Sigmodota contorta ( Ludwig, 1875 )

O’Loughlin, P. Mark & VandenSpiegel, Didier, 2010, A revision of Antarctic and some Indo-Pacific apodid sea cucumbers (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Apodida), Memoirs of Museum Victoria 67, pp. 61-95 : 80-82

Sigmodota contorta ( Ludwig, 1875)

Figure 10; tables 2, 3

Chiridota contorta Ludwig, 1875: 80–81 , pl. 6, figs 6a–c.— Lampert, 1885: 234.— Théel, 1886a: 16, 33, pl. 2 fig. 2.— Théel, 1886b: 20.—Lampert, 1889: 853–854.— Ludwig, 1891: 359.— Östergren, 1897: 154.— Ludwig, 1897: 217–219.— Ludwig, 1898: 73–83, pl. 3 figs 37–42.— Perrier, 1905: 77–78.

Sigmodota purpurea .— Studer, 1876: 454.— Studer, 1879: 123.

Chiridota purpurea .— Bell, 1881: 101.— Lampert, 1885: 236.— Lampert, 1886: 18–21, figs 17–20.— Ludwig, 1886: 29, 30.

Chiridota studeri Théel, 1886a: 33 .—Lampert in Studer, 1889: 163, 283, 285, 308.

Sigmodota contorta .—Östergren, 1898: 118.— Sluiter, 1901: 134.

Sigmodota studeri .— Hérouard, 1906: 15.

Taeniogyrus contortus . —H. L. Clark, 1908: 121–123, pl. 7 figs 8–13.—H. L. Clark, 1921: 165.— Ekman, 1925: 147–148.— Ekman, 1927: 416–417 (part Sigmodota magnibacula ( Massin and Hétérier, 2004)) .— Heding, 1928: 311, fig. 66(1–9).— Deichman, 1947: 348– 349.— Pawson, 1964: 466, 467.— Pawson, 1969a: 126, 141.— Pawson, 1969b: 38, map 6.— Pawson, 1971: 289, figs 1, 2.— Arnaud, 1974: 585.— Hernandez, 1981: 164, figs 1k, l, 4d, e.— Gutt, 1988: 24 (part if not all Sigmodota magnibacula ( Massin and Hétérier, 2004)) .— Gutt, 1991: 324 (part if not all Sigmodota magnibacula ( Massin and Hétérier, 2004)) .— Massin, 1992: 311.— Branch et al., 1993: 40, 56, 61, 65.— O’Loughlin, 2002: 298, 300, 301, tables 1, 2 (part Sigmodota magnibacula ( Massin and Hétérier, 2004) ; see material examined).— Massin and Hétérier, 2004: 442, 443, table 1.—O’Loughlin, 2009: 2, table 1.

Taeniogyrus contortus antarcticus .— Panning, 1936: 17, 18, fig. 8.— Pawson, 1969a: 141. (non Taeniogyrus antarcticus Heding, 1931 )

Chiridota pisanii .— O’Loughlin, 2002: 298, tables 1, 4 (= Sigmodota contorta ; non Chiridota pisanii Ludwig, 1886 ).

Material examined. South America, Argentina, Santa Cruz, east of Grande Bay, Albatross Stn 2771, 51˚34'S 68˚00'W, 91 m, 1888, USNM 19826 (3) ; Chile, Inutil Bay , 53˚35'S 69˚45'W, 37–46 m, 1969, USNM E33679 (13) ; 53˚34'S 69˚59'W, 82–91 m, 1970, USNM E33715 (9).

Falkland Is, 52°10'S 64°56'W, 150 m, Discovery Expedition , William Scoresby stn 816, 14 Jan 1932, NHM 2010.55 – 62 (8) ; 54°00'S 64°58'W, 118 m, Discovery Expedition , William Scoresby stn 88, 6 Apr 1927, NHM 2010.63 – 68 (6) ; E Falkland Is, 75 m, Discovery Expedition , William Scoresby stn 84, 24 Mar 1927, NHM 2010.69 – 70 (2) ; 296 m, Discovery Expedition , William Scoresby stn 773, 31 Oct 1931, NHM 2010.71 – 74 (4) ; Saldanka Bay , Discovery Expedition, William Scoresby Marine Station 82, 6 Sep 1926, NHM 2010.75 – 84 (many).

Antarctic Ocean, Bouvet I., ICEFISH 2004 stn 80–BT42, 54.40°S 03.48°W, 159 m, NMV F104990 (1).

