Sampaio Íris, Beuck Lydia, Freiwald André
Senckenberg am Meer, Marine Research Department, Südstrand 40, 26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany Senckenberg am Meer Wilhelmshaven Germany.
University of the Azores, Rua Prof. Dr. Frederico Machado, 9901-862 Horta, Açores, Portugal University of the Azores Horta Portugal.
Zookeys. 2022 Jun 17;1106:121-140. doi: 10.3897/zookeys.1106.81364. eCollection 2022.
Three species of the genus are known for the NE Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Remotely-operated vehicle (ROV) surveys and sampling on board RV Maria S. Merian during cruise MSM 16/3 'PHAETON' in 2010 provided footage and specimens of octocorals off Mauritania. Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) reveals, for the first time in taxonomy of octocorals, the three-dimensional arrangement of the sclerites in a polyp. is described for the continental slope off Mauritania. This azooxanthellate octocoral is distinctive from NE Atlantic and Mediterranean congenerics by the dark red colour of the colonies (including the polyps), the presence of a layer of rod sclerites on top of the polyp mounds, and different sizes of polyps and sclerites. Using micro-CT has allowed the observation and imaging of a layer of sclerites that is distinct from other species of the same genus. ROV images revealed live records of in submarine canyons and on cold-water coral mounds in the upper-bathyal off Mauritania (396-639 m depth), mainly attached to dead coral, coral rubble, or rocks. The new species represents an extension of the genus distribution to the tropical latitudes (17°07'N and 20°14'N) of the NE Atlantic Ocean.
已知该属的三个物种分布于东北大西洋和地中海。2010年在“法厄同”号（MSM 16/3）巡航期间，遥控潜水器（ROV）在“玛丽亚·S·梅里安”号科考船上进行的调查和采样，提供了毛里塔尼亚外海八放珊瑚的影像资料和标本。显微计算机断层扫描（micro-CT）首次在八放珊瑚分类学中揭示了水螅体中骨针的三维排列。本文描述了毛里塔尼亚大陆坡的该物种。这种无共生藻的八放珊瑚与东北大西洋和地中海的同属物种不同，其群体（包括水螅体）呈深红色，水螅体丘顶部有一层棒状骨针，且水螅体和骨针大小各异。使用micro-CT能够观察和成像与同属其他物种不同的一层骨针。ROV图像显示了该物种在毛里塔尼亚上半深海的海底峡谷和冷水珊瑚丘中的活体记录（深度为396 - 639米），主要附着在死珊瑚、珊瑚碎块或岩石上。这个新物种代表了该属分布范围向东北大西洋热带纬度（北纬17°07′和20°14′）的扩展。
