Echinogorgia toombo Grasshoff, 1999

Ramvilas, Ghosh, Alderslade, Philip & Ranjeet, Kutty, 2023, The taxonomy of Indian gorgonians: an assessment of the descriptive records of gorgonians (Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) recorded as occurring in the territorial waters of India, along with neighbouring regions and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the highlighting of perceived unethical practice, Zootaxa 5236 (1), pp. 1-124 : 56

Echinogorgia toombo Grasshoff, 1999

Echinogorgia toombo Grasshoff, 1999: 52 , fig. 87–88, pl. 5, fig. 2 ( New Caledonia).

Opinion: There is no evidence that this species occurs in the region.

Justification:

These Indian records are either unconfirmable or seem to be invalid: Fernando 2011: 64, pl. 39, fig. 1–1j (Cuddalore); Kumar et al. 2014a: 76, pl. 35, fig. A–D (Ritchie’s Archipelago); Fernando et al. 2017: 131, pl. 60, fig A–D (SE coast, Andaman and Nicobar Islands).

Literature analysis: The description given by Kumar et al. (2014a) is of a different species to that reported by Fernando (2011) and Fernando et al. (2017), whose accounts are identical. However, it impossible to know the true characteristics of Kumar’s material as the description of the is taken word-for-word from Grasshoff’s original text. The species described by Fernando (2011) and Fernando et al. (2017) is clearly different from that described by Grasshoff. In the holotype the central lobe of the scales in the calyx and the surface is rounded and smooth, with a few prickles at most, and the sclerites are rather like the scales of species of Menella . The central lobe of the developed sclerites in the Indian material is not flat and is pointed and warty. Ironically, the scales figured in Kumar et al. (2014a) are closer to those of Echinogorgia toombo than those in Fernando’s publications, but there too few to compare, and the origin of some odd shaped sclerites is not given. Echinogorgia toombo is probably endemic to New Caledonia. Kumar et al. (2015) just lists the species and presents the same colony image as in Kumar et al. (2014a), while Kumar et al. (2018a) just lists the species.