Notes on the morphology, distribution and bionomics of Phyllodiscus semoni (Anthozoa: Actiniaria: Aliciidae)

S.D. Grebelnyi, N.Yu. Ivanova & Quyet Do Huu

Abstract. Phyllodiscus semoni Kwietniewski, 1897, a little-known species of sea anemones of the family Aliciidae, is quite widely distributed in the tropics but has not been recorded from the Spratly Islands so far. The reason that the range of this species is poorly studied lies not only in the fact that many tropical areas are still poorly explored but also in the peculiar appearance of this animal in the sea. It rarely extends its tentacles during daylight hours and is not readily recognised by divers and researchers as an actinian. Our underwater observations, accompanied by high-resolution photography and specimen collection, evidence the presence of this species along the continental coast of Vietnam and in the waters of the Spratly Archipelago. During the dives, some observations were made on the behavior of the polyps and symbiotic shrimp living on their bodies. This species of sea anemones can cause severe skin burns in humans, which is confirmed by our experience. Summarised literature data on the distribution of Ph. semoni is provided.

Key words: South China Sea, Spratly Islands, continental coast of Vietnam, synonymy, distribution, Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria, Aliciidae, Phyllodiscus semoni, new records

Zoosystematica Rossica, 2023, 32(2): 331–341 ▪ Published online 30 December 2023

https://doi.org/10.31610/zsr/2023.32.2.331 ▪ Open full article

References

Ashwood L.M., Mitchell M.L., Madio B., Hurwood D.A., King G.F., Undheim E.A.B., Norton R.S. & Prentis P.J. 2021. Tentacle morphological variation coincides with differential expression of toxins in sea anemones. Toxins, 13: 452–469. https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13070452

Bozhenova O.V. 1988. Present views on classification of the nematocysts of Cnidaria. In: Koltun V.M. & Stepanjants S.D. (Eds). Gubki i knidarii. Sovremennoe sostoyanie i perspektivy issledovaniy [Porifera and Cnidaria. Modern and perspective investigations]: 57–71. Leningrad: Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. (In Russian).

Bozhenova O.V., Grebelnyi S.D. & Stepanjants S.D. 1988. Possible ways of the Cnidaria nematocysts evolution. In: Koltun V.M. & Stepanjants S.D. (Eds). Gubki i knidarii. Sovremennoe sostoyanie i perspektivy issledovaniy. [Porifera and Cnidaria. Modern and perspective investigations]: 71–74. Leningrad: Zoological Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR. (In Russian.)

Carlgren O. 1940. A contribution to the knowledge of the structure and distribution of the cnidae in the Anthozoa. Kungliga Fysiografiska Sällskapets Handlingar, 51: 1–62.

Carlgren O. 1949. A survey to the Ptychodactiaria, Corallimorpharia and Actiniaria. Kungliga Svenska Vetenskapsakademiens Handlingar, Series 4, 1(1): 1–129.

Crowther A. L. 2013. Character evolution in light of phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic revision of the zooxanthellate sea anemone families Thalassianthidae and Aliciidae. PhD thesis. University of Kansas. x + 302 p. Available at KU Scholar Works:
https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/handle/1808/12321

Dayton P. K., England K. W. & Robson E. A. 1997. An unusual sea anemone, Dactylanthus antarcticus (Clubb, 1908) (Order Ptychodactiaria), on gorgonians in Chilean fjords. In: Hartog J.C. den. (Ed.). Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Coelenterate Biology (Leeuwenhorst, Noordwijkerhout, The Netherlands, 1995): 135–142. Leiden: Nationaal Natuurhistorisch Museum.

England K. W. & Robson E. A. 1984. A new sea anemone from South Africa (Anthozoa, Ptychodactiaria). Annals of the South African Museum, 94(5): 305–329.

Erhardt H. & Knop D. 2005. Corals. Indo-Pacific field guide. 306 p. Frankfurt: Hollywood Import & Export, Inc.

Fautin D.G. 2016. Catalog to families, genera, and species of orders Actiniaria and Corallimorpharia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa). Zootaxa, 4145(1): 1–449. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4145.1.1

Fransen C.H.J.M. 1997. Indonesian pontoniine shrimps. In: Tomascik T., Mah A.J., Nontji A. & Moosa M.K. (Eds). The ecology of the Indonesian seas, 2: 1064–1075. Singapore: Periplus Editions.

Frazão B., Vasconcelos V. & Antunes A. 2012. Sea Anemone (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Actiniaria) toxins: An overview. Marine Drugs, 10: 1812–1851. https://doi.org/10.3390/md10081812

Gladfelter W.B. 1975. Sea anemone with zooxanthellae: simultaneous contraction and expansion in response to changing light intensity. Science, 189: 570–571. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.189.4202.570

Halstead B. 2000. Coral Sea Reef Guide: Great Barrier Reef. Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia. Danville: CA. 321 p.

