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In 2020 and 2021, zoanthid anemones were studied in the Alboran Sea (western Mediterranean) around Grenada, Spain.
During these investigations, two new Parazoanthus species were discovered and described, Parazoanthus franciscae and Parazoanthus brevitentacularis.
Here we present Parazoanthus franciscae.
In Parazoanthus franciscae, the ectoderm and mesogloea are encrusted with sand, and the species forms tiny colonies of polyps with fine tentacles connected by a thin coenenchyma.
Colonies were also formed by a common, rounded coenenchyma.
The polyps are embedded in the common coenchyma and are easily recognizable by their sand encrustation, yellowish color, and monochromatic oral disc.
In living organisms, the body wall, capitulum, and oral disc are yellow to yellowish with thin, translucent tentacles.
Conspicuous mineral particles are distributed along the body wall.
In preserved specimens, the polyps are 1–1.5 mm in diameter and 1–2 mm high, light brown to yellowish with abundant sand crusts.
The polyps form small groups embedded in a common tissue and connected to each other by a thin part of the coenchyme.
In some specimens, three rows of 24–30 transparent, pointed tentacles with parts of a fourth cycle can be observed; the tentacles are usually longer than the diameter of the spread-out mouth disc.
They grow mainly on sponges, but also directly on rocky cliffs.
Etymology
The species was named in memory of Francisca Serrais Benavente, the beloved wife of Oscar Ocaña Vicente, founder and first president of the Fundación Museo del Mar de Ceuta (Spain).
Literature reference:
Rosales Ruiz, A., Ocaña, O., de la Herrán, R. et al.
Going deep into Parazoanthus axinellae (Anthozoa: Zoantharia) complex: description of two species in the Alboran Sea based on an integrative approach.
Mar. Biodivers. 55, 15 (2025). doi.org
Open access article / Offen zugänglicher Artikel
During these investigations, two new Parazoanthus species were discovered and described, Parazoanthus franciscae and Parazoanthus brevitentacularis.
Here we present Parazoanthus franciscae.
In Parazoanthus franciscae, the ectoderm and mesogloea are encrusted with sand, and the species forms tiny colonies of polyps with fine tentacles connected by a thin coenenchyma.
Colonies were also formed by a common, rounded coenenchyma.
The polyps are embedded in the common coenchyma and are easily recognizable by their sand encrustation, yellowish color, and monochromatic oral disc.
In living organisms, the body wall, capitulum, and oral disc are yellow to yellowish with thin, translucent tentacles.
Conspicuous mineral particles are distributed along the body wall.
In preserved specimens, the polyps are 1–1.5 mm in diameter and 1–2 mm high, light brown to yellowish with abundant sand crusts.
The polyps form small groups embedded in a common tissue and connected to each other by a thin part of the coenchyme.
In some specimens, three rows of 24–30 transparent, pointed tentacles with parts of a fourth cycle can be observed; the tentacles are usually longer than the diameter of the spread-out mouth disc.
They grow mainly on sponges, but also directly on rocky cliffs.
Etymology
The species was named in memory of Francisca Serrais Benavente, the beloved wife of Oscar Ocaña Vicente, founder and first president of the Fundación Museo del Mar de Ceuta (Spain).
Literature reference:
Rosales Ruiz, A., Ocaña, O., de la Herrán, R. et al.
Going deep into Parazoanthus axinellae (Anthozoa: Zoantharia) complex: description of two species in the Alboran Sea based on an integrative approach.
Mar. Biodivers. 55, 15 (2025). doi.org
Open access article / Offen zugänglicher Artikel
