The deep-sea anemones Bathyphellia margaritacea and Daontesia porcupina sp. nov. with comments on the family Bathyphelliidae

• Published in: Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom
• Main Author: Riemann-Zürneck, Karin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 1997
• Subjects: Aquatic Science; Arctic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0025315400071721; https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0025315400071721

The Arctic abyssal anemone Bathyphellia margaritacea , type species of the genus and of the family Bathyphelliidae is redescribed. Acontia in this species are highly variable both in quantity and in cnidome characteristics, implying that this genus is one of the links between acontiate and nonacontiate mesomyarian actiniarians, and has to be considered a ‘late’ mesomyarian according to the scheme proposed by Schmidt (1972b, 1974). By contrast, the new abyssal species Daontesia porcupina has normally developed acontia, a cuticle consisting of multistratified sheets and a more archaic and diverse cnidome, suggesting its systematic allocation within the ‘early’ mesomyarians. The allocation of the genus Daontesia to the family Bathyphelliidae is questionable.