Octocorales de las aguas profundas del oriente de Venezuela

Abstract

Deep-water octocoral fauna exceeding 40 m was analyzed off Eastern Venezuela. The material was collected by SCUBA diving or with a Beam Trawl-type drag. In total, 55 specimens were collected, identified, photographed, and preserved. These included 15 species belonging to 13 genera of the following families: Ellisellidae, Plexauridae, Gorgoniidae, Clavularidae, Anthothelidae, Nephtheidae, Kophobelemnidae, and Renillidae. Three of the identified species are registered for the first time in Venezuela: Neospongodes portoricencis, Clavularia sp. and Thesea guadalupensis of the families Nephtheidae, Clavularidae, and Plexauridae, respectively. T. guadalupensis was reported for the islands of Guadalupe and Carriacau, and N. portoricencis, a cosmopolitan species in deep waters, for Barbados, Puerto Rico, and Cuba. The importance of this information for the proper management and conservation of the fauna is discussed, as are its possible relationships with deeper fishing sites. © 2007 Escuela de Ciencias del Mar Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso.