Corallimorphus

Fautin, Daphne Gail, 2011, Corallimorphus niwa new species (Cnidaria: Anthozoa), New Zealand members of Corallimorphus, and redefinition of Corallimorphidae and its members, Zootaxa 2775, pp. 37-49 : 40

Genus Corallimorphus

Corallimorphidae occurring in deep seas. Polyps solitary. Column short relative to oral disc, which may exceed 100 mm diameter, typically broader than pedal disc. Mesoglea yellowish, hyaline, thick at least in column, commonly in oral disc. Animal stiff and cartilaginous in texture, incapable of retracting fully: column cannot cover oral disc and tentacles. No marginal sphincter muscle. In many species, only one discal tentacle communicates with each endocoel, but as many as five may do so. Two pairs of directive mesenteries (always?).

Comment. Members of the genus Corallimorphus , which contains five valid species ( Fautin 2010) excluding the new one described below, are known from all latitudes; the recorded depth range for the genus is 30–4429 m. The new species and two previously-known ones have been recorded from the EEZ of New Zealand.