Hemicorallium ducale (Bayer, 1955)

Horvath, Elizabeth Anne, 2019, A review of gorgonian coral species (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) held in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History research collection: focus on species from Scleraxonia, Holaxonia, and Calcaxonia - Part I: Introduction, species of Scleraxonia and Holaxonia (Family Acanthogorgiidae), ZooKeys 860, pp. 1-66 : 1

Hemicorallium ducale (Bayer, 1955)

Corallium ducale Bayer, 1955: 210-211, plate 1. Bayer and Cairns 2003: 224.

Material examined.

One lot, 2 specimens + fragments (recent addition) in SBMNH collection, most likely this species (see Appendix 1: List of material examined).

Remarks.

Distribution extends in Eastern Pacific from Mexico (Bayer, 1955), northern Baja Mexico (USNM 50111 (type locality) to at least California Channel Islands (USNM 94459). SEM images on file ( Bayer’s personal collection): SEM #2284, for USNM 94459 and SEM #s 2483 and 2484 for USNM 50111. Specimen USNM 50111 represented one of the first finds of the genus Hemicorallium in North American waters.

The specimen in question does not easily identify to a species; in color it appeared more like that of Hemicorallium imperiale , but the polyps’ appearance and scleritic spindles were more like those seen in H. ducale . While all type material for this species (and the other two that follow) at NMNH were examined some years ago, this one specimen, recently received into the SBMNH collection, requires further study.

WoRMS Data Base ( Cordeiro et al. 2019) verifies that H. ducale , with the other two listed below, are accepted species. They are included, with brief comments, due to their collection locations and proximity to the region of the California Bight. It should be noted that there are no specimens that came into the SBMNH collection from the ‘Velero’ expeditions.