Dasystenella acanthina Wright & Studer 1889

Dasystenella acanthina (Wright & Studer, 1889)

(Fig. 2 C)

Stenella acanthina Wright & Studer, 1889: 14, 20.

Stenella (Dasystenella) acanthina Versluys, 1906: 48.

Thouarella acanthina Kükenthal, 1915: 151; 1919: 441; 1924: 302 (species dubiae atque incertae sedis).

Dasystenella acanthina: Gili et al., 2000: 73; Gavagnin et al. 2003: 1517 –1518.

Diagnosis. See Wright & Studer 1889: 59, pl.14, fig.3, pl. 20, fig. 10.

Material examined. Argentinian continental slope, 50°32'S, 63°03'W, November 1976, 150 m, Vessel “Orient Maru”, collector R.C. Menni, (MACN 2139).

C. Dasystenella acanthina (Wright & Studer, 1889), alcohol sample, MACN 2139.

Description. Bottlebrush colony, 14 cm in height, short branches coming off the main stem. Polyps appear in whorls of 4–5 polyps. Whorls are uniformly separated along the stem, 4–5 whorls per cm. Polyps 2.10–2.25 mm in height. Two abaxial longitudinal rows with 5–6 scales. Marginal scales with long spines (0.52–0.55 mm wide and 1.1–1.2 mm long, spine 0.65 mm long); submarginal scales triangulate (0.32–0.33 mm wide and 0.57– 0.59 mm long) and body scales semi–circular (0.51–0.53 mm wide and 0.35–0.38 mm long). Coenenchyme scales rounded with basal big warts (0.30–0.32 mm in diameter).

Distribution (Fig. 1). Estuary of Rio de la Plata (Argentina) (37°17’S, 52°20’W, 183 m) (Wright & Studer 1889); Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica (300 m) (Gavagnin et al. 2003).

New records: Argentine Basin between the Patagonian coast and the Falkland Islands.