Three New Infaunal Species of Taeniogyrus (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea: Apodida: Chiridotidae: Taeniogyrinae) from Southern Coast of Wakayama, Japan

Abstract

Three infaunal apodid sea cucumbers collected in Kushimoto, Shirahama, and Susami, in the southern coast of Wakayama, Japan are described. They have different morphological characteristics in body color, ossicle arrangement, and internal organs, each other. First species, animal displays a large body size (approximately 70–150 mm) and pale body color (semi-transparent pink with anterior tip brownish) was found out. Second species, animal displays a small body size (approximately 20 mm) and pale body color (transparent yellow) with whitish wheel-papillae on three dorsal interradii was found out. Third species, animal displays a moderate body size (approximately 20–35 mm) and deep red or reddish brown body color with dark yellowish wheel-papillae on three dorsal interradii was found out. All three species having 10 tentacles, sigmoid-hook ossicles, and wheel ossicles in their body wall, turned out to be belonging to the genus Taeniogyrus Semper, 1867, and new to science.