Psammogorgia Verrill, 1868

Breedy, Odalisca & Guzman, Hector M., 2020, A revision of the genus Psammogorgia Verrill, 1868 (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Octocorallia) in the tropical eastern Pacific Ocean, ZooKeys 961, pp. 1-30 : 1

Genus Psammogorgia Verrill, 1868

Psammogorgia Verrill, 1868a: 414; Verrill 1868b: 414; Studer 1887: 60; Wright 1889: lix; Nutting 1909: 719; Nutting 1910: 16; Kükenthal 1919: 234-236, 905; Kükenthal 1924: 106; Bayer 1956: F212; Bayer 1958: 43; Harden 1979: 114; Bayer 1981: 925; Breedy and Guzman 2014: 494; Breedy et al. 2020: 171-172.

Type species.

Echinogorgia arbuscula Verrill, 1866 by subsequent designation ( Verrill 1868b).

Diagnosis.

Colonies bushy to flabellate. Branching lateral, dichotomous, irregularly dichotomous, or subpinnate. Branches round or slightly flattened. Axis horny, chambered central core filled with organic non-mineralised fibres. Calyces on all sides of branches, flat, slightly raised or prominent. Polyp apertures slit-like or swollen. Anthocodial sclerites mostly large, elongated, warty, spinose or slender spindles, with or without median waist, in collaret and points arrangements at base of tentacles. Sclerites of coenenchyme thick, warty spindles; radiates, and crosses. Clubs warty or foliate-like with variation of those types mostly present at calyx rims and external coenenchyme. Colony colours dark red, red, orange, pink and white. Sclerites colours red, pink, orange, yellow, various hues of these, and/or colourless.

Distribution.

The genus has been reported from the eastern Pacific, Californian province, the Indian Ocean and the north Atlantic.

Remarks.

Axes analysis of the species of Psammogorgia show chambered central cores filled with organic non-mineralised fibres (e.g., Fig. 1 ).

Figures

Figure 1. Psammogorgia arbuscula (Verrill, 1866) STRI 269 A central core chambers filled with organic non-mineralised fibres B detail of organic non-mineralised fibres.