Dentitheca habereri

Fig. 6 D

Remarks A recent, comprehensive account is given by Ansín Agís et al. (2014). Despite their opinion, this species is here reassigned to Dentitheca on the account of the emarginated hydrothecal rim on the adaxial side, creating two latero-posterior, triangular lobes, and the morphology of its gonothecae, as noted above under D. contraria comb. nov. The Philippines record by Nutting (1927, as Plumularia dendritica), very likely belongs to the present species. Despite Nutting’ statement that his material agrees “ very exactly with the original descriptions and figures, and a comparison with the type specimens in the museum of the State University of Iowa confirms this view ”, it is believed that this author was mistaken by some obvious similarities between the hydrothecae of these two species. Indeed, upon a close examination, it appears that the hydrothecal rim of D. dendritica has a pair of distinct, lateral cusps before the adaxial emargination, while the adaxial wall of D. habereri produces comparatively less marked cusps (compare Galea (2010: fig. 7 d – e) with Fig. 6 D herein). It is very unlikely that a common species of the tropical western Atlantic occurs in the tropical western Pacific as well, and no subsequent records of D. dendritica have been reported from this area.

Distribution Indonesia (Billard 1913), Japan (Hirohito 1995), Taiwan (Tseng et al. 2014), Philippines (Nutting 1927, as Plumularia dendritica; Ansín Agís et al. 2014, as P. habereri), Coral sea off New Caledonia (Ansín Agís et al. 2014; present study); Fiji (Ryland & Gibbons 1991), Guam (Kirkendale & Calder 2003).

Material examined PACIFIC OCEAN • 1 ca 11 cm high, sterile colony; off New Caledonia, stn DW 4775; 23 ° 03 ′ S, 168 ° 17 ′ E; 140 – 277 m; 28 Aug. 2016; KANACONO leg.; barcode identifier MT 655145; MNHN-IK- 2015 - 573 • 1 ca 10.5 cm high, sterile colony; off New Caledonia, stn DW 4743; 22 ° 52 ′ S, 167 ° 34 ′ E; 380 – 340 m; 23 Aug. 2016; KANACONO leg.; MNHN-IK- 2015 - 574 • 1 ca 16 cm high, sterile colony; off New Caledonia, stn DW 4741; 22 ° 52 ′ S, 167 ° 41 ′ E; 210 – 210 m; 23 Aug. 2016; KANACONO leg.; MNHN-IK- 2015 - 575 • 3 sterile colonies, 16, 18 and 35 cm high; off New Caledonia, stn DW 4727; 22 ° 41 ′ S, 167 ° 02 ′ E; 120 – 129 m; 20 Aug. 2016; KANACONO leg.; MNHN-IK- 2015 - 577 • a 5.5 cm high, sterile colony; off New Caledonia, stn CP 4786; 22 ° 46 ′ S, 167 ° 42 ′ E; 350 – 469 m; 29 Aug. 2016; KANACONO leg.; MNHN-IK- 2015 - 591.