Tanacetipathes Opresko, 2001 (Cnidaria: Antipatharia:  Myriopathidae) from Brazil, including two new species

Abstract

The study of material obtained through dredging from off Brazil, in stations between Salvador (13° S) and the Cape of Sao Tome (22° S), and through scuba diving at the Abrolhos Reefs (18° S) revealed six species of Tanacetipathes Opresko, 2001. Two of these represent new species: T. longipinnula and T. thalassoros. Tanacetipathes barbadensis (Brook, 1889), T. hirta (Gray, 1857), and T. thamnea (Warner, 1981) represent first records from the South Atlantic. Tanacetipathes tanacetum (Pourtals, 1880) has been previously recorded off Brazil and it is probably the commonest species off Southeastern Brazil. Tanacetipathes paula Perez et al., 2005, is here considered a synonym of T. thamnea. An identification key to Tanacetipathes species is included along with illustrations of colonies, and a map of the genus distribution off Brazil, between 13° and 22° S.

Association between deep-water scale-worms (Annelida: Polynoidae) and black corals (Cnidaria: Antipatharia) in the Southwestern Atlantic

“…Nevertheless, not all specimens have these pinnules . Our specimens resemble those from off Bahia, northeastern Brazil, which had polypar spines 0.04-0.27 mm long (Loiola and Castro 2005), in agreement with the 0.13 to 0.3 mm reported by Opresko and Sanchez (2005). In contrast, our colonies showed polypar spines 0.048-0.1 mm long, similar to those of the specimens from Bahia (Loiola and Castro 2005).…”

The evolutionary history of the order Antipatharia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia) as inferred from mitochondrial and nuclear DNA: implications for black coral taxonomy and systematics

“…A seventh colony, from the Gulf of Mexico off Louisiana and identified as Tanacetipathes cf. paula Pérez & Costa, , shared an igrN haplotype with an FGB P. pennacea (USNM 1086302) ( T. paula is considered by Loiola & Castro, to be a synonym of T. thamnea but considered by the present authors to be morphologically distinct). Again, these data are an example of the extremely low rates of substitution in the mitochondrial genes of black corals, perhaps combined with relatively recent divergence of the Atlantic species.…”

The black coral fauna (Cnidaria: Antipatharia) of Bermuda with new records

“…In situ colonies are grayish to light brown in coloration (Figure 6a-b). T. hirta has previously been reported from Brazil to Bermuda at depths ranging between 20-347 m (Opresko et al, 2016;Locke et al, 2013;Opresko, 2009;Opresko & Sanchez, 2005;Loiola & Castro, 2005;Padilla & Lara, 2003;Echeverria, 2002;Opresko, 1972;Warner, 1981). The Bermudan specimens examined as part of this study were collected at a depths ranging between 122-152 m (Table 1).…”

“…However, the skeletal spines of Bermudan specimens are substantially larger (range=120-240 μm) than those of the lectotype of T. tanacetum (range=100-130 μm; Perez et al, 2005). Specimens from other locations, including Brazil, the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, with skeletal spines that are up to 300 μm in height have also been assigned to this species (Opresko et al, 2016;Perez et al, 2005;Opresko & Sanchez, 2005;Loiola & Castro, 2005). Consistent with this, we here also assign the Bermudan species to T. tanacetum, despite of it having larger skeletal spines than the T. tanacetum lectoype.…”

“…Future studies should be undertaken, particularly those that include molecular data, in order to determine whether the two forms with different skeletal spine sizes represent different species or intraspecific variability (Perez et al, 2005). T. tanacetum has previously been reported from Brazil to the Northwest Atlantic at depths ranging between 20-1293 m (Opresko et al 2016;Opresko, 2009;Perez et al, 2005;Loiola & Castro, 2005;Padilla & Lara, 2003;Cairns et al, 1993;Opresko, 1972). The Bermudan specimens examined as part of this study were collected at depths between 55-96 m (Table 1).…”