Pseudostichopus mollis Théel, 1886

Samyn, Yves & Vandenspiegel, Didier, 2016, Sublittoral and bathyal sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea) from the Northern Mozambique Channel with description of six new species, Zootaxa 4196 (4), pp. 451-497 : 479-480

Pseudostichopus mollis Théel, 1886

( Fig. 20 A – B)

Pseudostichopus mollis Théel, 1886: 169 –170, pl. 10 figs 5, 6; O’Loughlin & Ahearn, 2005: 171, figs 1b, c, 9a, e, 10b, c, 11e, f (synonymy and records before 2005).

Material examined. Non-type material: IE-2007-778 (3) (6 specimens, sampled in front of Majumga).

Remarks. The species in the genus Pseudostichopus are notoriously difficult to identify because they are characterized by lacking ossicles in the body wall. From the region, three species have been documented: P. echinatus Thandar, 1992 characterized by having very irregular knobbed rod ossicles in the tentacles; Pseudostichopus hyalegerus ( Sluiter, 1901) (see above) and P. langeae Thandar, 2006 , characterized by having branched rods in the gonad. P. mollis had already been reported from the Southern Indian Ocean, off Marion Island (O’loughlin & Ahearn 2005). The six specimens of P. mollis observed were eviscerated but pieces of gonads were found in two specimens; no ossicles was observed in the gonads but spiny rods (60 – 240µm long), occasionally branched and with some perforations, were found in the tentacles ( Fig.20 B)

Figures

FIGURE 20. Pseudostichopus mollis Théel, 1886. A: different view of specimens, B: ossicles from tentacles Scale bar: A = 1 cm, B = 20 µm.