Parazoanthus sp. 1

Reimer, James D., Poliseno, Angelo & Hoeksema, Bert W., 2014, Shallow-water zoantharians (Cnidaria, Hexacorallia) from the Central Indo-Pacific, ZooKeys 444, pp. 1-57 : 17-18

Taxon classification Animalia Zoantharia Parazoanthidae

20. Parazoanthus sp. 1 Figures 18A, 19

Specimens examined.

NA.

Photographic records

(n=3). West side of Pulau Kudengareng Keke, Spermonde Archipelago, South Salawesi (05°06'20"S, 119°17'03"E), June 4, 1997; Cabilao Island, Cebu Strait, Philippines (09°52'35"N, 123°46'33"E), November 16, 1999; station WAK.24, Ndaa Atoll northwest outer slope, REA Wakatobi National Park, Tukang Besi Islands, Wakatobi, Southeast Sulawesi, (05°38'46"S, 124°02'42"E), May 12, 2003.

Description.

Very small (polyp diameter likely approximately 1 mm) azooxanthellate polyps regularly spaced and embedded within encrusting sponge tissue (Figure 18A). Polyps differentially colored from sponges; dark red (Cebu), yellow (Pulau Kudengareng Keke), white (Wakatobi). Tentacles up to 24 in number (in images here), as long as diameter of oral disk.

Distribution.

Regions recorded in this study (Figure 19). Spermonde Archipelago (9), Tukang Besi Islands (12), Cebu (21).

Past records. Previously, similar specimens have been reported from Japan ( Sinniger et al. 2008) and the Red Sea ( Reimer et al. 2014b).

Remarks.

Based on phylogenetic data (J. Montenegro, F. Sinniger and J.D. Reimer, unpubl. data) it appears that this group includes several undescribed species. The species has been found on cave ceilings (Figure 18A), which may explain why it is azooxanthellate as in some other hexacorals with white polyps ( Hoeksema 2012b, Reimer et al. 2014, Irei et al. subm).