A new hexactinellid-sponge-associated zoantharian (Porifera, Hexasterophora) from the northwestern Pacific Ocean

By

Kise, Hiroki
Nishijima, Miyuki
Iguchi, Akira
Minatoya, Junpei
Yokooka, Hiroyuki
Ise, Yuji
Suzuki, Atsushi

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2023

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1156

Pages

71--85

Subjects

glass sponge , Hexasterophora , host specificity , molecular phylogeny , Symbiosis

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1156.96698

 

Abstract

Symbiotic associations between zoantharians and sponges can be divided into two groups: those that associate with Demospongiae and those that associate with Hexactinellida. Parachurabana shinseimaruae Kise, gen. nov. et sp. nov., a new genus and a new species of Hexactinellida-associated zoantharian from Japanese waters, is described. It is characterized by a combination of the following: i) its host hexactinellid sponge, ii) very flat polyps, iii) cteniform endodermal marginal muscles, and iv) characteristic mutations in three mitochondrial regions (including a unique 26-bp deletion in 16S ribosomal DNA) and three nuclear regions. Parachurabana shinseimaruae Kise, gen. nov. et sp. nov. is the third genus in the family Parazoanthidae that is reported to be associated with Hexasterophora sponges. Although specimens have so far only been collected on Takuyo-Daigo Seamount off Minami-Torishima Island in Japan, unidentified zoantharians of similar description have been reported from the waters around Australia, indicating that the species might be widespread across the Pacific.