Astrogorgia sinensis ( Verrill, 1865a )

Lam, Katherine & Morton, Brian, 2008, Soft corals, sea fans, gorgonians (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) and black and wire corals (Ceriantipatharia: Antipatharia) from submarine caves in Hong Kong with a checklist of local species and a description of a new species of Paraminabea, Journal of Natural History 42 (9 - 12), pp. 749-780 : 760-761

Astrogorgia sinensis ( Verrill, 1865a)

( Figure 3D )

Muricea sinensis Verrill 1865a:187 , pl. 5, fig. 5

Astrogorgia sinensis Kükenthal, 1924:235

Muricella sinensis Zou & Scott, 1982:146–147 , pl. 2A, 11 A–H

Description

Deep red colony with short, lobulose branches growing in one plane. Branches are usually at or near 90 ° to the mother branch. Polyp cells verruciform, large, crowded irregularly, surface granulose with crowded sclerites of, 0.5 mm. Coenenchyme deep red, exterior hard and coriaceous, thick, and the surface of which is covered by a thick layer of small, long sclerites of 1 mm. Tentacles armoured by red sclerites of, 0.l mm. Dark brown axis soft and flexible near branch tips.

Type locality

Hong Kong.

Distribution

Hong Kong, Japan.

Remarks

One specimen (30 mm in length) was collected from Steep Island Cave.

Figures

Figure 3. Living specimens of octocorals belonging to the Acanthogorgiidae and Plexauridae. A, Acanthogorgia vegae; B, Anthogorgia divaricata; C, Muricella sp.; D, Astrogorgia sinensis and E, Menella indica. Scale bar52 cm.