Redescription and notes on the reproductive biology of the sea anemone Urticina fecunda (Verrill, 1899), comb. nov. (Cnidaria: Actiniaria: Actiniidae)

摘要

The externally brooding sea anemone Epiactis fecunda (Verrill, 1899) is redescribed as Urticina fecunda, comb, nov., on the basis of preserved type material and anatomical and behavioural observations of recently collected animals. The seasonal timingof reproduction and aspects of the settlement and development of brooded offspring are reported. Precise locality data extend the bathymetric range to waters as shallow as 10 m, and the geographical range east to the Avalon Peninsula (Newfoundland, Canada). We differentiate it from other known northern, externally brooding species of sea anemone. Morphological characters, including verrucae, decamerous mesenterial arrangement, and non-overlapping sizes of basitrichs in tentacles and actinopharynx, agree with a generic diagnosis of Urticina Ehrenberg, 1834 rather than Epiactis Verrill, 1869.