Description of a new species in the genus Sarcothelia Verrill, 1928 (Alcyonacea: Xeniidae) from reefs of Gulf of Mannar, South-eastern India
Boopathi, M.; Poliseno, A.; Altuna, A.; Patterson Edward, J.K. (2023). Description of a new species in the genus Sarcothelia Verrill, 1928 (Alcyonacea: Xeniidae) from reefs of Gulf of Mannar, South-eastern India. Mar. Biodiv. 53(5): 62. https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12526-023-01362-z
In: Marine Biodiversity. Springer: Heidelberg; Berlin. ISSN 1867-1616; e-ISSN 1867-1624, more
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| Keywords |
Sarcothelia Verrill, 1928 [WoRMS]
Marine/Coastal |
| Authors | | Top |
- Boopathi, M.
- Poliseno, A.
- Altuna, A.
- Patterson Edward, J.K.
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| Abstract |
Sarcothelia Verrill, 1928 has been considered a monotypic and endemic reef-dwelling octocoral genus geographically restricted to the Hawaiian Islands. In this paper we present a new species Sarcothelia indica sp. nov. from the Gulf of Mannar reefs, south-eastern India. The dense growth of blue monomorphic polyps was noticed on artificial reefs, live molluscan shells, dead corals and coral rubbles at 3–5 m depth. The species was identified using an integrated morpho-molecular method. Sarcothelia is characterised by the “presence of membranous and stolonal colonies, blue or brown coloration, zooxanthellate, and platelet-like sclerites”. Sarcothelia indica sp. nov. is distinguishable from S. edmondsoni by its pulsating polyps, by a rugged microstructure on the surface of platelet-like sclerites, and by a significant genetic difference. In S. indica sp. nov. platelet-like sclerites are abundantly distributed in the tentacles and the polyp body, but are only rarely seen on the membranous base or ribbon-like stolons of the colonies investigated. Based on partial mtMutS and 28S rDNA sequences, the newly collected specimens belong to a well-supported group that includes Xenia, Sansibia, Yamazatum, Quattuoria, Latissimia and Unomia. In particular, the mitochondrial and ribosomal DNA sequences show high degree of similarity with other Sarcothelia sequences available on GenBank, confirming the generic identity of the specimens investigated. |
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