Meeting Abstract

116.3  Tuesday, Jan. 7 10:45  Morphology and Taxonomy of Brooding Anemones in the North Pacific Ocean LARSON, P*; DALY, M; Ohio State University; Ohio State University larson.309@osu.edu

The sea anemone genus Epiactis Verrill is notable for diversity in reproductive behavior and strategy among its species. The name E. ritteri Torrey has been applied both to internally brooding individuals on the West coast of the contiguous USA and British Columbia (Canada), and to externally brooding individuals from Alaska (USA). The confusion stems, in part, from a lack of author-designated material associated with work done on this group. Alaskan individuals of E. ritteri have been proposed by some to be synonymous with the externally brooding Japanese species, E. japonica. Based on morphological study of new collections from Japan, Alaska, and California in conjunction with borrowed museum collections from Alaska, British Columbia, and California, we present data which helps define the taxonomic and geographic boundaries of proposed species found in the North Pacific Ocean.