| Actiniid sea anemones possess few characteristics of taxonomic value, which makes columnar outgrowths one of the most important features for systematic work. There are two species of actiniid sea anemones known from Chile and southern Peru that exhibit a column densely covered with non-adhesive vesicles: Phymactis papillosa (Lesson, 1830) (= Phymactis clematis) and Phymanthea pluvia (Drayton in Dana, 1846). Hereby both are re-described in detail. The re-descriptions are based on observations of about 100 living animals in their habitat and in aquaria and on the examination of 21 specimens of P. papillosa and seven specimens of P. pluvia collected in Chile between 1995 and 2003. In Chile, specimens of both species occur in tide-pools, on vertical and... |
