New species of deep-water Calcigorgia gorgonians (Anthozoa: Octocorallia) from the Sea of Okhotsk, with a re-diagnosis and a taxonomic review of the genus

Tatiana N Dautova

doi:10.5852/ejt.2019.549

Abstract

This paper provides descriptions of two new species of Calcigorgia gorgonians collected from the Sea of Okhotsk between 1973 and 2008. The new species are Calcigorgia herba sp. nov. and С. lukini sp. nov., belonging to the deep-water coral fauna of the temperate Northern Pacific. The taxonomy structure of the genus is reviewed and a comparative table is provided for all known species of Calcigorgia. The following taxonomic changes are made: the diagnosis of the genus was corrected from that given in Matsumoto et al. (2019); synonymization of C. simushiri Dautova, 2018 with C. spiculifera Broch, 1935 and inclusion of additional specimens in C. japonica Dautova, 2007 (both performed by Matsumoto et al. 2019) are assumed erroneous. The finding of previously undescribed species emphasizes the need for further surveys, particularly in deeper waters, to improve knowledge of the Octocorallia fauna in Far East seas. The distribution of Calcigorgia (Octocorallia, Acanthogorgiidae) is reviewed and presented based on field and collection studies published since 1935 as well as miscellaneous data from previous literature.

Highlights

Due to their long lifespan and slow recovery from physical damage, deep cold-water corals attract attention as important components of vulnerable marine ecosystems
Clubs with serrated heads were found in C. japonica and in some specimens of Calcigorgia from Matsumoto et al (2019)
Various sclerite types besides the scales were documented in tentacles and other parts of colonies of a range of Calcigorgia representatives, including those described in Matsumoto et al 2019 (Table 1 of the present contribution)

Summary

Introduction

Due to their long lifespan and slow recovery from physical damage, deep cold-water corals attract attention as important components of vulnerable marine ecosystems. There are vast regions around the world where very little collecting has been done, such as the Arctic, the Sea of Okhotsk and the western part of the Bering Sea (Pérez et al 2016; Dautova 2018a) One of these regions is the area around the Sakhalin Island and the Kurile Islands (Northwest Pacific), from where only a few deep-water gorgonian genera have been recorded (Broch 1935; Dautova 2012, 2018a, 2018b; Matsumoto et al 2019).

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