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Circularius wilsoni

(Thomson, 1921) Mcfadden & Van Ofwegen, 2017

GBIF:137679942

0year

Synonyms

ABOUT

Descriptions(2)

Remarks. Williams (1992 a) provides a good description of this species. Similar to the material he examined, the colonies we collected were growing on the surfaces of other organisms, specifically mussels and polychaete tubes (Fig. 5 e). Small colonies, most <5 mm in diameter, occur in aggregations of 20 or more, typically separated from one another by a few mm to 1 cm. These aggregations appear to arise as the result of colony fission and the subsequent movement of clonemates away from each other, as has been documented in Discophyton rudyi (Verseveldt & Ofwegen) (McFadden 1991). In a few cases adjacent colonies are still connected by a thin membrane, but in most this connection has been lost and the intervening substrate has been overgrown by sponges or other encrusting organisms. Williams (1992 a) included few SEM images of the sclerites of this species, so we include additional images here to facilitate comparisons with similar species (Figs. 10 – 11). We also note that in life colonies are pink, but they fade to cream, white or beige in ethanol; the sclerites are colorless. Superficially, C. wilsoni n. comb. resembles the pink color morph of Tenerodus fallax n. comb., but it can be distinguished from that species in the field by its habit of forming aggregations of very small colonies (Fig. 5 e). C. wilsoni can be further distinguished from T. fallax by the sclerites, which are predominantly spindles and clubs (Figs. 10 – 11) rather than tuberculate spheroids (Figs. 15 – 16). Although Williams (1992 a) speculated that Alcyonium wilsoni might represent a variant of Alcyonium fauri (= T. fallax n. comb.), the marked difference in sclerite form between the species and molecular phylogenetic analyses (Fig. 1) both confirm that they are clearly different species. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that C. wilsoni n. comb. is closely related to Leptophyton. That genus does not have sclerites arranged as a collaret and points in the polyps, however, and the colonies are typically much larger and have branched lobes.

Mcfadden, Catherine S., Van Ofwegen, Leen P. (2017): Revisionary systematics of the endemic soft coral fauna (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Alcyoniina) of the Agulhas Bioregion, South Africa. Zootaxa 4363 (4): 451-488, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4363.4.1

Material examined. CASIZ 222396 (SAF 446), RMNH Coel. 40208 (SAF 447), RMNH Coel. 40207 (SAF 448), SAM (SAF 449), SAF 456, South Africa, Western Cape, Cape Peninsula, Star Walls, 34 º 02.472 ' S, 18 º 18.083 ' E, depth 20 – 29 m, coll. C. S. McFadden, 24 March 2008. UF 3876, South Africa, Western Cape, Capetown, Hout Bay / Vulcan Rock, depth 24 m, coll. J. Starmer, 0 1 April 2000.

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CLASSIFICATION

Taxonomic Classification Tree

AnimaliaCnidariaAnthozoaAlcyonaceaParasphaerascleridaeCirculariusCircularius wilsoni

Parasphaerascleridae6

Circularius1

Circularius wilsoni

NOMENCLATURE

Synonyms(1)

Alcyonium wilsoniWilliams, 1992

synonym

MULTIMEDIA

Media Files(6)

FIGURE 1. Maximum likelihood phylogeny of Octocorallia based on combined, partitioned analysis of 28S rDNA, COI and 16S mtDNA.South African species and clades are identified in blue. Filled circles indicate nodes with>70% bootstrap support and Bayesian posterior probabilities>0.95 (shown for South African clades only). Strongly supported clades (bootstrap 70%) with no South African members have been collapsed to facilitate readability. Phylogenetic position of Protodendron repens indicated with *.

Imageimage/png© Mcfadden, Catherine S.;Van Ofwegen, Leen P.Mcfadden, Catherine S.;Van Ofwegen, Leen P.

FIGURE 5. a, Lampophyton spinatum n. sp. paratype, RMNH Coel. 40199 (SAF195), colony photographed in situ; b, Alcyonium dolium n. sp. holotype, RMNH Coel.40204 (SAF292); c, Leptophyton benayahui SAF289 photographed in situ; d, Leptophyton fustis n. sp., holotype, RMNH Coel. 40211 (SAF087), colony photographed in situ (T. fallax n. comb. purple morph visible in lower right corner); e, Circularius wilsoni n. comb. RMNH Coel. 40207 (SAF448), colonies growing on mussel shell photographed in situ; f, Tenerodus pollex n. gen., n. sp. holotype, RMNH Coel. 40219 (SAF420), colonies photographed in situ; g, Tenerodus fallax, n. comb. RMNH Coel. 40217 (SAF383), pink color morph; h, Tenerodus fallax, n. comb. SAF015, purple and yellow color morphs.

FIGURE 10. Circularius wilsoni n. comb. RMNH Coel. 40207 (SAF448). a, polyp sclerites; b, sclerites from surface of polyparium.

FIGURE 11. Circularius wilsoni n. comb. RMNH Coel.40207 (SAF448).Sclerites of membranous base.

FIGURE 15. Tenerodus fallax n. comb. RMNH Coel. 40214 (SAF072). a, club-like sclerites from polyps and colony surface; b, asymmetrical spinose clubs from polyps and colony surface; c, tentacle sclerites; d, radiates and tuberculate spheroids from colony surface.

FIGURE 16. Tenerodus fallax n. comb. RMNH Coel. 40214 (SAF072). Radiates and tuberculate spheroids from interior of colony.

IMAGES

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Descriptions(2)

Taxonomic Classification Tree

Synonyms(1)

Media Files(6)

Gallery(6)

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