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Issue: Vol. 5507 No. 4: 16 Sept. 2024
Type: Article
Published: 2024-09-16
DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.5507.4.1
Page range: 501-533
Abstract views: 220
PDF downloaded: 107

A Tale of Three Oceans—Taxonomy of the Holothuria (Thymiosycia) arenicola Semper, 1868 complex (Echinodermata: Holoturoidea: Holothuriidae)

Scientific Service of Heritage; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; Vautierstraat 29; B-1000 Brussels; Belgium
Operational Direction Taxonomy & Phylogeny; Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences; Vautierstraat 29; B-1000 Brussels; Belgium
Echinodermata sea cucumbers Holothuria conusalba Holothuria gracilis Holothuria kerriensis sp. nov. Holothuria milloti Holothuria rathbuni Holothuria strigosa Holothuria unicolor Holothuria zihuatanensis nomenclature

Abstract

The ubiquitous sea cucumber Holothuria (Thymiosycia) arenicola Semper, 1868, externally characterized by a double row of dark blotches of various sizes on its dorsal body wall and a cryptic behaviour, is generally assumed to have a wide tropical distribution, although it has not been reported from the Eastern Atlantic. Careful morphological examination, with emphasis on the ossicle assemblage, of type and non-type H. arenicola specimens sampled in the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Ocean, its subjective synonyms and species with a similar colouration and habit, revealed that H. arenicola is often confused with other species. This paper formally separates the different species in the H. arenicola complex, one of them being a species new to science: Holothuria (Thymiosycia) kerriensis sp. nov. Additionally, we describe two other species that are often confused with H. arenicola: Holothuria (Lessonothuria) gracilis Semper, 1868 and H. (Thymiosycia) strigosa Selenka, 1867. The H. arenicola complex per se is keyed-out, with the ossicle assemblage of the musculature being recognised as an important, previously largely neglected, guide. This contribution highlights the importance of building and curating well-maintaned natural history collections to understand biodiversity through time and space.

 

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