South Georgia, ICEFISH 2004 stn 38–BT18, 54.00°S 37.66°W, 46 m, NMV F104799 (1) ; 18–25 m, Discovery Expedition, William Scoresby stn 25, 17 Dec 1926, NHM 2010.85 – 94 (11) ; RBINS IG 31 459 (1, SEM); 2 m, Discovery Expedition, William Scoresby stn 56, 14 Jan 1927, NHM 2010.95 – 96 (2) ; 179–235 m, Discovery Expedition, stn 39, 25 Mar 1926, NHM 2010.97 – 98 (2) ; 0–100 m, Discovery Expedition, stn 126, 19 Dec 1926, NHM 2010.99 (1) ; 26–83 m, Discovery Expedition, William Scoresby stn 62, 19 Jan 1927, NHM 2010.100 – 103 (4) ; Leith Harbour, 22–55 m, Discovery Expedition, stn 1941, 29 Dec 1936, NHM 2010.104 (1).

S Shetland Is , 61.34°S 55.20°W, 204 m, 3 Dec 2006, BAS stn EI– EBS–4, NMV F168628 (1).

S Orkney Is, 53.60°S 37.90°W, 503 m, BAS stn SG–EBS–3, NMV F168632 (1) ; NMV F168642 (2 specimens as tissues) ; NHM 2010.35 – 47 (13) ; RBINS IG 31 459 (2, SEM figures).

Indian Ocean , Heard I., ANARE , 52˚41'–53˚13'S 72˚56'–73˚41'E, 120–228 m, NMV F84977 (1) , F84978 (1), F84979 (1); Kerguelen Is , 49°33'S 69°49'E, 20 m, SAM K2384 (1) ; BANZARE stn 12, 49˚28'S 70˚04'E, 4–5 m, 1929, SAM K1839 (1) ; BANZARE stn 49, 49˚30'S 69˚48'E, 2–20 m, 1930, SAM K1840 (1).

Diagnosis. Sigmodotid species up to 50 mm long (preserved); tentacles 12, 4–7 pairs of digits, longest distally; wheels in distinct papillae, scattered over interradii, more numerous dorsally and anteriorly, wheels 35–136 µ m diameter; hooks scattered, frequently about twice the size of the wheels, 136– 250 µ m long; tentacle rods 80–184 µ m long, significantly shorter than hooks; up to 7 unequal polian vesicles; gonad tubules dichotomously branched.

Type locality. Unknown (3 specimens).

Colour (preserved). Predominantly dark reddish-brown, rarely grey and translucent.

Distribution. Western Antarctica, Bouvet I., 159 m; South Georgia, 46 m; S Shetland Is, 204 m; S Orkney Is, 503 m.

South America, south of 42° in the west, S of 47°S in the east ( Pawson 1969a).

Indian Ocean, Heard I., 120–228 m; Kerguelen Is, 2–20 m, 116 m (Lampert 1889); Marion I., 125–132 m ( Branch et al. 1993).

Java Sea, 82 m ( Sluiter 1901).

Remarks. Specimens of the species Sigmodota contorta (Ludwig) have been subjected to many misidentifications, as discussed at the beginning of this work and as is evident in the synonymy above.

Sluiter (1901) determined 3 Siboga specimens (stn 319) up to 10 mm long from the Java Sea at 82 m as Sigmodota contorta (Ludwig) .

Hérouard (1906) provided the very limited description of 12 tentacles and hook ossicles for specimens from the Bellingshausen Sea that he determined to be Sigmodota studeri (Théel) . The few diagnostic details would fit Scoliorhapis massini sp. nov. (above).

Panning (1936) examined specimens from South Georgia that he judged to be Taeniogyrus antarcticus Heding, 1931 . He found the specimens close to Taeniogyrus contortus (Ludwig) , and made the Heding species a subspecies ( Taeniogyrus contortus antarcticus Heding ). Based on tentacle number (12) and ossicle sizes, we judge that Panning (1936) was in fact examining specimens of Sigmodota contorta (Ludwig) .

Massin and Hétérier (2004) erected their species Taeniogyrus magnibaculus for specimens from the Weddell Sea subsequent to the work of Cherbonnier (1974), Gutt (1988, 1991), and O’Loughlin (2002) who reported Taeniogyrus contortus (Ludwig) from the regions of Terre Adélie, the Weddell Sea and Prydz Bay respectively. The Prydz Bay material has been redetermined as Taeniogyrus magnibaculus , which has also been found by us in the Ross Sea and off Wilkes Land. Taeniogyrus contortus (Ludwig) has not been found on coastal eastern Antarctica, and it is anticipated that the Cherbonnier reference was to Taeniogyrus magnibaculus and this synonymy is given below. Likewise Gutt (1988, 1991) reported Taeniogyrus contortus from the Weddell Sea. We anticipate that some or possibly all of his material was Taeniogyrus magnibaculus . Taeniogyrus contortus and Taeniogyrus magnibaculus are generally allopatric, except in the South Orkney Is.

The mistaken identification by O’Loughlin (2002) of Heard I. specimens as Chiridota pisanii Ludwig, 1886 was corrected by Bohn in Altnöder et al. (2007), and discussed by O’Loughlin (2009). The specimens are listed here as Taeniogyrus contortus (Ludwig) .