Pachycerianthus nobilis ( Haddon & Shackleton, 1893 )

Stampar, Sérgio N., Mills, V. Sadie & Keable, Stephen J., 2020, Ceriantharia (Cnidaria) from Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica with Descriptions of Four New Species, Records of the Australian Museum 72 (3), pp. 81-100 : 88

Pachycerianthus nobilis ( Haddon & Shackleton, 1893)

Cerianthus nobilis Haddon & Shackleton, 1893: 116 , 118; Carlgren, 1896: 174; Haddon, 1898: 400–401; Pax, 1910: 167.

Pachycerianthus nobilis Molodtsova, 2000: 19 ; Molodtsova, 2007: 133; Stampar et al., 2014: 350, 352.

Specimens examined. AM G16074, Dunwich , Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, 27.50°S 153.40°E (1974) ; AM G18351, Dunwich , Stradbroke Island , Moreton Bay , Queensland, Australia (06/viii/1961), on sand flats (5 specimens); Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory : NTM CO14354 , Town Hall , Channel Island , Darwin Harbor, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, 12.550°S 130.833°E, 6–8 m depth .

Remarks. The specimens studied come from southern Queensland and the northern part of the Northern Territory. As this species has been described from Torres Strait in northern Queensland, the distribution appears to be quite broad, encompassing the Timor Sea, Arafura Sea and Coral Sea. The polyps generally have a whitish-green color in the tentacle region and reddish-brown color in the column. However, some live specimens have different tentacle colors, including purple to green marginal tentacles. All specimens examined were fertile, including those smaller than 3 cm in length. This indicates that reproductive maturity is reached rapidly and long before specimens reach the maximum reported size for the species (10 cm in preserved specimens). This is a very little studied species but is apparently common and of commercial importance as it is sold in aquarium stores to amateur hobbyists (SNS personal observation). Therefore, an assessment of conservation status and reproductive patterns of this species would be valuable.

Distribution. Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, New Caledonia, depth: shallow waters.