Chiridota ferruginea ( Verrill, 1882 )

Pawson, David L., Pawson, Doris J. & King, Rachael A., 2010, A taxonomic guide to the Echinodermata of the South Atlantic Bight, USA: 1. Sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea), Zootaxa 2449, pp. 1-48 : 44-45

Chiridota ferruginea ( Verrill, 1882)

Figure 39

Toxodora ferruginea Verrill, 1882: 220 ; Clark, 1908: 126; Deichmann, 1930: 213. Chiridota ferruginea . — Deichmann, 1940: 232, pl. 41 figs. 4–7.

Chiridota wigleyi Pawson, 1976: 405 , fig. 1F–H; 1977, 13.

Material examined. DML 2092, 34 º20'N, 75º49'W, June 28, 1965, 200 m.

Diagnosis. Cylindrical body up to 12cm long. Color in alcohol is dark reddish brown. Wheel papillae very scarce, apparently restricted to dorsal interradii. Wheels (averaging 90 μm in diameter) typical of the genus. Radial and interradial areas of the body wall with numerous curved rods (50–80 μm) with bifurcated ends. Tentacles with curved rods with branching ends.

Distribution. MA to SC.

Habitat. Mud/sand. 70– 301m.

Remarks. Verrill (1882) created a new genus Toxodora for his new species T. ferruginea . Verrill, and also Clark (1908), believed that this new species lacked the wheel ossicles that are typical of the genus Chiridota , to which this species might otherwise have been assigned. Pawson (1976) described Chiridota wigleyi n.sp. from the same general geographic area as Toxodora ferruginea . Deichmann (1940) had discovered that typespecimens of Toxodora ferruginea indeed possessed wheels near the posterior end of the body. Toxodora Verrill, 1882 is therefore a subjective junior synonym of Chiridota Eschscholtz, 1829 , and Chiridota wigleyi Pawson, 1976 , is a subjective junior synonym of Chiridota ferruginea .

Figures

FIGURE 39. Chiridota ferruginea (Verrill, 1882). A, whole animal; B, wheels; C, curved rods.