Litophyton striatum ( Kuekenthal , 1903)

van Ofwegen, Leen P., 2016, The genus Litophyton Forskal, 1775 (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea, Nephtheidae) in the Red Sea and the western Indian Ocean, ZooKeys 567, pp. 1-128 : 21-24

Taxon classification Animalia Alcyonacea Nephtheidae

Litophyton striatum ( Kuekenthal, 1903) Figures 2C, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82

Nephthya striata (in part) Kükenthal, 1903: 166, pl. 7 fig. 12, pl. 9 fig. 60 (Red Sea); 1913: 20 (Red Sea).

Litophyton striatum Not Nephthea striata ; Thomson and Dean 1931: 89 (Indonesia); Verseveldt 1966: 16, figs 8-10, pl. 2 fig. 2 (Morotai, Moluccas, Indonesia; material compared with that of Thomson and Dean 1931); 1974b: 2 ( Fara’un I., Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea; listed only = Litophyton acuticonicum ); Tixier-Durivault 1966: 282, figs 264-266 (Madagascar); 1970b: 299 (New Caledonia); 1972: 26 (Madagascar); Imahara 1991: 73, fig. 12, pl. IIc (Kerama Islands, Ryukyu Is., Japan; 13m); Imahara 1996: 25 (listed).

Nephthea galbuloides Verseveldt, 1973: 144, figs 26-28 ( Andraikarekabé, Nosy Komba, near Nosy Bé, Madagascar; Pointe Ambarionaomby, Nosy Komba, near Nosy Bé, Madagascar; Tany Kely, near Nosy Bé, Madagascar).

Litophyton striatum Not Nephthea galbuloides ; Verseveldt 1977b: 303 (Ambon, Indonesia); Ofwegen 1996: 209 (Papua New Guinea).

Nephthea elatensis Verseveldt & Cohen, 1971: 53, fig. 1 (Red Sea); Verseveldt 1970: 210 (Red Sea, listed only); 1974b: 2 (Red Sea; listed only); McFadden et al. 2011: 25.

Material examined.

SMF 1279, syntype Nephthya striata , Rotes Meer; Rüppell leg. 1832; ZMB 6837, syntype Nephthya striata , Rotes Meer, Rüppell leg. 1832; ZMB 6838, syntype Nephthya striata ; Rotes Meer, Klunzinger leg. (= Litophyton simulatum ); RMNH Coel. 6866, Nephthea elatensis , holotype, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, opposite Solar Lake (SWS), depth 4 m, August 1969, coll. J. Cohen; RMNH Coel. 8048, holotype Nephthea galbuloides , Andraikarekabe, Madagascar, depth 3 m; RMNH Coel. 8049, paratypes Nephthea galbuloides Pointe Ambarionaomby, Madagascar, depth 1 m; RMNH Coel. 6820, Red Sea, Dahab, Gulf of Aqaba, 10 October 1968, (identified by Verseveldt as Nephthea elatensis ); RMNH Coel. 12316, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Sharm el Sheikh, depth 6 m, 7 September 1976, coll. Y. Benayahu; RMNH Coel. 42088, Indian Ocean, Socotra, sta. 79, subtidal, 10 April 1999, coll. G. Reinicke; RMNH Coel. 42089, Indian Ocean, Socotra, sta. 268, sample 87, subtidal, 15 April, 1999, coll. G. Reinicke; RMNH Coel. 42090, Indian Ocean, Socotra, Samha, NE coast, sta. 334, sample 88, subtidal, 16 April 199, coll. G. Reinicke; RMNH Coel. 42091, Indian Ocean, Socotra, Kal Farun, sta. 209, sample 81, subtidal, 11 April 1999, coll. G. Reinicke; RMNH Coel. 42098, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago,(7°0'S, 72°30'E), Peros Banhos, Diamond, 28 February 1996, coll. G.B. Reinicke, no. 2; ZMTAU NS 1726, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Dahab, 13 September 1967, coll. Fishelson; ZMTAU Co 25686 1966, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Shab Mahmud, 12 July 1987, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25826 1492, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Shab Mahmud, depth 20-30 m, coll. Y. Benayahu, 9 July 1986; ZMTAU Co 25828 1520, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Shab Mahmud, depth 20-30 m, 9 July 1986, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25832 1600, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Shag Rock, 0-20 m, 10 July 1986, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25838 1753, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Tiran St., depth 0-35 m, 13 July 1986, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25851 1902, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Shab Mahmud, depth 0-20 m, 12 July 1987, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26192, Red Sea, Straits of Tiran Ras Nazrani, 14 March 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26194, Red Sea, Tiran Is. lagoon, depth 4 m, 15 March 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26195, Red Sea, Tiran Is. lagoon, depth 4 m, 15 March 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26200, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Dahab southern Oasis, depth 10 m, 4 November 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26203, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Sharm a Sheikh, Gan Eden, 6 November 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26207, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, El Goz (N of Tiran strait), depth 2-5 m, 8 November 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26216, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Sharm a Sheikh, depth 20 m, 30 November 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU CO 34112-34113, 2 specimens, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Elat, 29°30.14'N, 34°55.075'E, depth 10.7-12.2 m, coll. Y Benayahu, 24 July 2007 (identified by Ofwegen as Nephthea elatensis ); ZMTAU Co 30062, 3 specimens, Eritrea, Entedeber Is., 15°43.020'N, 39°53.465'E, 1 May 1997, depth 6.5 m, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 34034, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, Ile Fouquet, 5°28.870'S, 71°48.762'E, 12 February 2006, coll. M. Schleyer; ZMTAU Co 34036, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, Middle Brother, 6°8.929'S, 71°31.630'E, 7 February 2006, coll. M. Schleyer.

