A revision of the genus Radicipes Stearns, 1883 (Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Chrysogorgiidae)
Author
Perez, Carlos D.
text
Zootaxa
2017
2017-11-11
4319
1
1
26
journal article
32144
10.11646/zootaxa.4319.1.1
7b43fe29-e505-4e3c-867c-086153fb3514
1175-5326
893037
Fc97523C-3Fe9-4Bd1-9A3B-174E0969E78A
Radicipes pleurocristatus
Stearns, 1883
Figs. 1
B,C,E, 2H –I’, 4, 5
Radicipes pleurocristatus
StearnS, 1883
: 97–98, pl. 7, figS. 1–2.—
KinoShita, 1913
: 5–8, pl. 3, figS. 1–2, text-figS. 1–3.—
Kükenthal, 1919
: 542–543; 1924: 410–411 (key to SpecieS).—
Bayer, 1961
: F218, text-fig. 156, 3a–d; 1979: 882, fig. 2b.—?
Fujita & Ohta, 1988
:
2019–2042
, figS. 1–6, in part (brittle Star commenSalS).—?
Fujita, 2001
: 267, fig. 3a–c, in part (brittle Star commenSal).—
MatSumoto
et al.
, 2007
: 241 (liSted).—
Cordeiro,
et al.
, 2015
: 95 (tabular key to SpecieS).
Strophogorgia verrilli
Wright, 1885
: 691
(
nom. nud
.).
Strophogorgia verrilli
Wright & Studer, 1889
: 3
, pl. 1, fig. 2, pl. 5a, fig. 3.
Strophogorgia
petersi
Wright & Studer, 1889
: 2
–3, pl. 2, fig. 1, pl. 5a, fig. 1.
Lepidogorgia petersi
.—VerSluyS, 1902: 7–12, text-figS. 4–14.—
ThomSon & HenderSon, 1906
: 27
(tabular key to SpecieS).—
Nutting, 1912
: 53
.
Lepidogorgia verrilli
.—
VerSluyS, 1902: 12–14, text figS. 15–17.—
ThomSon & HenderSon, 1906
: 26
–27, pl. 3, fig. 5 (tabular key to SpecieS).—Not
ThomSon, 1927
: 20
–21 (=
R. gracilis
).
Radicipes verrilli
.—
Kükenthal, 1919
: 543
; 1924: 411 (key to SpecieS).—
Fujita, 2001
: 267
–272, figS. 3, 5, 6 (brittle Star commenSal).—
MatSumoto
et al.
, 2007
(liSted).—?
Stone & ShotWell, 2007
: 107
(liSted,
AlaSka
).—CairnS
et al.
, 2009 (liSted for
NeW Zealand
).—
Cordeiro
et al.
, 2015
: 95
(tabular key to SpecieS).
Types
and
type
localities
.
Radicipes pleurocristatus
:
USNM 5685
(
syntype
, eight dry fragments),
Japan
, depth unknown (specimens purchased from a fisherman in
Enoshima
(=Sagami
Bay
)).
Strophogorgia verrilli
: BM 1889.5.27.2.
Type
Locality:
Chall-
235,
34°07'N
,
138°00'E
,
1033 m
(off
Japan
,
syntypes
); and
Chall
-237,
34°37'N
,
140°32'E
,
3429 m
(not found).
Lepidogorgia petersi
:
Types
were not found at the
BMNH
and are presumed to be lost.
Type
Locality:
Chall-
232,
35°11’N
,
139°28’E
,
631 m
(off
Chiba
Peninsula,
Japan
).
Material examined
.
Alb
-4969, 33°23'40"N, 135°33'E,
1073 m
(USNM 49464 and USNM 50095);
Alb
-4971, 33°23'40"N, 135°34'E,
1187 m
(USNM 49465);
Alb
-4976, 33°02'50"N, 135°38'30"E,
994-997 m
(USNM 30070);
Alb
-4958, 32°36'20"N, 132°24'30"E,
741 m
(USNM 57487);
Alb
-5605, 00°21'33"N, 121°134'10"E, 1183 (USNM 49899);
Alb
-5648, 5°35'03"N, 122°20'E,
1022 m
(USNM 49966).
FIGURE 4.
ScleriteS of
Radicipes pleurocristatus
StearnS, 1883
(USNM 49464) A: rodS from the body Wall; B: detail of a rod from the body Wall; C: coenenchymal ScaleS; D: pinnular ScaleS; E: tentacular rodS. Scale barS: A: 0.5 mm, B,D-E: 0.02 mm, C: 0.2 mm.
FIGURE 5.
ScleriteS of
Radicipes pleurocristatus
StearnS, 1883
(BMNH1889.5.27.2, holotype of
Radicipes verrilli
(Nutting, 1908))
. A: rodS from the body Wall; B: tentacular rodS; C: coenenchymal ScaleS; D: pinnular flattened rodS. Scale bar: 0.2 mm.
