Caryophyllia sarsiae Zibrowius 1974

Caryophyllia sarsiae Zibrowius, 1974

(Figs. 2 I–L, tables 1−3)

Caryophyllia sarsiae Zibrowius, 1974: 779, pl. 3, figs. A–F.—Zibrowius 1980: 62, pl. 24, figs. A–J.—Cairns & Parker 1992: 19, figs. 5b, c, e, f, map 5.—Altuna Prados 1994a: 452, pl. 12, fig. C.—Altuna Prados 1994b: 55.—Altuna Prados 1994c: 78 (fig. 1).—Altuna 1995: 88, fig. 2.—Cairns & Chapman 2001: 34 (tab. 1).—Reveillaud et al. 2008: 322 (tab. 1), 325 (fig. 4).—Altuna 2010: 21.

Material examined. Le Danois Bank, 2008: Stn. R1R 2, 751 m, two dead specimens, very small, vermiform, one of them with its distal end lacking, and thus of doubtful identification. Station unknown, three young small specimens.

Description. Corallum solitary, attached, small-sized (H= 1.62 cm, 1.57 cm, 0.98 cm), pedicellate, fragile, slightly curved. Pedicel straight. Wall costate, with some growth lines perpendicular to costae; C1–C4 of similar width, inconspicuous, flat and smooth. Calices circular to slightly elliptical (GCD= 0.96 cm, LCD= 0.86 cm, GCD: LCD= 1.11; GCD= 0.94 cm, LCD= 0.84 cm; GCD: LCD= 1.11; GCD= 0.90 cm, LCD= 0.89 cm, GCD: LCD=1.01). Septa normally 48, arranged hexamerally in four cycles according to the formula S1−2>S3>S4; S1 and S2 subequal in length, slightly longer and thicker than S3, and S3 than S4. All septa are scarcely and similarly exsert. Septal faces with small pointed granules. Twelfe pali P3 form a crown encircling the columella. Pali neat, as slightly sinuous rods with small granules. Fossa shallow, containing a columella formed by a few twisted ribbons. Corallum light brown.

Specimens from stn. R1R2 small (H= 0.9 cm and 1.15 cm), thin, and vermiform (fig. 2K–L); smaller one entire (H= 0.9 cm; GCD=LCD= 0.3 cm; PD= 0.13 cm; PD: GCD= 0.43). Wall not costate, smooth. Calice circular, with 24 septa arranged in three cycles. Septa thin, almost equal in width, not exsert; S1 reach columella; S2 slightly shorter; S3 half width of S2; S1−S2 inner edges sinuous, S3 straight; S2 paliferous (6P2). Fossa moderately deep, containing a columella formed by 7 twisted ribbons.

Remarks. Specimens are small-sized juveniles that are far from the size of adults described by Zibrowius (1980) and Cairns & Parker (1992), albeit the arrangement of septa leaves no doubts about their identification. Caryophyllia sarsiae is somewhat similar to C. abyssorum, particularly the relative size of septa, and the structure of columella and pali. According to Zibrowius (1980), specimens of C. abyssorum with supplementary septa or pali can be difficult to differentiate from C. sarsiae. In the latter species, septa are normally arranged hexamerally with 48 septa and 12 pali, the corallum is straight and widens distally, and costae are all equal and flat. C. abyssorum has 40 septa and 10 pali arranged pentamerally, the corallum is commonly strongly curved, and distally is comparatively more straight. Costae are all of similar width, but C1–C3 are ridged and C4 flat. Paliferous septa are not as wide as in C. sarsiae.

The specimen from stn. R1R2 (fig. 2K–L) is morphologically similar to young corallites of Desmophyllum cristagalli described by Gravier (1915) as Desmophyllum serpuliforme Gravier, 1915. Nevertheless, calicinal structures of parallel-sized specimens of this species are different (see Gravier 1920, pl. 7 fig. 126; Zibrowius 1980, pl. 61 fig. N).

Caryophyllia sarsiae was previously known in a range of 880−1100 m depth (Zibrowius 1974, 1980; Zibrowius et al. 1975; Altuna 1995). The record from Le Danois Bank (751 m) is the shallow-most from the Bay of Biscay and nearby areas, but is consistent with the range of 500−2200 m given by Cairns & Chapman (2001) for the species in the Eastern Atlantic.

A species distributed mainly in the Mediterranean Sea and the north-eastern Atlantic, including the Celtic Sea, Azores, and Madeira (Zibrowius 1980). It was cited previously from Le Danois Bank by Zibrowius (1980). Also recorded from Bermuda, South Africa and Australia (see Cairns & Parker 1992).