Verrucella umbella ( Esper, 1798 )

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 : 104

Verrucella umbella ( Esper, 1798)

Gorgonia umbella Esper, 1798 : v2, p. 30, t. 53, f. 1.2 (Bay of Bengal?)

Opinion: This species possibly occurs in the region but its true identity is unknown.

Justification:

These Indian records seem to be either invalid or unconfirmable: Thomson & Simpson 1909: 272–274, pl. 8, fig. 8&10 (Puri; Kanyakumari) (as Gorgonella umbella ); Thomas & George 1990: 422, fig. 1h, 1–3; pl. 1B (off Mumbai) (as Gorgonella umbella ); Thomas et al. 1995: 141 (NE coast) (as Gorgonella umbella ).

Literature analysis: This species was originally described as Gorgonia umbella , possibly from the Bay of Bengal, and included a colony figure. Ridley (1887) could not have known the nature of the sclerites when he recorded the species from the Mergui Archipelago, transferring it to the genus Gorgonella and not providing any illustrations. Likewise, without knowledge of the microscopic details, Thomson & Simpson’s (1909) claim to have specimens of Gorgonella umbella from several Indian locations is unproven, as is the extensive list of synonyms given by Kükenthal (1924).

The species is accepted as a Verrucella , but unless Esper’s original specimen is still in existence and is someday redescribed, the characteristics of the species will never be known. Therefore, there is no way of knowing if the material recorded by Thomas & George (1990) and Thomas et al. (1995) under the old name Gorgonella umbella is the same as this species.