Sand Armored Edwardsiids: Two New Species of Paraedwardsia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Actiniaria: Edwardsiidae) from Japan.

Abstract

Paraedwardsia, a genus of sea anemones within the family Edwardsiidae, is characterized by tenaculi on the surface of the column, often covered by sand grains. Most species of this genus are known from areas deeper than 200 m. From Japanese waters, three specimens were recently collected, and are formally described here as Paraedwardsia rinkaimaruae sp. nov. and Paraedwardsia moroisoensis sp. nov. The latter species was collected from 6 m depth, and this is the shallowest record of this genus. In addition, P. rinkaimaruae sp. nov. has a few sack-like structures in its mesoglea, which might be the key to the evolution of nemathybomes.