30 Pachycerianthus dohrni (van Beneden, 1924)

Cerianthus membranaceus viridis Andres, 1881: 332

Cerianthus membranaceus Andres, 1883: 347-349

Cerianthus dohrni: Lo Bianco 1909: 552; Pax 1910: 166; van Beneden 1924: 24, 30, 32, 33, 45, 60, 63, 65-89, 92, 94

In part Cerianthus viridis Torelli, 1932: 1-15

Pachycerianthus dohrni: Carlgren 1940: 15; Arai 1971: 1679; Carter 1995: 6; Vafidis and Koukouras 1998: 122-123; Stampar et al. 2014b: 350, 352

Type locality.

Naples, Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy.

Distribution.

Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy and Aegean Sea, Greece, shallow waters.

Remarks.

This species was initially described from the Italian coast (Naples region) as a variation of Cerianthus membranaceus (Andres 1881). However, Lo Bianco (1909) recognized distinct differences from the material identified as C. membranaceus and suggested a new name, Cerianthus dohrni, but without giving a description. Subsequently, van Beneden (1924) gave a very detailed morphological description of the species with some observations from specimens in aquaria. Some years later, Torelli (1932) described Cerianthus viridis based on specimens with a morphology clearly related to that of Cerianthus dohrni . Carlgren (1940) relocated C. dohrni to the genus Pachycerianthus . This is one of the largest species of tube-dwelling anemones in the world with a length of more than 40 cm, which is comparable to the lengths of Ceriantheomorphe brasiliensis and Cerianthus membranaceus .

Type material.

Not designated (several specimens mentioned, which can be considered syntypes).