“Rhodelinda gardineri (Gohar)
Fig. 4
Sarcodictyon gardineri var. rosea Gohar, 1940: 13 (Tristan da Cunha, Gough Island, and other localities from 40-180 m; Discovery Exped.).
Description. See Gohar, 1940: 13.
Material.—Off Macquarie Island, 54°24'S, 159°01'E, to 54°25'S, 159°00'E, 79-93 m, Eltanin sta. 1417, 10 February 1965: 42 specimens, 36 attached to shells of Chlamys delicatula Hutton (all but 2 living when collected), 4 to shells of brachiopods, and 2 to stems of hydroids; of these, 10 on Chlamys, 4 on brachiopods, and 2 on hydroids were specially selected to show variation and assigned USNM no. 60218; remainder are under USNM no. 60219.
Off Macquarie Island, 54°32'S, 159°02'E, to 54°32'S. 159°01'E, 86-101 m, Eltanin sta. 1418, 10 February 1965: 8 specimens, 3 attached to shells of Chlamys delicatula alive when collected, 3 to hydroid stems, and 2 to brachiopod shells; USNM no. 60217.
The larger collection obtained at sta. 1417 probably does not indicate a denser population than at sta. 1418, but merely the longer duration of tow (53 minutes compared with 12 minutes at the latter).
Remarks.—Material in the present collection agrees with all aspects of Gohar's description, to which a few details can he added. The crowded polyps arise from ribbonlike stolons attached to hydroid stems and shells of lamellibranchs (Chlamys delicatula) and brachiopods. The stolons are 0.8 to 1.3 mm wide on a flat surface such as the brachiopod shells, but narrower if on hydroid stems or growing along the ribs of pectinid shells. The fully developed polyps are mostly 6-8 mm tall but in some colonies up to 16 mm exclusive of the anthocodiae, most of which are fully retracted; in other colonies, presumably younger, the tallest polyps do not exceed 4 or 5 mm. Distally the anthocodial diameter is as much as 2.2 mm but 1.51-1.8 mm is usual, and the proximal diameter is about 1 mm. The sclerites of the body wall are inseparably fused to form a rigid but brittle tube; distally they can be seen to lie en chevron in 8 longitudinal interseptal tracts, the distalmost sclerites unfused and extending as tapering points onto the thin anthocodial wall. Above the wide naked neck-zone, the anthocodial armature consists of numerous slender, prickly spindles arranged en chevron as 8 strong interseptal points below the tentacles; smaller, curved, prickly spindles and rods transversely surround the rachis of the tentacles but do not extend into the pinnules. The proximal sclerites of the interseptal points become transversely arranged and extend proximad a short distance as 8 distinct bands in the septal positions. Narrow secondary points occur septally between the interseptal major points. The color of all the colonies observed is bright, light red.
Comparisons.—These colonies are similar to species of Clavularia in general aspect but differ in the solidly fused sclerites. They resemble even more closely Telesto rigida Wright & Studer (now Bathytelesto), which has smaller polyps and completely unarmed tentacles. However, the latter was taken near the Azores at a depth of 1675 fathoms (3065 m), compared with depths of 79-101 in for the present specimens. Although study of additional material may show the two to be congeneric, the differently arranged anthocodial armature and the widely separated localities and depths warrant treating them as distinct genera for the present.”
(Bayer, 1981)
