Lytocarpia myriophyllum ( Linnaeus, 1758 )

Lytocarpia myriophyllum ( Linnaeus, 1758) View in CoL

Sertularia myriophyllum Linnaeus, 1758: 810 View Cited Treatment .

Lytocarpia myriophyllum View in CoL : Ramil & Vervoort, 1992a: 137–143, figs 35B–D, 36A–J.— Cornelius, 1995b: 216–218, fig. 51.— Ramil et al., 1998: 19–23, figs 9–12.— Ansín Agís et al., 2001: 88–99, figs 40–45.—Di Camilo et al., 2013: 778–784, figs 2–5.

Material examined. BISSAU-0810, stn BS133, 11º29'17"– 11º28'26"N, 17º15'14"– 17º15'14"W, 733–737 m, 23-X-2008: one colony without corbulae, 225 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS134, 11º28'17"– 11º29'11"N, 17º13'12"– 17º13'22"W, 374–385 m, 23-X-2008: seven colonies (six with corbulae), 74–370 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS136, 11º28'29"– 11º27'33"N, 17º08'30"– 17º08'33"W, 75–76 m, 24-X-2008: one colony without corbulae, 200 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS142, 11º14'17"– 11º13'22"N, 17º13'07"– 17º13'12"W, 335–393 m, 25-X-2008: three colonies with corbulae, 50–180 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS147, 11º08'35"– 11º08'27"N, 17º11'31"– 17º10'37"W, 186–306 m, 26-X-2008: one colony with corbulae, 103 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS149, 11º06'46"– 11º07'39"N, 17º06'23"– 17º06'40"W, 71 m, 26-X-2008: four colonies without corbulae, 323–500 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS152, 10º31'12"– 10º30'19"N, 17º12'34"– 17º12'32"W, 300–305 m, 27-X-2008: 508 colonies (34 with corbulae), 14–300 mm high, of which one growing on Diphasia margareta .

BISSAU-0810, stn BS157, 10º19'36"– 10º18'44"N, 17º10'29"– 17º10'12"W, 304–308 m, 28-X-2008: three colonies without corbulae, 80–190 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS172, 10º07'45"– 10º07'02"N, 16º34'11"– 16º33'37"W, 223–224 m, 31-X-2008: three colonies with corbulae, 230–650 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS174, 10º01'42"– 10º02'16"N, 17º00'52"– 17º01'35"W, 419 m, 31-X-2008: one colony with corbulae, 394 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS177, 10º10'16"– 10º11'00"N, 17º07'21"– 17º07'54"W, 382–387 m, 31-X-2008: 13 colonies (12 with corbulae), 108–372 mm high, substrate unknown.

BISSAU-0810, stn BS182, 10º14'14"– 10º13'22"N, 16º32'49"– 16º32'44"W, 211–224 m, 1-XI-2008: four colonies without corbulae, 377–537 mm high, substrate unknown.

CCLME-1205, stn BT306, 9º59'41"– 9º58'31"N, 16º49'40"– 16º48'35"W, 314 m, 15-V-2012: three colonies without corbulae, 98–380 mm high, substrate unknown.

CCLME-1205, stn BT310, 10º28'41"– 10º29'37"N, 16º26'14"– 16º27'37"W, 48–49 m, 16-VI-2012: one colony without corbulae, 225 mm high, substrate unknown.

Remarks. This species is widespread in the West Atlantic and needs no further discussion.

Biology. This species has recently been found growing in a deep-water coral mounds habitat ( Gil et al. 2020). It is a very common component of temperate waters hydroid forests (Di Camilo et al. 2013). In the northern hemisphere, corbulae have been found almost all year round, from February to November ( Ansín Agís et al. 2001; Di Camilo et al. 2013).

In our material, one colony was found growing on D. margareta . Corbulae were found in October.

Distribution. Lytocarpia myriophyllum is a well-known species, with an amphi-Atlantic distribution ( Ansín Agís et al. 2001). In West Africa, it has been recorded from Morocco ( Ansín Agís et al. 2001) to Gabon ( Gil et al. 2021a). Its bathymetric range extends from 5 to 1800 m ( Ramil & Vervoort 1992a; Ansín Agís et al. 2001).

Our material was collected at depths between 48–737 m.