Coryne eximia Allman 1859

Coryne eximia Allman, 1859

(fig. 2J)

Coryne eximia Allman, 1859: 141.— Schuchert, 2001b: 773 –776, figs. 13A–D & 18B–C.— Puce et al., 2003: 249 –252, figs. 1– 4.— Schuchert, 2005a: 194 –199, fig. 2.

Material studied.— Ormonde, stn 4: very abundant on diving cable lost two years before; fertile colonies; epibionts: Lafoeina tenuis, Clytia cf. gracilis, small algae and calcified Bryozoa; DBUA 1508.01; Genbank accession no. KM402029.

Remarks. This biological material was only found on anthropogenic materials at a single sampling station, and its 16S sequence is equal to others of colonies exclusively from the Mediterranean (Genbank accession: AJ878715.1; Schuchert 2005a). Essentially, this is a coastal species usually found in harbours, estuaries and on floating objects (e.g. Russel 1953). Therefore its presence at the Ormonde seamount suggests fairly recent geneflow between the Gorringe and Mediterranean, perhaps mediated by an unintentional anthropogenic introduction, but further evidence is required to support this hypothesis.

Furthermore, this is the first record of C. eximia in the Gorringe, the southernmost in the northeast Atlantic, and apparently the deepest depth record (previous records had been from 25 m depth, Fey 1970).

Reported distribution. Eastern Atlantic.—British Isles (e.g. Allman 1859; Russell 1953; Schuchert 2001b), Denmark (Petersen 1990), Norway (Hartlaub 1907), Germany (Hartlaub 1894), Belgium (Leloup 1947, 1952; Massin et al. 2002), Netherlands (Leloup 1933), France (e.g. Boero & Bouillon 1968; Schuchert 2005a), north Spain (e.g. Altuna &), Gorringe (present study).

Mediterranean.— France (Schuchert 2005a; Galea 2007), Lebanese coast (Goy et al. 1991), Italy (Puce et al. 2003; Schuchert 2005a) and Ligurian Sea (Goy 1972; Puce et al. 2003).

Elsewhere.—Circumglobal with preference for temperate waters; east coasts of Canada and USA, South Africa and Pacific (Alaska to California, Chile, New Zealand, Western Australia and Japan) (e.g. Schuchert 2001a, b, 2005a).