Holothuria (Platyperona) sanctori Delle Chiaje 1823

Holothuria (Platyperona) sanctori Delle Chiaje, 1823

(Fig. 36)

Holothuria farcimen $ Selenka, 1867: 330, pl. 18, fig. 65; Théel 1886a: 220; $ Perrier 1899: 299, 1902: 477–481, pl. 15, figs. 15–27;

Holothuria Sanctori Delle Chiaje 1823 — $ Barrois 1888: 112; $ Koehler 1921b: 171–174, figs. 127–128; $ Chapman 1955: 398; Tortonese 1965: 61–62, figs. 21A, 22; Pawson 1978: 27, figs. 11j, l; $ Marques 1983: 4, fig. 7; Pérez-Ruzafa et al. 1992b: 150–151; Pereira 1997: 333; Pérez-Ruzafa et al. 1999: 55–56, 2002: 287; Micael & Costa 2010: 323; $ Micael et al. 2010: 329; Micael et al. 2012: 4.

Type locality: Naples, Mediterranean Sea.

See: Koehler (1921b); Borrero-Pérez et al. (2009, 2010).

Occurrence: Mediterranean Sea and northeast Atlantic, from the Bay of Biscay (Koehler (1921b) to Saint Helena (Mortensen 1933c) and Ascension islands (Mortensen 1933c), including the Azores (Marques 1983), Madeira (Théel 1886a), Selvagens (Ruzafa et al. 2002), Canaries (Ruzafa et al. 1992b) and Cape Verde (Ruzafa et al. 1999).

Depth: 0–30 m (Pawson 1978, Tortonese 1965); in the Azores it is a common species in the first few meters.

Habitat: hard to soft substrates, under rocks and crevices, in sea-grass prairies and tide pools (Pawson 1978, Ruzafa et al. 2002).

Larval stage: probably planktotrophic (inferred from the genus, see McEdward & Miner 2001).

Commercial value: edible (Sicuro & Levine 2011).

Material examined: DBUA-ECH 189 (Poços, SMG, AZO, c. 37°50’06”N, 25°40’10”W, 1996.07. 16, 14–20 m; 1 spm, TL = 120 mm); DBUA-ECH 320 (in front of the Marina, Ponta Delgada, SMG, AZO, c. 39°00’44”N, 27°57’28”W, 1997.04. 18, 12 m; 1 spm, TL = 86 mm); DBUA-ECH 396 (Lajes, PIX, AZO, c. 38°23’22”N, 28°15’04”W, 2010.09.24, 1– 2 m; 15 spms, TL = 77–148 mm); DBUA-ECH 400 (Poços, S„o Vicente, SMG, AZO, c. 37°50’06”N, 25°40’10”W, 1996.07. 17, 13 m; 1 spm, TL = 125 mm) DBUA-ECH 401 (Banco Jo„o de Castro, AZO, c. 38°13’18”N, 26°36’12”W, 1996.07. 27, 30 m; 1 spm, TL = 205 mm); DBUA-ECH 402 (in front of the Marina, Ponta Delgada, SMG, AZO, c. 39°00’44”N, 27°57’28”W, 1997.04. 18, 12 m; 1 spm, TL = 115 mm); DBUA-ECH 404 (Vila do Porto, SMA, AZO, c. 36°56’42”N 25°’08’50”W, 2011.07.22; 1 spm, TL = 105 mm); DBUA-ECH 405 (Santa Cruz, FLS, AZO, 39°27’17.79”N, 31°07’30.48”W, 2011.04.23, intertidal; 20 spms, TL = 70–190 mm).

Description: body arched dorsally, flattened ventrally. Body wall thick, extremely rigid when contracted. Mouth subventral and anus terminal. Dorsal surface crowded by numerous conical (somewhat rounded) papillae. Ventral surface densely cover by tube-feet organized in almost uniform manner. Cuvierian tubules well developed; many specimens eviscerated. Both buttons and disc tables with smooth round edges. Table discs slightly undulated with four central and eight distal holes; table with tetrabasal spires of moderate height, crowned by relatively short (somewhat blunt) teeth. Buttons flat with longitudinal ridge, flanked on each side by a row of holes; a second peripheral row of minute holes occasional present. Colour: dorsal surface from solid dark brown to completely covered with yellow rings (papillae tips always dark brown); ventral surface and tentacles uniformly brown.

Remarks: in general, H. sanctori presents a unique colour pattern among the shallow-water holothurians known from the Azores, in having large yellow rings covering its brown dorsal surface. However, H. sanctori can also present a uniform dark brown colour that can be easily distinguished by having a significantly thicker and rougher skin than H. mammata or H. forskali. Additionally, H. sanctori also differs from these shallow-water sea cucumbers by its well developed and relatively smooth ossicles.

Selenka (1867) described Holothuria farcimen, based on a single individual collected in the Azores deposited in the Cambridge Museum. Barrois (1888) remarked how abundant H. sanctori was on the coasts of S„o Miguel Island. Perrier (1902) criticised Barrois’s identification, since the former believed H. sanctori to be restricted to the Mediterranean Sea and gave a full description of the material collected by Talisman at Ponta Delgada (S„o Miguel Island) under the name H. farcimen. Later, Koehler (1921b) examined specimens from the Azores, including those of Talisman and synonymised the Azorean species with H. sanctori.

Holothuria sanctori, is one of the most common elements of the Azorean shallow-water biota, particularly in relatively protected bays both natural [e.g., Caloura, S„o Miguel Island; Lajes do Pico (Ávila et al. 2011)] or manmade (e.g., marina of Ponta Delgada, S„o Miguel Island), where they can reach high densities (personal observation).