Hansen P.A. & Halstead B.W. 1971. The venomous sea anemone Actinodendron plumosum Haddon of South Vietnam. Micronesica, 7: 123–136.

Hartog J.C. van. 1997. The sea anemone fauna of Indonesian coral reefs. In: Tomascik T., Mah A. J., Nontji A. & Moosa M. K. (Eds.) The Ecology of the Indonesian Seas, 1: 351–370. Singapore: Periplus Editions.

Hoeksema B.W. & Crowther A.L. 2011. Masquerade, mimicry and crypsis of the polymorphic sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni and its aggregations in South Sulawesi. Contributions to Zoology, 80 (4): 251–268. https://doi.org/10.1163/18759866-08004003

Humann P. & DeLoach N. 2010. Reef Creature Identification: Tropical Pacific. Jacksonville: New World Publications. 514 p.

Kokshoorn B., Goud J., Gittenberger E. & Gittenberger A. 2007. Epitoniid parasites (Gastropoda, Caenogastropoda, Epitoniidae) and their host sea anemones (Cnidaria, Actiniaria, Ceriantharia) in the Spermonde archipelago, Sulawesi, Indonesia. Basteria, 71: 33–56.

Laboute P. & de Forges B.R., 2004. Lagons et récifs de Nouvelle-Calédonie. Noumea: Editions Catherine Ledru. 520 p.

Meij van der S.E.T., Draisma S.G.A. & Waheed Z. 2018. Multiple observations of the sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni Kwietniewski, 1897 (Actiniaria: Aliciidae) from Sabah, Borneo represent first records for Malaysia. Regional Studies in Marine Science, 18: 135–138. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2018.02.003

Mizuno M., Nozaki M., Morine N., Suzuki N., Nishikawa K., Morgan B.P. & Matsuo S. 2007. A protein toxin from the sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni targets the kidney and causes a severe renal injury with predominant glomerular endothelial damage. The American Journal of Pathology, 171: 402–414. https://doi.org/10.2353/ajpath.2007.060984

Nagai H., Oshiro N., Takuwa-Kuroda K., Iwanaga S., Nozaki M. & Nakajima T. 2002a. A New Polypeptide Toxin from the Nematocyst Venom of an Okinawan Sea Anemone Phyllodiscus semoni (Japanese name “unbachi-isoginchaku”). Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry, 66(12): 2621–2625. https://doi.org/10.1271/bbb.66.2621

Nagai H., Oshiro N., Takuwa-Kuroda K., Iwanaga S., Nozaki M. & Nakajima T. 2002b. Novel proteinaceous toxins from the nematocyst venom of the Okinawan sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni Kwietniewski. Biochemical and biophysical research Communications, 294: 760–763. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006-291X(02)00547-8

Oshiro N., Iwanaga S. Nozaki M. Nakasone T. & Uchida H. 2001. New distribution record and venom toxicity of the sea anemone Actineria villosa (Quey et Gaimard, 1833). Annual Report of Okinawa Prefectural Institute of Health and Environment, 35: 133–136. (In Japanese).

Oshiro N., Kobayashi Ch., Iwanaga S., Nozaki M., Namikoshi M., Spring J. & Nagai H. 2004. A new membrane-attack complex/perforin (MACPF) domain lethal toxin from the nematocyst venom of the Okinawan sea anemone Actineria villosa. Toxicon, 43(2): 225–228.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2003.11.017

Satoh H., Oshiro N., Iwanaga S., Namikoshi M. & Nagai H. 2007. Characterization of PsTX-60B, a new membrane-attack complex/perforin (MACPF) family toxin, from the venomous sea anemone Phyllodiscus semoni. Toxicon, 49: 1208–1210. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2007.01.006

Uechi G.I., Toma H., Arakawa T. & Sato Y. 2005a. Biochemical and physiological analyses of a hemolytic toxin isolated from a sea anemone Actineria villosa. Toxicon, 45: 761–766. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2005.01.015

Uechi G., Toma H., Arakawa T. & Sato Y. 2005b. Molecular cloning and functional expression of hemolysin from the sea anemone Actineria villosa. Protein Expression and Purification, 40: 379–384. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pep.2004.12.003

Uechi G.-I., Toma H., Arakawa T. & Sato Y. 2010. Molecular characterization on the genome structure of hemolysin toxin isoforms isolated from sea anemone Actineria villosa and Phyllodiscus semoni. Toxicon, 56(8): 1470–1476. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.09.002

Uechi G.-I., Toma H., Arakawa T. & Sato Y. 2011. Corrigendum to “Molecular characterization on the genome structure of hemolysin toxin isoforms isolated from sea anemone Actineria Villosa and Phyllodiscus Semoni”. Toxicon, 57(4): 625.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.toxicon.2010.11.008

Volume, Year: