A review of the genus Mirostenella Bayer, 1988 (Octocorallia: Primnoidae) with a description of a new subgenus and species

12 pages, 11 figures

In the present study, the genus Mirostenella Bayer (Proc Biol Soc Wash 101:251–256, 1988) is revised. We add to knowledge of the type species of the genus M. articulata Bayer (Proc Biol Soc Wash 101:251–256, 1988) from newly collected material from the Antarctic cruise Polarstern ANT XIX/5, and an illustrated description of this species is included. Cairns and Bayer (Smithson Contrib Zool 629:1–79, 2009) included Dicholaphis delicatula Thomson and Rennet (Sci Rept C Zool Bot 9(3):1–46, 1931) in the genus Mirostenella but after the examination of the type material, it is proposed to include the species in the recently described Plumarella subgenus, Faxiella (Zapata-Guardiola and López-González in Sci Mar 76:357–380, 2012). In addition, a new species of Plumarella, Plumarella castellviae sp. nov. from SubAntarctic waters is also described and illustrated. The species has similarities to Mirostenella but differs from it in the absence of organic nodes at bifurcation points and the presence of a sympodial branching pattern. Moreover, a new subgenus, Verticillata, is also proposed to include Plumarella species with polyps arranged in whorls around branchlets

The authors would like to thank Stephen Cairns (USNM) for his assistance and comments on the family Primnoidae during a long stay in the National Museum of Natural History and for allowing us access to all Bayer’s material. We also acknowledge Emma Sherlock and the Zoology Department for access to the collection of NHMUK, and to Dr. Stephen Keable (Australian Museum) for lending, the type of Plumarella delicatula for examination. We are grateful to the officers and crew of the R/V Polarstern and many colleagues on board during the LAMPOS cruise for their support and help and also to Erika Mutschke and Carlos Rios (Universidad de Magallanes, Chile) for making available the material collected during the Polarstern cruise ANT XIII/4. We would also thank the editor of Helgoland Marine Research and give special thanks to the referees for their ideas and comments about the manuscript, which significantly improved it. Support for this study was provided by the Spanish CICYT projects—CLIMANT—POL2006-06399/CGL (ANT XXIII/8) and REN2001-4929-E/ANT (LAMPOS). Mr. Tony Krupa is thanked for reviewing the English version

Peer reviewed