Anthoptilum grandiflorum (Verrill, 1879)

Material examined: BBB 2016: St. 13; St. 18; St. 21. PD BB 2017: St. 31; St. 33 (MACN-In: 43488)

Distribution: Cosmopolitan (Williams 2011). Some records include: Off Namibia, Africa (23°11.8– 25°7.0’S, 12°51.6’– 13°43.5’E, 267–849 m) (López-González & Gili 2001); Off Newfoundland, Canada (843 m) (Baker et al. 2012); Gulf of Biscaya, 171 m (Grasshoff 1982); Off Oregon, USA (44.00° 28.30’N, 125.00° 13.40’W, 1335–1372 m) (Williams & Alderslade 2011); Aleutian Islands, USA (Heifetz et al. 2005); Sars Seamount (59°42.45’S, 68°49.65’W, 520 m); off Cape Horn (57°00.33’S, 67°35.1’W, 450m) (as Anthoptilum cf. grandiflorum) (Auscavitch & Waller 2017); La Paloma, Uruguay (35º13’S 52º21’W, 400m) (Castro 1990), off Buenos Aires, Argentina (41°30´S 57°20´W 439 m; 41°24´S 57°10´W 800 m as Pennatula argentina) (Acuña & Zamponi 1992); Malvinas Is. (52º12’S 56º51’W, 1105 m) (Pasternak 1975); Burdwood bank (Schejter et al. 2018).

Remarks: In the present study A. grandiflorum represented 62% of the total catch at St. 33 suggesting the presence of dense meadows at the NW slope of Burdwood bank that may fall within the habitats considered Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (Schejter et al. 2020). Many collected specimens had associated sea anemones of the species Hormathia pectinata (see Schejter et al. 2018).