Revision and redescription of the species previously included in the genus &lt;i&gt;Amphilaphis&lt;/i&gt; Studer and Wright in Studer, 1887 (Octocorallia: Primnoidae)

Rebeca Zapata-Guardiola,Pablo J López-González

doi:10.3989/scimar.03278.18b

Abstract

The taxonomy of the primnoid genus Amphilaphis Studer and Wright in Studer, 1887 has been in a confused state for a long time and a revision of the species included in that genus has become a necessity. We have revised and redescribed the species previously included in the genus using up-to-date technology, such as polyp and sclerite images obtained with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). As a result of this study, because the type species of Amphilaphis is actually a Thouarella species, we consider the genus Amphilaphis to be no longer valid. One of the species previously considered in Amphilaphis has a set of morphological characters that are not recognizable in any of the current primnoid genera. Primnocapsa n. gen. has a dichotomous branching pattern, polyps placed singly, in spirals around the branchlets, 8 opercular scales with the inner surface keeled and with 2 mounds basally and 8 marginal scales offset from the operculars. The new genus is described and illustrated. Moreover, one of the re-examined species has been included in a new subgenus, Faxiella n. subgen. of Plumarella Gray, 1870 because it has polyps placed in pairs. Finally, the remaining re-examined species have been included in the genus Thouarella Gray, 1870, one of the most specious primnoid genera.

Highlights

Primnoidae is one of the richest gorgonian families in terms of the number of genera and species (Bayer 1980, 1981, 1988, 1998)
Cairns and Bayer (2009) transferred 2 of them to the genus Thouarella, while the remaining species were tentatively maintained in Amphilaphis
The material of the species here examined is deposited in different museums around the world: the Australian Museum (AM), Sydney; The Natural History Museum (NHMUK), London; the Museum für Naturkunde (ZMB), Berlin; the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), Harvard University, Cambridge; the Museum of Natural History (MNHW), Wroclaw University, Poland; the National Museum of Natural History (NMNH), the Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC; the Zoological Museum of Amsterdam (ZMA), the Netherlands, and the P.P

Summary

Introduction

Primnoidae is one of the richest gorgonian families in terms of the number of genera and species (Bayer 1980, 1981, 1988, 1998). Species and genera are constantly being proposed (see for example Zapata-Guardiola and López-González 2010a,b,c, and Cairns 2010). In an initial attempt, Cairns and Bayer (2009) transferred 2 of them to the genus Thouarella, while the remaining species were tentatively maintained in Amphilaphis. Due to this ongoing uncertainty we considered it appropriate to revise the 6 species currently assigned to Amphilaphis

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Conclusion