Abstract
A new genus and species of sea pen or virgulariid pennatulacean from the Gulf of Guinea in the tropical eastern Atlantic is described, and a key to the genera of the Virgulariidae is included. The new genus and species described here adds to the previously described five other genera of the family. It is distinguished by unique sclerite and polyp leaf characters from the superficially-similar genus Virgularia, which lacks conspicuous sclerites in the polyp leaves and coenenchyme (other than minute oval bodies that are generally <0.01 mm in length).
Highlights
The biogeographic region of the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic coast of Africa is home to several apparently endemic octocoral genera, including the pennatulaceans Amphibelemnon López-González, Gili & Williams, 2000 and Crassophyllum TixierDurivault, 1961 (Williams 2011: 4, fig. 2), as well as the alcyonacean Nidaliopsis Kükenthal, 1906 (Verseveldt and Bayer 1988: 63–66)
Ambroso, et al (2013) describe their in situ observations of withdrawal behavior in Virgularia mirabilis. It is the aim of this paper to describe a new genus and species of pennatulacean octocoral previously unknown to science, to name the new genus in recognition of the significant career contributions of a prominent octocoral systematist, and to differentiate the new genus from all other genera in the family based on morphological comparisons
Material for this study was revealed during a survey of the pennatulacean octocoral collection at the Museum Support Center (MSC), Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC (National Museum of Natural History, Department of Invertebrate Zoology) in April of 2013
Summary
The biogeographic region of the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic coast of Africa is home to several apparently endemic octocoral genera, including the pennatulaceans Amphibelemnon López-González, Gili & Williams, 2000 and Crassophyllum TixierDurivault, 1961 (Williams 2011: 4, fig. 2), as well as the alcyonacean Nidaliopsis Kükenthal, 1906 (Verseveldt and Bayer 1988: 63–66). Pennatulacean has recently been revealed after over thirty years of storage in a museum marine invertebrate collection These colonies from the Niger River Delta of Nigeria represent the only known specimens from the Niger River delta of a previously undescribed genus and species of sea pen. Ambroso, et al (2013) describe their in situ observations of withdrawal behavior in Virgularia mirabilis It is the aim of this paper to describe a new genus and species of pennatulacean octocoral previously unknown to science, to name the new genus in recognition of the significant career contributions of a prominent octocoral systematist, and to differentiate the new genus from all other genera in the family based on morphological comparisons
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