Thouarella brucei Thomson and Ritchie 1906

• Main Authors: Zapata-Guardiola, Rebeca, López-González, Pablo J.
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2010
• Subjects: Biodiversity; Taxonomy; Animalia; Cnidaria; Anthozoa; Alcyonacea; Primnoidae; Thouarella; Thouarella brucei; Antarctic; St. Helena; Gough; South Georgia Island; Burdwood Bank; Holdfast; Ritchie; Antarc*; South Atlantic Ocean
• Online Access: https://zenodo.org/record/6494517; https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6494517

Thouarella brucei Thomson and Ritchie, 1906 Figures 2–6 Thouarella brucei Thomson and Ritchie, 1906: 852 –854, pl. 1, fig. 1, pl. 2, fig. 1.; Kükenthal, 1919: 439; 1924: 301. not Thouarella brucei, Broch, 1965: 27 –28, pl. 4, figs. 11–13. Material examined. Lectotype (here designated): NMS.Z.1921.143.1298 “Scottish Antarctic Expedition (1902-1904), Burdwood Bank, Gough Island (St. Helena)”, one colony. Paralectotypes (here designated): NMS.Z.2010.038.1 and BM 1912.11. 9.2, Scottish Antarctic Expedition (1902-1904), stn. 346, 54º 25 ’S, 57 º 32 ’W, Burdwood Bank, 102.4 m depth, 1 December 1903, one colony each; NMS.Z.2010.038.2, same data as in the lectotype; ZMA COEL 3574, Scottish Antarctic Expedition (1902-1904), South Atlantic Ocean, fragment of a colony. Additional material: ZMH C 11748, ANT XIX/ 5, stn PS 61 / 167 -01, 53 º 23.68 ’S, 42 º 42.23 ’W, west of South Georgia Island, 308.1–334.5 m depth, 9 April 2002, five fragments. Description of the lectotype. The specimen is only a fragment of the parent colony (Figure 2 A), 11 cm in total height and about 8.6 cm in width. Main stem ramified up to third order giving simple branchlets (Figure 2 B) up to 2 cm in length, distributed all around, up to 8 branchlets per centimetre. Axis brown, broken at its proximal portion, without holdfast. Basal axis diameter 2.8 mm. Individual polyps (Figure 2 B) slightly bent upward and arranged in spirals around branchlets; 10–12 polyps per cm. Polyps also present on main stem. Polyps (Figure 3) clavate, about 1.5–2.1 mm in height and 0.6–0.8 mm in diameter with a low operculum. Polyp body with 8 longitudinal rows of scales overlapping one another, 4–5 scales on each longitudinal abaxial row (Figure 3 A) and 3 scales on each adaxial row (Figure 3 B). Opercular scales (Figure 4, 5A), 0.38–0.66 mm in height and 0.23–0.50 mm in width, arranged in two cycles of four: inner cycle concave isosceles-shaped with bilobed base and rounded tip with an incipient keel; outer cycle larger, isosceles-triangle-shaped with distal inner ...