Psolidium karenae O'Loughlin & Ahearn 2008, sp. nov.
Creators: name: O'Loughlin, P. Mark
name: Ahearn, Cynthia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2008
Subjects: Biodiversity
Taxonomy
Animalia
Echinodermata
Holothuroidea
Dendrochirotida
Psolidae
Psolidium
Psolidium karenae

description: Psolidium karenae sp. nov.
Table 1, Figure 1b, 2e, 4d
Material examined. Holotype: South Australia, Spencer Gulf, Yorke Peninsula, Port Victoria jetty, under rock, 5–6 m, K. L. Gowlett-Holmes and W. Zeidler, 14 Dec 1994, SAM K2177 (live colour photo SAM PK 0105).
Paratypes: St Vincent Gulf, Kemps Ground, 12 m, N. Holmes, Apr/ May 1985, K2188 (1); Adelaide, Hallet Cove, R. Balfour, 1970, K2184 (3); Moana Beach, reef off S end, 10 m, K. L. Gowlett-Holmes, 4 Apr 1987, K2185 (3); Nuyts Archipelago, just N of centre of W island, Franklin I, 6–8 m, P. Aerfeldt et al., 14 Apr 1983, SAM K2187 (1); St Francis I, W end of N beach, among rocks, 3 m, W. Zeidler, 24 Jan 1982, K2181 (2).
Description. Psolidium species up to 32 mm long (preserved); body height low to moderately high, dorsal and lateral body scales thick, finely granuliform, large, up to 4.5 mm wide, with sparse small scales at base; dorsal and lateral tube feet conspicuous, pass through centre of scales.
Sole: peripheral band of tube feet, outer single series of distinctly separate smaller tube feet, inner series of larger tube feet, 2-3 wide, series not always continuous anteriorly and posteriorly; mid-ventral radial series of tube feet, irregularly spaced, 1-2 wide.
Dorsal and lateral ossicles: multi-layered perforated ossicles (scales), thick, fine surface lumps, canals for tube feet, intergrade with single-layered perforated plates up to 160 μ m; lacking cupped crosses, cups, rosettes.
Ventral ossicles: small to large single-layered perforated plates, typically up to 24 perforations, up to 46 perforations in larger specimens, thin to moderately thick, irregularly round to oval, up to 240 μ m long, plate surfaces with abundant fine to medium knobs and rare large peripheral knobs, plate margins knobbed to bluntly spinous; perforated plates from small specimens with fewer surface and peripheral knobs; large specimens lack secondary surface developments on perforated plates, and multi-layered ossicles.
Tentacles lack rosettes.
Colour. Live. Dorsally dark reddish-brown.
Preserved. Dorsally pale to dark brown to grey-brown; sole off-white to cream to pale brown.
Distribution. South Australia, St Vincent Gulf to Nuyts Archipelago; 3– 12 m.
Etymology. Named for Karen Gowlett-Holmes (CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research; Eaglehawk Dive Centre) in appreciation of her contribution to marine invertebrate research, and with gratitude for her fieldwork and photography that contributed substantively to this work.
Remarks. The distinguishing characteristics of Psolidium karenae sp. nov. are the conspicuous dorsal and lateral tube feet, finely granuliform dorsal and lateral scales, sparse small scales at the base of the large dorsal and lateral scales, absence of cups, cupped crosses and rosettes, and presence of separate single outer series of smaller peripheral tube feet around the sole. In the sole of the smallest specimens the perforated plates have fewer knobs.
description: Published as part of O'Loughlin, P. Mark & Ahearn, Cynthia, 2008, Australian species of Psolidium Ludwig (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Psolidae), pp. 1-22 in Memoirs of Museum Victoria 65 on pages 14-15, DOI: 10.24199/j.mmv.2008.65.2, http://zenodo.org/record/8065020