Menella

Namin, Samimi & Ofwegen, Van, 2009, Some shallow water octocorals (Coelenterata: Anthozoa) of the Persian Gulf, Zootaxa 2058, pp. 1-52 : 33-39

Menella sp. c

( Figs. 13 e, 26–27) Material: RMNH Coel. 38783, one specimen, Farur Island, coll. S.A. Mohtarami.

Description. The colony is 18 cm high, sparsely branched in one plane, with long end branches ( Fig.

13e). Calyces hardly projecting, closely set to each other, and situated all around the branches. The polyps have a collaret and points made up of spindles which are up to 0.20 mm long; the point spindles having one end dentate ( Fig. 26 a-b).

Surface layer of coenenchyme with rooted leaves, up to 0.35 mm long, with mostly one big, flat, thin leaf; sometimes one or two extra smaller leaves are present ( Figs. 26 c, f, 27a). Several rooted leaves have a dentate leaf margin.

Inner layer of coenenchyme with capstans, derivatives of capstans and spindles, the latter up to 0.50 mm long ( Figs. 26 d-e, 27b). Several spindles with side branches and rather complex tubercles ( Fig. 27 b).

Colour. Alive, the colony was purple, preserved it is brown. The polyp sclerites are colourless, all others are red.

Remarks. This species is similar to the previous two, having similarly shaped rooted leaves. It differs in lacking leaf spindles, having many rooted leaves with dentate leaf margin, and possessing interior branched spindles with rather complex tubercles.

Figures

FIGURE 26. RMNH Coel. 38783, Menella sp. c: a, point spindles; b, collaret spindles; c, f, rooted leaves of surface layer; d – e, capstans and spindles of the subsurface layer. Scale at e also applies to b – d.

FIGURE 27. RMNH Coel. 38783, Menella sp. c: a, rooted leaves of surface layer; b, subsurface layer spindles.

FIGURE 13. a, RMNH Coel. 38772, Echinomuricea sp. a; b, RMNH Coel. 38776, Echinomuricea sp. b; c, RMNH Coel. 38781, Menella sp. a; d, RMNH Coel. 38782, Menella sp. b; e, RMNH Coel. 38783, Menella sp. c; f, RMNH Coel. 38784, Menella cf. kanisa Grasshoff, 2000; g, RMNH Coel. 38907, Paraplexaura sp. Scales at a and f 2 cm, all others 1 cm.