Menella kanisa Grasshoff, 2000

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 : 63

Menella kanisa Grasshoff, 2000

Menella kanisa Grasshoff, 2000: 91 , fig. 162–165 (Sinai).

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

Justification:

These Indian records seem to be either invalid or unconfirmable: Kumar et al. 2014a: 64, pl. 29, fig. A–D (Andaman & Nicobar Islands); Fernando et al. 2017: 139, pl. 64, fig. A–D (Andaman & Nicobar Is.).

Literature analysis: About a third of the the description supplied by Kumar et al. (2014a) and Fernando et al. (2017) is taken directly from Grasshoff’s text but the sclerites sizes are changed. Copying Grasshoff, they state that “The sclerites of the inner layer are irregular, often branched forms up to (0.35 mm) large”, but only some small capstans are shown in their sclerite figure. Referring to the leafscales, Grasshoff says “the leaves of the surface are flat and their margins are smooth”, but the surface sclerites shown by Kumar et al. (2014a) and Fernando et al. (2017) have a thick, somewhat bulbous head with rounded knob-like protrusions. These authors state that their species is found mostly in a turbid environment, which is completely different to the clear waters of the Sinai where the Grasshoff’s samples were collected. These facts combined with geographic considerations would indicate the species does not occur in the region.