Plumapathes pennacea (Pallas, 1766)

Lima, Manuela M., Cordeiro, Ralf T. S. & Perez, Carlos D., 2019, Black Corals (Anthozoa: Antipatharia) from the Southwestern Atlantic, Zootaxa 4692 (1), pp. 1-67 : 36

Plumapathes pennacea (Pallas, 1766)

Fig. 35

Antipathes pennacea Pallas, 1766: 209 .

? Antipathes pluma Gray, 1857: 291 .

Aphanipathes? pennacea: Brook, 1889: 129 , pl XI, fig. 23.

Plumapathes pennacea: Opresko, 2001 a: 361 –363, figs 13, 14; Opresko, 2009: 362.

Type and type locality. RMNH Coel. 6801 (Neotype): Indian Ocean , off Madagascar, depth unknown .

Diagnosis. “The neotype is 12.5 cm high and about 11 cm in width.A basal plate is not present and the specimen may be only a branch from a larger colony. The diameter of the large, stem-like branch is about 2.4 mm at its lower end. The corallum is branched to the third order; mostly in one plane. The stem and branches bear simple filiform pinnules. The largest pinnules are mostly 3–4 cm in length (maximum about 5 cm) and about 0.2 mm in diameter (excluding spines) near the point of insertion on the branch or stem. The pinnules are arranged in two lateral rows with members of each row spaced 1.6–2.0 mm apart. There are six to nine pinnules per centimeter in each row and 13–17 per centimeter for both rows. The spines are conical, with an acute to rounded apex. Over most of the length of the pinnules the polypar spines are 0.1–0.18 mm tall, and the abpolypar spines are slightly smaller. Near the tip of the pinnules the spines decrease in size to 0.03–0.05 mm, and near the base they are up to 0.24 mm tall. The pinnular spines are arranged in five to six longitudinal rows (lateral view, excluding rows only partially visible), usually with about six spines per millimeter in each row (mutual distance mostly 0.18–0.22 mm). On the branches and stem the spines become more needle-like, but are similar in size to the largest pinnular spines, about 0.24 mm. With increasing diameter of the axis, the spines become more densely and more irregularly arranged. On the stem there are 24 or more very irregular rows visible in lateral view. The polyps are arranged in a single series on the lateral or upper side of pinnules, and on one side of the branches and stem. Consequently, there is a distinct polypar and abpolypar side to the corallum. The polyps measure 0.7–0.8 mm in transverse diameter with a small interpolypar space such that there are 10–14 polyps per centimeter on the pinnules. In the preserved state the tentacles measure up to 0.2 mm long, and have a rounded blunt tip” ( Opresko, 2001 a).

Distribution. IndoPacific (Pallas, 1766, Opresko, 2001 a), St. Helena Island, South Atlantic (fig. 35) ( Brook, 1889) and Gulf of México ( Opresko, 2009); from 29 m to 67 m depths ( Opresko, 2009).

Figures

FIGURE 35. Geographic distribution of antipatharians species occurring in the Southwestern Atlantic not analyzed in the present work.