Phascolion convestitum
Phascolion (Isomya) convestitum Sluiter, 1902
- kingdom Animalia
- phylum Sipuncula
- class Sipunculidea
- order Golfingiiformes
- family Phascolionidae
- genus Phascolion
- subgenus Phascolion (Isomya)
Overview
General Description
In this species the anus is at the anterior end of the trunk and holdfast papillae are usually variable. Hooks are broad-based, recurved and pointed. Dorsal retractor muscle is slightly larger than the ventral muscle.
Type
Type Locality
Malaya, Siboga station 105, 275 m (Stephen and Edmonds, 1972).
Type Material
Zoologisch Museum, Universiteit van Amsterdam, Amsterdam, ZMUA, Sluiter’s type-material, V.SI 48-2, 48-3.
Description
Morphology
(From Cutler and Cutler, 1985; Cutler, 1994)
External anatomy
Hooks with broad base, recurved and pointed (50-100 µm tall).
Holdfast papillae from large and bulbous to small and compact. Some have granular material around the border as a distinct unit, others are without hardened material, others have a smooth and slightly darker border.
Tentacular crown consists of 20-25 normal tentacles.
Anus at the anterior end of the trunk.
Internal anatomy
Dorsal retractor slightly larger than ventral .
Dorsal retractor with single origin.
Ventral muscle with two origins, which straddle the ventral nerve cord near its posterior end.
Esophagus may be connected to the dorsal retractor muscle.
Intestine in loops with few loose coils.
Short and strong fixing muscle at the posterior end of the coil, attaching it to the trunk wall between the roots of the ventral retractor muscle (this is not a spindle muscle).
Similar Species
According to Cutler and Cutler (1985) P. convestitum is similar to P. tuberculosum in many ways. They suggested that the former species may only deserve subspecific rank, but they did not propose any change for P. convestitum.
Ecology and Distribution
Distribution
Mediterranean, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Indonesia (Cutler, 1994).
Habitat and Ecology
From 25-275 m (Cutler, 1994).


