Schizopathes affinis Brook, 1889

(FIgS. 1 ANd 6)

Schizopathes affinis, Molodtsova & Opresko (2017): 360 –361 (complete synonymy).

Material examined: MTQ MATeRIAL (PReSeRVed IN eTHYL ALCOHOL): G61837, G61944, G61951, ANd G73230 (STATION dATA IN TAbLe 1).

Diagnosis: COLONY MONOPOdIAL, UNbRANCHed, PINNULATe. PINNULeS SIMPLe, ARRANged ALTeRNATeLY IN TWO LATeRAL ROWS ALONg STeM; deCReASINg IN LeNgTH TOWARd APeX Of CORALLUM ANd INCLINed dISTALLY. PINNULeS 8 MM TO 10 MM APART PROXIMALLY, 5 MM TO 6 MM APART NeAR THe TOP Of CORALLUM (APPROXIMATeLY SeVeN PINNULeS TOTAL PeR 3 CM ON LOWeR PART Of CORALLUM ANd AbOUT TeN PeR 3 CM ON UPPeR PART IN HOLOTYPe). POLYPAR SPINeS SMALL, TRIANgULAR, ANd COMPReSSed; MOSTLY 0.03 MM TO 0.05 MM TALL (UP TO 0.08 MM NeAR dISTAL eNd Of PINNULeS); fOUR TO fIVe ROWS VISIbLe IN LATeRAL VIeW; WITH AbOUT SIX SPINeS PeR 1 MM. AbPOLYPAR SPINeS USUALLY SMALLeR THAN POLYPAR SPINeS, AbOUT 0.03 MM OR AbSeNT. POLYPS 3 MM TO 4.5 MM IN TRANSVeRSe dIAMeTeR, WITH AbOUT THRee POLYPS PeR 1 CM.

Description of the CIDARIS Specimens: THe CIDARIS SPeCIMeNS Of S. affinis ARe SIMILAR TO THe TYPe IN bOTH THe deNSITY Of THe PINNULeS (INCReASINg fROM AbOUT 4.5 PINNULeS IN TOTAL PeR 3 CM ANd ~7 MM Of dISTANCe beTWeeN PINNULeS PROXIMALLY TO 8 PeR 3 CM ANd ~5 MM Of dISTANCe beTWeeN PINNULeS TOWARdS THe APeX Of THe CORALLUM) (FIgURe 6A), ANd THe SIze Of THe POLYPAR SPINeS (~0.06 MM) beINg LARgeR THAN AbPOLYPAR SPINeS (~0.04 MM) (FIgURe 6b). THe COLONY ALSO ReSeMbLeS THe TYPe SPeCIMeN bY HAVINg A dISTINCT TRIANgULAR SHAPe ANd RATIOS Of THe LONgeST ANd LOWeRMOST PINNULe COMPARed TO THe PINNULATed PORTION Of THe STeM beINg beTWeeN 1 TO 1.3, SIMILAR TO THe TYPe SPeCIMeN WITH A RATIO Of ~0.95. (FIgURe 6A). FOUR ROWS Of SPINeS CAN be SeeN fROM ONe ASPeCT (FIgURe 6b) ANd SPINeS ARe MOSTLY SIMPLe (FIgURe 6C), WITH TWO SPeCIMeNS SHOWINg bIfURCATION Of SOMe POLYPAR SPINeS (FIgURe 6b).

Distribution: THIS SPeCIeS HAS beeN RePORTed fROM THe NORTHWeSTeRN ATLANTIC, WeSTeRN PACIfIC, ANd INdIAN OCeANS, ANd SOUTH CHINA SeA, fROM dePTHS Of 1,900 M TO 8,460 M, ANd THIS STUdY eXPANdS THe dISTRIbUTION TO THe CORAL SeA, AUSTRALIA (FIgURe 1C) AT 1,576 M (FIgURe 1C), A RANge eXPANSION Of> 1,000 kM, ANd dePTH RANge eXPANSION Of 333 M.

a Type specimen a Type specimen