Family Alcyoniidae

Bellonella rubistella (Deichmann, 1936)

Alcyonium rubistella Deichmann, 1936:49-50, pl. 1fig. 2, pl. 3 figs. 1-7.

Remarks. This species is the only member of the Alcyoniidae that is found in the shallow South Atlantic Bight and typically inhabits deeper areas. This work represents the first record of Bellonella rubistella in the SAB.
The colony found within the SAB range that was examined for this work is smaller than the USNM specimens from more southern or tropical localities. The colony is unbranched and attached to a piece of rock. The base is 8mm wide and total length is 17mm. The calyces are more crowded at the tip but the stalk near the base is sterile. The calyces are 1.5mm in diameter and appear light pink around the tips, when contracted have 8 lobes which develop into 8 grooves along the body wall. Partially exert anthocodia have a crown of spindles arranged en chevron. The coenenchyme is ivory.
The stalk bears sclerites in the form of elongate acute spindles, slightly flattened, with tubercles, up to 0.3mm in length. The calyces contain sclerites as elongate spindles, some curved, 0.2-0.5mm in length, and some club-like spindles and small (< 0.1mm) radiates. Most spindles are white with pink rods occurring occasionally.
Other colonies from tropical regions are recorded as having a digitiform shape that narrows distally to more or less a point, and bright red calyces (Verseveldt, 1978). The examined specimen more closely resembles the figure in Deichmann, 1936 than those in Verseveldt, 1978.

Atlantic distribution: South Carolina, Florida, Caribbean, Colombia to Venezuela, 24-366 m (Deichmann, 1936; Verseveldt, 1978; Verseveldt and Bayer 1988; NMNH collections; SERTC collection).

Figure 3. Bellonella rubistella (S2363) sclerites. a) needle from anthocodia; b-g) spindles from coenenchyme. Scale bar = 100 µm.

Figure 1. Bellonella rubistella, preserved specimen (S2363, colony height = 17mm).

Figure 2. Bellonella rubistella (S2363), showing crown.

Figure 4. Bellonella rubistella, preserved specimen (USNM 55376) from Venezuela, showing red calyces. Scale bar = 1 cm.