Published July 29, 2020 | Version v1
Taxonomic treatment Open

Pachycerianthus nobilis

  • 1. Laboratório de Evolução e Diversidade Aquática-LEDA, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), FCL / Assis, Av. Dom Antônio, 2100, 19806 - 900, Assis, SP, Brazil
  • 2. NIWA Invertebrate Collection, National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, 301 Evans Bay Parade Hataitai, 6021 Wellington, New Zealand
  • 3. Australian Museum Research Institute, Australian Museum, 1 William Street, Sydney NSW 2010, Australia

Description

Pachycerianthus nobilis (Haddon & Shackleton, 1893)

Cerianthus nobilis Haddon & Shackleton, 1893: 116, 118; Carlgren, 1896: 174; Haddon, 1898: 400–401; Pax, 1910: 167.

Pachycerianthus nobilis Molodtsova, 2000: 19; Molodtsova, 2007: 133; Stampar et al., 2014: 350, 352.

Specimens examined. AM G16074, Dunwich, Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia, 27.50°S 153.40°E (1974); AM G18351, Dunwich, Stradbroke Island, Moreton Bay, Queensland, Australia (06/viii/1961), on sand flats (5 specimens); Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory: NTM CO14354, Town Hall, Channel Island, Darwin Harbor, Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia, 12.550°S 130.833°E, 6–8 m depth.

Remarks. The specimens studied come from southern Queensland and the northern part of the Northern Territory. As this species has been described from Torres Strait in northern Queensland, the distribution appears to be quite broad, encompassing the Timor Sea, Arafura Sea and Coral Sea. The polyps generally have a whitish-green color in the tentacle region and reddish-brown color in the column. However, some live specimens have different tentacle colors, including purple to green marginal tentacles. All specimens examined were fertile, including those smaller than 3 cm in length. This indicates that reproductive maturity is reached rapidly and long before specimens reach the maximum reported size for the species (10 cm in preserved specimens). This is a very little studied species but is apparently common and of commercial importance as it is sold in aquarium stores to amateur hobbyists (SNS personal observation). Therefore, an assessment of conservation status and reproductive patterns of this species would be valuable.

Distribution. Queensland and Northern Territory, Australia, New Caledonia, depth: shallow waters.

Notes

Published as part of Stampar, Sérgio N., Mills, V. Sadie & Keable, Stephen J., 2020, Ceriantharia (Cnidaria) from Australia, New Zealand and Antarctica with Descriptions of Four New Species, pp. 81-100 in Records of the Australian Museum 72 (3) on page 88, DOI: 10.3853/j.2201-4349.72.2020.1762, http://zenodo.org/record/4654407

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Linked records

Additional details

Biodiversity

Collection code
AM , NTM
Event date
1961-08-06
Family
Cerianthidae
Genus
Pachycerianthus
Kingdom
Animalia
Material sample ID
CO14354
Order
Ceriantharia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Scientific name authorship
Haddon & Shackleton
Species
nobilis
Taxon rank
species
Verbatim event date
1961-08-06
Taxonomic concept label
Pachycerianthus nobilis (Haddon, 1893) sec. Stampar, Mills & Keable, 2020

References

  • Haddon, A. C., and A. M. Shackleton. 1893. Description of some new species of Actiniaria from Torres Straits. Scientific Proceedings of the Royal Dublin Society 8: 116 - 131.
  • Haddon, A. C. 1898. The Actiniaria of Torres Straits. Scientific Transactions of the Royal Dublin Society 6: 393 - 520.
  • Pax, F. 1910. Studien an westindischen Actinien. Zoologische Jahrbucher. Abteilung fur allgemeine zoologie und physiologie der tiere suppl 11: 157 - 330.
  • Molodtsova, T. N. 2000. Fauna ceriantariy atlanticheskogo okeana I sostav roda Cerianthus mirovoy fauny. Aftoreferat na soiskanie uchenoy stepeni kandidata biologicheskih nauk. Moscow: Dialog-MGU.
  • Molodtsova, T. N. 2007. Tube anemones (Ceriantharia Anthozoa) of New Caledonia. Compendium of marine species of New Caledonia. Documents scientifiques et techniques, IRD Noumea, II 7 (volume spEcial, deuxieme Edition), 133.