Bebryce stellata Hentschel, 1903

Namin, Kaveh Samimi & Van Ofwegen, Leen P., 2010, An overview of Bebryce (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Plexauridae) species with tiny rosettes, with the description of a new species from the Gulf of Oman, Zoosystema 32 (3), pp. 479-493 : 490

publication ID	https://doi.org/ 10.5252/z2010n3a9
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/177787D3-FFB4-A611-FF50-FD240A9CB4CE
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Bebryce stellata Hentschel, 1903
status

Treatment

Bebryce stellata Hentschel, 1903 View in CoL

( Figs 1 View FIG ; 2C, D View FIG ; 10 View FIG ; 11 View FIG )

Bebryce stellata Hentschel, 1903: 649 View in CoL , pl. 53 figs 22-25.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Indonesia. Ambon, stn MAL.12, N coast near Morela, 03°33’S, 128°12’E, reef flat, small lagoon, sea grass, calcareous rock with many corals, steep slope with stony and soft corals, hand collecting, diving, 13/ 14.XI.1996, 2 colonies and 2 microscope slides ( RMNH Coel. 39560).

DESCRIPTION

The largest colony of RMNH Coel. 39560, is fan-shaped without anastomoses. It is 12 cm high and 11 cm wide, the main stem is about 2 mm wide and branching starts at the base of the main stem ( Fig. 2C View FIG ). Th e smaller colony is sparsely branched, 8.5 cm high, and 5.5 cm wide ( Fig. 2D View FIG ). In both colonies the polyps are situated all around the branches with prominent calyces about 0.5 mm high. Some parts of the colony, mostly at the base, are covered with an encrusting sponge. The sclerite description is based on the larger colony.

Polyps are retracted and have 4 spindles per point. These spindles are up to 0.40 mm long and have spines or a spiny leaf at their distal end ( Fig. 10A View FIG ). The collaret has 4 rows of bent spindles, up to 0.55 mm long ( Fig. 10B View FIG ). Tentacles have bowshaped spindles up to 0.12 mm long ( Fig. 10C View FIG ), and a few rods, up to 0.06 mm long.

At the margin of the calyces spindles are present, up to 0.12 mm long, with an unilateral projection ( Fig. 10D View FIG ).

The surface layer sclerites are rosettes, up to 0.07 mm long, with warty, rounded, or bristle-like projections ( Fig. 10E View FIG ).

In the subsurface layer the sclerites are stellate plates, up to 0.16 mm long ( Fig. 11 View FIG ), most of them forming ellipsoid bodies.

Colour

Preserved colonies whitish, sclerites colourless.

REMARKS

The holotype of Bebryce stellata is present in the Musée zoologique de Strasbourg, France (MSZ NS 101), but only 1 cm remained of the originally 4.5 cm long fragment, and it was not available for re-examination.

The description of Hentschel (1903) is very unsatisfactory and the magnifications of sclerites in his plate do not correspond with his measurements in the description. He presented two measurements in his description, stellate plates up to 0.04 mm long, and polyp sclerites up to 0.44 mm long. Hentschel mentioned “Von der seite gesehen erscheinten die kleiner spicula oft knopfförmig”; these are the rosettes typical for Bebryce , and therefore we conclude B. stellata must have tiny rosettes like the other species under study.

Despite this unsatisfactory description of Hentschel and the impossibility to re-examine the type specimen we identified the Ambon material as B. stellata because of the following:

1) both our material and the type specimen of B. stellata were found at Ambon, Indonesia ;

2) Hentschel (1903) described “Grosse und alte Kalkkörper verlieren die klare Sternform und werden zu unregelmässigen, stark warzigen Klumpen”, these are the ellipsoid sclerites so common in our material, and not so dominantly present in most Bebryce species ;

3) a few of the rosettes depicted by us are in complete agreement with those given by Hentschel (1903:plate 53, fig. 24); the same applies for the stellate plates; 4) in total, eight specimens belonging to Bebryce were found around Ambon during the Fauna Malesiana Maluku Expedition, the six not yet identified specimens differ greatly from B. stellata , in having much thicker branches and much larger rosettes.