Edwardsiid sea anemones of California (Cnidaria: Actiniaria: Edwardsiidae), with descriptions of eight new species

• Published in: Zootaxa
• Main Authors: DALY, MARYMEGAN, LJUBENKOV, JOHN C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Mangolia Press 2008
• Subjects: Coelenterata; Edwardsia; Scolanthus; Paraedwardsia; coelenterates; burrowing; taxonomy; Pacific; Heia; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.1860.1.1; https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.1860.1.1

Edwardsiid anemones are common elements of the benthic marine infauna. The group is best known and most speciesrich in the North Atlantic. The Pacific fauna is poorly known, with only one species, Edwardsia californica McMurrich, 1913, described from the eastern Pacific Ocean. We describe eight new species collected from sediment in California: Edwardsia handi sp. nov., Edwardsia juliae sp. nov., Edwardsia mcmurrichi sp. nov., Edwardsia olguini sp. nov., Edwardsia profunda sp. nov., Paraedwardsia heia sp. nov., Scolanthus scamiti sp. nov., and Scolanthus triangulus sp. nov. To differentiate the species and address some taxonomic confusion, we redescribe E. californica and provide a key to the species.