MNRJ 05086 , 91 m) , off Boipeba Island (13°36.67′ S, 038°47.212′ W) ( MNRJ 05082 , 40–45.2 m) , California Reef (18°07′ S, 038°34′ W) ( MNRJ 04147 , 20–30 m) , Hotspur Seamount (18°01′22″ S, 035°53′28″ W) ( MNRJ 04131 , 60 m) ; Espírito Santo, Vitória Seamount (off Vitória – 20°34.37′ S, 038°03.53′ W ( MNRJ 04869 , 55 m) ; Rio de Janeiro, off São João da Barra (21°30′ S, 040°18′ W) ( MNRJ 04872 , 52 m), (21°31′00″ S, 040°18′00″ W) [ MNRJ 4127 , MNRJ 4128 (both lots 52 m)] ( Figure 3 ).

Other Specimens:

Brazil: Maranhão – off Mangabeira Island ( NOAS #1750 , 00°04′ S, 044°33.5′ W, 52 m, August – December /1967, two fragments, UFPE-DO), off Santana Island ( NOAS #1875 , 00°56′ S, 043°41.5′ W, 49 m, 23 April 1968, two fragments, UFPE- DO), off Tubarão Bay ( NOAS N-NEII #1872 , 01°0′ S, 043°33.5′ W, 50 m, 23 April 1968, two fragments, UFPE-DO) ; Ceará – off Mundaú Point ( NOAS #1711 , 02°25′ S, 039°30.5′ W, 49 m, two fragments, UFPE-DO), off Paracuru Point ( CN #66 , 02°41′ S, 039°10′ W, 63 m, two fragments, UFPE-DO), off Cumicuará Point ( CN #61 , 02°59′ S, 038°58′ W, 60 m, more than 10 fragments, UFPE-DO), off Pecém Cove ( CN #15 , 01°30′ S, 038°48′ W, 45–49 m, one colony + three fragments, UFPE- DO), off Iguapé Cape ( CN #23 and #26, 02°15′ S, 038°15′ W, 69–72 m; CN #73 , 03°18′ S, 038°14′ W, 80 m – three lots, more than 70 fragments – UFPE-DO) ; off Iguapé Point and Maceió Point ( NOAS #1693 , 03°30′ S, 037°56.5′ W, 49 m, August– December 1967, one colony + five fragments, UFPE-DO; CN #52 , 03°40′ S, 037°54′ W, 54 m, June 1965 to February 1966, more than 10 fragments, UFPE-DO), off Maceió Point ( CN #19 , 01°56′ S, 037°51′ W, 47–49 m, June 1965 to February 1966, more than 50 fragments, UFPE-DO; NOAS #1701 A, 01°57′ S, 037°46′ W, c. 50 m, more than 10 fragments, UFPE-DO) ; Rio Grande do Norte – off Três Irmãos Point ( NOAS #1684 , 03°59.5′ S, 035°53.7′ W, 75 m, three fragments, UFPE-DO; NOAS #1684 A, 03°59.5′ S, 035°53.7′ W, 140 m, six fragments, UFPE-DO; NOAS #1684 B, 03°59.5′ S, 035°53.7′ W, 73 m, four fragments, UFPE-DO) ; Paraíba – off Lucena Point ( NOAS N-NEII #1858 , 06°50′ S, 034°44′ W, 36 m, 17 April 68, three fragments, UFPE-DO) .

Comparative material

Muriceopsis sulphurea (Donovan, 1825) – see list of studied material under the species heading.

Muriceopsis flavida (Lamarck, 1815) – Saint John, Virgin Islands, USA (4.6 m), identified by F.M. Bayer (MNRJ 1262).

Muriceopsis petila Bayer, 1961 , (Paratype) – Tongue of the Ocean, Bahamas (66 m), identified by F.M. Bayer ( USNM 50384 ).

Figures

Figure 3. Sclerites of Carijoa riisei (Duchassaing and Michelotti, 1860) (MNRJ 00385): (A) anthocodia; (B) anthostele, near anthocodia; (C) outer layer of coenenchyme of polyp column (branch); (D) inner layer of polyp column.