Stauropathes punctata ( Roule, 1905 )

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 : 41-42

Stauropathes punctata ( Roule, 1905)

Fig. 21 , 22

(?) Tylopathes hirta— Roule 1902: 81–82; pl.4: 1.

Tylopathes? punctata Roule, 1905: 26 , 28, 35, 81, 93, 95. fig. 1; Opresko, 2002: 417, 420.

Antipathes punctata Silberfeld 1909: 8 ; Land & Opresko, 2001: 109; Grasshoff, 1985b: 303, 306; Tyler & Zibrowius, 1992: 217.

Stauropathes punctata Opresko, 2002: 417 , 420; Molodtsova, 2006: 148; Molodtsova, 2014: 6.

Type and type locality. Prince of Monaco Collection (specimen not traced), Azores, 1300 m ( Roule, 1905) .

Material examined. Rio Grande Rise, 30º53’31.92”S, 35º3’9”W; Initial depth: 1600 m; final depth: 1500 m. PROERG/ CPRM. ERG 065—Dredge— 15/06/2011 ( MNRJ 8592, 3 fragments).

Diagnosis. Corallum branched and pinnulate, with branches arising in dichotomous form, mainly in single plane, and with some anastomosis. Branches with great regularity. Pinnules arranged in two bilateral rows and in subopposite pairs. Pinnules in the same row 7–8 mm apart on the larger branches, and 6–7 mm apart on the smaller branches. Spines triangular and smooth, with a height generally between 0.02–0.04 mm, and distance between spines of the same row 0.1–0.4 mm (adapted from Roule, 1905 and Opresko, 2002).

Description of Brazilian specimens. Three fragments (MNRJ 8592) branched up to 2th or 4th order, pinnulated, mainly in a single plane ( Fig. 21a ). Larger fragment with total length of approximately 20 cm, and width of approximately 10 cm. Smallest fragment with total length of approximately 10 cm, and width of 7 cm. Thickness of the stem reaching 1.4 mm in the largest fragment. Pinnules in two lateral rows, arranged in oppositepairs, and inclined towards the distal end of the colony ( Fig. 21b ). Distal angle between pinules and stem of 40° to 65°. Internal angle between pair of pinnules in subopposition varying from 100° to 130°. Some pinnules fusing with pinnules of nearby branches. Length of the pinnules between 2 and 10 mm. Pinnules spaced 5.5–9 mm apart in each row (7 to 8 pinnules occurring on each side along five centimeters of axis), with spacing decreasing towards the apex of the colony. Pinnular diameter between 0.2 and 0.4 mm, with decreasing diameter in the base-apex direction of the pinnules. Spines small, triangular and smooth, arranged in 6 regular rows visible with the Optical Microscope (M.O.) ( Fig. 21 c-d). Spine size mainly 0.02–0.038 mm. Width of spine base between 0.06 and 0.09 mm. Distance between spines of the same row very variable, from 0.1 to 0.4 mm, with an average of 6 spines per millimeter. Distance between rows of spines approximately 0.1 mm. Polyps degraded.

Remarks. The specimen from the Rio Grande Rise differs from S. arctica because the latter is shrubby, forming branches in more than one plane ( Opresko, 2002; Molodtsova, 2006). The specimens described here are similar to S. staurocrada , however, the spacing between the pairs of pinnules in the specimens examined (5.5–9 mm) is less than that reported by Opresko (2002) for the species (8–12 mm). This smaller spacing between the pinnules is reported by Opresko (2002) as a characteristic that distinguishes S. staurocrada from S. punctata . Roule (1905) does not provide morphometric features of S. punctata spines, as mentioned by Opresko (2002). However, Roule states that the spines of the species S. punctata attract attention because of their smallness and excessive abundance, which also describe the spines of the specimens analyzed. In addition, the geographical proximity between the records of the species and the Rio Grande Rise, as well as the illustrations presented in the original description, support the conclusion that the Brazilian specimens belong to this species.

Distribution. Santa Cruz das Flores Island, Azores, Portugal ( Roule, 1905; Molodtsova, 2006); Cabo Verde Archipelago ( Roule, 1905) and Southwestern Atlantic, Rio Grande Rise (this work) ( Fig. 22 ); from 1300 m ( Roule, 1905; Molodtsova, 2006) to 1600 m depth (this work).

Figures

FIGURE 21. MNRJ 8592: Stauropathes punctata (Roule, 1905). a: Corallum morphology; b: Pinnulation pattern; c: Organization of spines; d: Spines magnified.

FIGURE 22. Geographic distribution of Stauropathes punctata (Roule, 1905). Yellow circles: records extracted from the literature (Roule, 1905; Molodtsova, 2006) and based on Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS). Red circle: record made in the present work.