Relicanthus daphneae
| Relicanthus daphneae | |
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Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Cnidaria |
| Subphylum: | Anthozoa |
| Class: | Hexacorallia |
| Order: | Actiniaria |
| Suborder: | Helenmonae Daly & Rodríguez, 2019 |
| Family: | Relicanthidae Rodríguez & Daly, 2014 |
| Genus: | Relicanthus Rodríguez & Daly, 2014 |
| Species: | R. daphneae
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| Binomial name | |
| Relicanthus daphneae (Daly, 2006)
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| Synonyms | |
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Relicanthus daphneae is a cnidarian which occurs in the depths of the East Pacific Rise and was described in 2006. It is the only known member of the suborder Helenmonae within the order Actiniaria.[1]
Taxonomy
[edit]This sea anemone was originally described as a member of the genus Boloceroides,[2] but the name (and synonym) Boloceroides daphneae is no longer accepted after it was determined that this species belongs in the genus Relicanthus.[3]
A phylogenetic study was completed in 2014, in which three genes of mitochondrial DNA and two genes from the nucleus of over a hundred different sea anemones were compared, suggesting that the species instead belonged in a new order of Hexacorallia.[4][5] A new genus, Relicanthus, was named to accommodate this alternate classification. The specific name daphneae was chosen after Daphne Gail Fautin, "in honor of her contributions to actiniarian systematics."[2]
In December 2019 the American Museum of Natural History announced that new research had classified R. daphneae as a new suborder of Actiniaria, Helenmonae, rather than as a new order.[6][7] This new classification was later confirmed by another phylogenetic study.[8]
Description
[edit]R. daphneae has a pink-colored cylindrical body capable of reaching a metre across, with long, thin, whitish tentacles up to two meters in length. The body is divided into 24 septa. The muscles of the mesenteries are less developed. The spirocysts, which are stinging cells in which the stinging tube is spirally rolled up and which are covered with adhesive threads instead of spines, are significantly larger than those of any other deep-sea species and among the largest of all cnidarians.[2][5]
Habitat and range
[edit]Its habitat is the ocean floor, associated with the periphery of hydrothermal vents.[7] Its range is known to be in the Lau Basin, Eastern Pacific, from where the type specimen was collected by the submersible DSV Alvin, but it may extend beyond that.[2]
References
[edit]
- ^ Daly (2006). "Relicanthus daphneae". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
- ^ a b c d Daly, Marymegan (2006). "Boloceroides daphneae, a new species of giant sea anemone (Cnidaria: Actiniaria: Boloceroididae) from the deep Pacific". Marine Biology. 148 (6): 1241–1247. Bibcode:2006MarBi.148.1241D. doi:10.1007/s00227-005-0170-7. S2CID 85396602.
- ^ Daly (2006). "Boloceroides daphneae". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species. Retrieved 2025-04-24.
- ^ "Sea Anemone Tree of Life Reveals Giant Species as Impostor". [www.amnh.org American Museum of Natural History]. 7 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
- ^ a b Rodríguez, Estefanía; Barbeitos, Marcos S.; Brugler, Mercer R.; Crowley, Louise M.; Grajales, Alejandro; Gusmão, Luciana; Häussermann, Verena; Reft, Abigail; Daly, Marymegan (2014). "Hidden among Sea Anemones: The First Comprehensive Phylogenetic Reconstruction of the Order Actiniaria (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Hexacorallia) Reveals a Novel Group of Hexacorals". PLOS ONE. 9 (5): e96998. Bibcode:2014PLoSO...996998R. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0096998. PMC 4013120. PMID 24806477.
- ^ "Mystery marine organism classified as sea anemone". American Museum of Natural History. 2019-12-12. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
- ^ a b Xiao, Madelyne; Brugler, Mercer R.; Broe, Michael B.; Gusmão, Luciana C.; Daly, Marymegan; Rodríguez, Estefanía (2019). "Mitogenomics suggests a sister relationship of Relicanthus daphneae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Hexacorallia: Incerti ordinis) with Actiniaria". Scientific Reports. 9 (1): 18182. Bibcode:2019NatSR...918182X. doi:10.1038/s41598-019-54637-6. PMC 6890759. PMID 31796816.
- ^ McFadden, Catherine S.; Quattrini, Andrea M.; Brugler, Mercer R.; Cowman, Peter F.; Dueñas, Luisa F.; Kitahara, Marcelo V.; Paz-García, David A.; Reimer, James D.; Rodríguez, Estefanía (2021). "Phylogenomics, Origin, and Diversification of Anthozoans (Phylum Cnidaria)". Systematic Biology. 70 (4): 635–647. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syaa103. PMID 33507310.