Removed from the species.

RMNH Coel. 2238, Indonesia, N Moluccas, Morotai, Snellius expedition, 3-10 June 1930; RMNH Coel. 8939, identified by Verseveldt as Nephthea striata , Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Fara 'un Island, 27 June 1967, Hebrew Univ.-Smiths. Red Sea project, 2/SLR 45 (= Litophyton acuticonicum ); RMNH Coel. 12317, identified as Nephthea striata by Verseveldt, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Sharm el Sheikh, depth 30 m, 7 September 1976, coll. Y Benayahu (= Litophyton curvum sp. n.).

Diagnosis.

Litophyton with the large internal spindles of the base of the stalk at least 1.0 mm long and heavily branched.

Re-description of the lectotype, SMF 1279.

The stiff lectotype is 7 cm long and 5 cm wide (Figure 70A); end lobes rounded. Colony stalk very short, up to 1 cm long.

The polyps are up to 0.80 in height and up to 0.90 in width (Figure 71A). Supporting bundle mostly not projecting, sometimes one spindle projecting for 0.10 mm; it is composed of up to about 10 spindles; these spindles are up to 1.15 mm long and up to 0.13 mm wide; with simple tubercles and spines (Figure 71B). Distal end of projecting spindles with higher spines. Polyp body sclerites irregularly arranged. On the abaxial and lateral sides the spindles are up to 0.35 mm long; with thorns on the outer side (Figure 71C). Adaxially only some small, spiny rodlets are present, about 0.1 mm long. On the adaxial side of the polyp stalk, just below the polyp body, similar rodlets are present, placed transversely; tentacles with nearly smooth rodlets, 0.03-0.08 mm long (Figure 71D).

Surface layer top of stalk. Radiates and derivatives of these, spindles and unilaterally spinose spindles, which are up to 0.6 mm long. Several sclerites with some side-branches (Figure 71E).

Surface layer base of stalk. Sclerites similar to those of the top of the stalk but with longer spines (Figure 72A). Few unilaterally spinose spindles present.

Interior base of stalk. Spindles with widely placed simple spines and tubercles; the spindles often have side-branches (Figure 72 B–C). Length of these spindles up to 1.6 mm.

Colour. Colony cream.

Distribution.

Red Sea, Socotra, Chagos Archipelago, Madagascar.

Remarks.

In the catalogue of the ZMB the numbers 6833-6838 are mentioned as material of Nephthea striata , 6834 and 6838 as types. I could only find two specimens (numbers 6837 and 6838). In the SMF one specimen is present (SMF 1279), that clearly is the same specimen as the one described and depicted by Kükenthal (1903: 166, pl. 7 fig. 12). Kükenthal, in his description of the species, mentioned two other specimens (both about 3 cm high and wide) from the Red Sea. According to Kükenthal (1903) these two specimens were deposited in the Breslau Museum. Nowadays no type material of this species is present in Breslau. Most probably ZMB 6838 (Figure 59A) is one of the two Breslau specimens. The sclerites of ZMB 6838 (Figures 60-61) show it to be a specimen belonging to Litophyton simulatum . ZMB 6837 lacks the base of the colony and therefore some doubts about its identity remains but probably it represents the same species SMF 1279, which is here designated as the lectotype of Litophyton striatum .

The lectotype SMF 1279 has some supporting bundle spindles with a somewhat leafy projecting end (not depicted); ZMTAU 26194 and ZMTAU 26195 have some with a smooth spine (not depicted).

ZMTAU Co 25851 (Figures 70B, 73-76), ZMTAU Co 26216 and ZMTAU Co 26203 (Figures 70C, 77-79) have been used to produce SEM images of the sclerites. Noteworthy is the difference in internal base stalk spindles (Figures 76, 78). ZMTAU Co 26203 shows an unusual amount of unilaterally spinose sclerites in the surface of the base of the stalk, with densely placed spines which are not like those in SMF 1279 (Figure 79).

The type material of Nephthea galbuloides has been re-examined (Figures 80-82) and proved to be Litophyton striatum . This specimen also shows very densely arranged spines on the unilaterally developed forms.

ZMTAU CO 34112-34113, identified by myself as Nephthea elatensis , have been used by McFadden et al. (2011) for their molecular study.