Three new records of Plexauridae (Anthozoa: Alcyonacea) in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan

Abstract

Three species of the Family Plexauridae, genus Echinomuricea, Ec. peterseni Hedlund, 1890 and Ec. sp. aff. spinifera Nutting, 1910, and genus Euplexaura, Eu. abietina Kükenthal, 1908, were collected from Yamaguchi Prefecture at a depth 1–123 m. In the previous studies, Ec. peterseni had been reported from Sagami Bay, Hirado and Hong Kong, Eu. abietina from Sagami Bay and South Korea, but no reports had been known from the waters around Yamaguchi Prefecture. The present study updated the minimum depth record of Ec. peterseni and Eu. abietina. The specimens reported in the study represents the first records of three species from Yamaguchi Prefecture.