Zygothuria sp.

Mackenzie, Melanie, Davey, Niki, Burghardt, Ingo & Haines, Margaret L., 2024, A report of sea cucumbers collected on the first dedicated deep-sea biological survey of Australia’s Indian Ocean Territories around Christmas and Cocos (Keeling) Islands (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea), Memoirs of Museum Victoria (Mem. Mus. Vic.) 83, pp. 207-316 : 250-251

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.24199/j.mmv.2024.83.03
publication LSID	urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:9065254A-A8EE-4162-ACDE-4D7F01B4A213
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/432A0A53-525F-FF9A-FC8B-ED0FFD77FAEC
treatment provided by	Felipe
scientific name	Zygothuria sp.
status

Treatment

Zygothuria sp. MoV. 7328

Material examined. NMV F296850 About NMV * (1), [IN 2021 V 04 024] .

Diagnosis of IOT material. One additional small, brown, specimen ~ 50 mm long and 19 mm wide but severely damaged and not recognisable by external morphology as Zygothuria . Turned inside out with five flat longitudinal muscles visible, and evidence of “hairy” skin (potentially flat papillae) but no other visible structures. Numerous failed ossicle samples before tri-radiate and slightly less common quadri-radiate tables were found. Not dense in skin, from tables with thin, well-defined, flower-like base discs with eight uniform perforations (fig. 28b) to tables with less-uniform base discs with multiple irregular perforations (e.g. fig. 28c).

Remarks. Specimen too damaged for accurate account of external morphology, though appears to differ from Zygothuria species reviewed by SolÍs-MarÍn (2003). Ossicles show individual similarities with several species reviewed by Gebruk et al. (2012), but not in their combination. Without additional specimens for analysis, we would be reluctant to identify this specimen past OTU level Zygothuria sp. MoV. 7328.

Distribution. This specimen lot only: Indian Ocean, Australian IOT, Christmas Island: Abyss Stn. South of Christmas Island, 4764–4766 m.

References. Gebruk et al. (2012), SolÍs-MarÍn (2003).