Parachurabana Kise, 2023

Kise, Hiroki, Nishijima, Miyuki, Iguchi, Akira, Minatoya, Junpei, Yokooka, Hiroyuki, Ise, Yuji & Suzuki, Atsushi, 2023, A new hexactinellid-sponge-associated zoantharian (Porifera, Hexasterophora) from the northwestern Pacific Ocean, ZooKeys 1156, pp. 71-85 : 71

Genus Parachurabana Kise gen. nov.

Type species.

Parachurabana shinseimaruae Kise sp. nov. by original designation.

Diagnosis.

Parazoanthidae with symbiotic relationship with farreid sponges. Polyp cylindrical and flat when preserved. Preserved polyps 0.5-1.0 mm in height, 0.5-3.0 mm in diameter. Azooxanthellate. Cteniform endodermal marginal muscle.

Remarks.

Parachurabana gen. nov. is differentiated from other sponge-associated parazoanthids based on a combination of host-sponge identity and morphological features. Parachurabana gen. nov. is easily distinguished from the genera Bergia , Parazoanthus , and Umimayanthus by its association with hexactinellid sponges, as the three other genera are associated with Demospongiae sponges. In Hexactinellida -sponge-associated Parazoanthidae genera, the association with subclass Amphidiscophora differentiates Parachurabana gen. nov. from Isozoanthus . Marginal muscle morphology differentiates Parachurabana gen. nov. (cteniform endodermal marginal muscles) from Vitrumanthus (cyclically transitional marginal muscles). Parachurabana gen. nov. can be distinguished from Churabana by polyp size, as Parachurabana gen. nov. has very flat polyps when preserved (0.5-1.0 mm in height, 0.5-3.0 mm in diameter) in comparison to Churabana (3.0-4.0 mm in height, 2.8-4.0 mm in diameter). In the16S-rDNA region, Parachurabana gen. nov. is characterized by a unique deletion of 26 bp (positions 136-150 and 168-178 in our alignment) (Suppl. material 2).

Etymology.

Parachurabana alludes to its morphological similarities to Churabana . The Prefix " para " is a Greek word meaning “resembling.”