title: A newMuriceaspecies (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Octocorallia) from the eastern tropical Pacific.
abstract: The genusMuriceais considered abundant and widely distributed along the eastern Pacific. Its occurrence in shallow waters has been recognised; however species from deeper than 30 m have been rarely recorded. During the 2005 R/V Urracá expedition along the north and central Pacific coast of Costa Rica several octocoral specimens were collected by bottom trawling from 30 to 150 m yielding new species and new records. Herein we describe a new species ofMuriceafrom deeper than 30 m. The morphological characters of the species were analysed and illustrated by optic and scanning electron microscopy.Muricea subtilissp. n.can be distinguished from the other species in the genus by its thin spiny branches, non-imbricate calyces, white colony and sclerites, and the size and composition of sclerites. Comparative character tables are provided for the closestMuriceaspecies-group. This new species increases the number in the genus to 26, and contributes to the knowledge on the diversity and distribution of mesophotic soft corals in the eastern Pacific.
authors.affiliation: Centro de Investigación en Estructuras Microscópicas, Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Escuela de Biología, Universidad de Costa Rica. P.O. Box 11501-2060, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica; Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, P.O. Box 0843-03092, Panama, Republic of Panama.
authors.forename: Odalisca
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Breedy
authors.affiliation: Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, P.O. Box 0843-03092, Panama, Republic of Panama.
authors.forename: Hector M
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Guzman
keywords: Alcyonacea; Cnidaria; Muricea subtilis; eastern Pacific; mesophotic zone; new species; plexaurid; soft corals; taxonomy