Description
. Colonies fragile and brittle, light brown in color or completely white, with an iridescent aspect. Minimum aXis diameter of
0.4 mm
in most of the specimens eXamined; maXimum of
4.3 mm
. AXis stiff, clockwise helicoidal in basis-apeX direction, slightly elliptical in cross-section. AXial diameter decreasing in basis-apeX direction. Calcareous holdfasts with root-like projections, usually thicker than aXis. Polyps arranged in a single longitudinal line (polypar side), corresponding to the eXternal face of aXis. Polyps cylindrical or trumpet shaped, vertically or obliquely oriented,
2.8 to 5.1 mm
long in those fully developed (
Fig. 2
H–I’). Wider saddle bags and oral portions in fertile polyps (
Fig. 2
I’). Polyps closely placed, in number four per centimeter in proXimal portions, separated by about
1.4 mm
, and well spaced in distal parts with one polyp per centimeter and up to 6.0 mm between. Usually three polyps per centimeter. Some specimens (e.g., USNM 30070) with perpendicularly-oriented polyps. In distal portion, both polyps and sclerites thinner and smaller. AbaXial portion of fully developed polyp filled with longitudinally-oriented rods as long as entire body wall,
0.6 to 2.3 mm
in length, and from
0.04 mm
to
0.16 mm
in width (
Fig. 4
A, 5A). Rods cylindrical to slightly flattened or with flattened tips (rare) (
Fig. 4
B). AdaXial portion of polyps with fewer developed sclerites, fewer in number. Fully developed polyps with flattened sclerites in a structure resembling a saddle bag and usually curved rods transversely or irregularly arranged, forming a bulb-like base (
Fig. 2
I’); infertile or not completely developed polyps lack saddle bag and transversely arranged sclerites (
Fig. 2
H). Coenenchymal scales long, longitudinally curved and usually disposed in a single layer, along entire colony on polypar and abpolypar faces, 0.15 to 1.0 mm long, and
0.04 mm
to
0.12 mm
wide, rarely reaching the length of the rods from the body wall (
Fig. 4
C, 5C). Coenenchymal scales smaller in abpolypar side and absent on polypar line, where body wall rods cover the spaces between fully developed polyps. Tentacular rods one quarter to one-fifth the length of those in body wall,
0.2–0.46 mm
long and
0.02–0.1 mm
wide (
Figs. 4
E, 5B). Flattened pinnular rods
0.09–0.26 mm
long and
0.01–0.05 mm
wide (
Figs. 4
D, 5D).
Remarks
. The
syntypes
consist of eight fragments, including four holdfasts, indicating at least four specimens, with the largest fragment
32 cm
long and
4.3 mm
in diameter but with only 14 polyps remaining. One of the specimens eXamined (USNM 57487) is very slender, with well spaced polyps, lacking transverse infrabasal sclerites, irregular rods, also lacking curved sclerites in coenenchyme.
Kükenthal (1919)
mistakenly described
R. pleurocristatus
as having naked lateral walls and
Cordeiro
et al.
(2015)
compiled this information in their table of valid species of
Radicipes
. In fact, there are no naked polyp parts in
R. pleurocristatus
. As did
Cordeiro
et al.
(2015)
, we also provide a tabular key of valid species, but mainly based on the eXamination of
types
(Table 1).
We did not eXamine the
type
of
Strophogorgia
petersi
Wright & Studer, 1889
, but the illustrations of the
type
given by Versluys (1902) and the distribution pattern match
R. pleurocristatus
(
e.g
., Versluys, 1906, p. 8–11, figs. 4–13). We also accept
Radicipes verrilli
(
Wright & Studer, 1889
)
as a junior synonym of
R. pleurocristatus
, as previously implied by Versluys (1902) and
Kükenthal (1919)
. Additionally, these species have the same distribution patterns. The basic difference between the
types
of
R. pleurocristatus
and
R. verrilli
was based on a more slender shape of the polyps in
R. verrilli
and a body wall filled only with longitudinally arranged rods (
Fig. 2
H,H’), whereas
R. pleurocristatus
has longer body wall rods and a basal bulb (saddlebag) in most of the polyps, giving it a more robust appearance (
Fig.
2
I,I’). It is likely that the development of the bulb-like portion is directly related to the seXual maturation of the polyp, as well the enlargement of the oral portion, as most of the studied species showed eggs in the basal portion of their robust polyps. There is no information in the literature to indicate the reproductive features in species of
Radicipes
or any other chrysogorgiid. Thus we cannot discard the possibility of seXual dimorphism among colonies or even within polyps of a single colony. Finally, it is worth mentioning the common association of this species with white brittle stars of the genus
Asteronyx
(
Fujita & Ohta, 1988
)
.
Distribution
.
Eastern
Pacific (
Japan
) to Indo-Pacific (
Indonesia
),
629 to1301 m
.