Sinularia leptoclados (Ehrenberg, 1834)

Ofwegen, Leen P. van, Benayahu, Yehuda & McFadden, Catherine S., 2013, Sinularia leptoclados (Ehrenberg, 1834) (Cnidaria, Octocorallia) re-examined, ZooKeys 272, pp. 29-59 : 36-39

Sinularia leptoclados (Ehrenberg, 1834) Figs 10 A–E11– 14

Lobularia leptoclados Ehrenberg, 1834: 58 (Red Sea).

Alcyonium leptoclados ; Klunzinger 1877: 26, pl. 1 fig. 7a-d (Red Sea).

Sinularia leptoclados ; Tixier-Durivault 1951: 124, figs 173-175 (Red Sea); 1966: 218, 222, figs 212-214 (Madagascar); Verseveldt 1965: 29 (Red Sea); 1971: 4 (Madagascar); Ofwegen and Benayahu 1992: 140 (Tanzania); Benayahu and Schleyer 1996: 6 (Mozambique); Benayahu et al. 2002: 278 (Southern Red Sea).

NOT Alcyonium leptoclados ; Burchardt 1903: 661, pl. 54 fig. 6, pl. 56 fig. 4 (Torres Strait, Ambon).

NOT Sinularia leptoclados ; Thomson and Dean 1931: 45, pl. 11 fig. 5, pl. 21 figs 6, 9 (Indonesia); Roxas 1933: 350, pl. 2 fig. 8 (Philippines); Verseveldt 1974: 96 (New Caledonia); 1977: 3 (Gambier Island, Fanning Atoll, Enewetak); 1978: 50 (Guam); Ofwegen and Vennam 1994: 138 (Ambon, Indonesia); Benayahu 1993: 6 (South Africa); 1995: 107 (Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan); Ofwegen 1996: 208 (Bismarck Sea); Benayahu 1997: 210 (Guam); Benayahu 2002: 14 (Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan); Benayahu et al. 2004: 551 (Taiwan); Manuputty and Ofwegen 2007: 192, figs 2b, 5 (Ambon, Indonesia; = Sinularia verseveldti ); Ofwegen 2008a: 131 (Gulf of Carpentaria, Australia; = Sinularia australiensis sp. n.).

NOT Sinularia aff. leptoclados Ofwegen, 2008b: 671 (Palau; = Sinularia verseveldti ).

NOT Sinularia leptoclados var. gonatodes Kolonko, 1926: 309, pl. 2 fig. 1 (Philippines); Roxas 1933: 351 (same data as Kolonko) (= Sinularia maxima Verseveldt, 1971)

? Sclerophytum herdmanni Pratt, 1905: 235, pl. 2 figs 8-9 (Sri Lanka; needs re-examination).

Material examined.

ZMB 304, holotype of Lobularia leptoclados Ehrenberg; 1834, Rotes Meer, leg. Hemprich. Additional material: Red Sea; ZMTAU Co 25763, Egypt, Sinai, Tiran Strait, Thomas W., depth 3 m, coll. Y. Benayahu, 25 June 1985; ZMTAU Co 25940, Egypt, Gulf of Suez, Jubal Island, Bluf Point, depth 16 m, coll. Y. Benayahu, 24 March 1988; ZMTAU Co 34093-95, Israel, Gulf of Aqaba, Eilat, Nature Reserve, 29°30.6'N, 34°55.35'E, depth 2.4-5.5 m, coll. Y. Benayahu, 24 July 2007; ZMTAU Co 35308, Israel, Gulf of Aqaba, Eilat, Nature Reserve, depth 3 m, coll. Y. Benayahu, 31 May 2011; Kenya; ZMTAU Co 30354, off Mombasa, Shelly Reef, 04°07'S, 39°40'E, depth 12-13 m, coll. Y. Benayahu & S. Perkol, 20 January 2000; ZMTAU Co 32549, Shimoni, Wasini Is., opposite the building, depth 5 m, coll. Y. Benayahu, 2 February 2003; Tanzania; RMNH Coel. 18953, off Dar es Salaam, Pangavinne Island, seaward slope (P02), 6°50'S, 39°17'E, depth 6 m, coll. J.N. Nyanda; RMNH Coel. 18954, off Dar es Salaam, Pangavinne Island, seaward slope (P18), 6°50'S, 39°17'E, depth 8 m, coll. J.N. Nyanda; RMNH Coel. 18955, off Dar es Salaam, Mbudya Island, seaward slope (P35), 6°50'S, 39°17'E, depth 5 m, coll. J.N. Nyanda; ZMTAU Co 26314, Pangavinne Is., depth 6 m, coll. J.N. Nyanda, 1991; ZMTAU Co 26316, Mbudya Is., depth 5 m, coll. J.N. Nyanda, 1991; Mozambique; ZMTAU Co 28796, Bazaruto Is., Manta Reef, depth 15 m, coll. M. Schleyer, 7 Oc tober 1994; Madagascar; RMNH Coel. 6653, Ankify, on mainland of Madagascar, opposite Nosy Komba, depth 1 m, 22 July 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1183); RMNH Coel. 6654, Ankify, on mainland of Madagascar, opposite Nosy Komba, depth 1 m, 11 August 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1250); RMNH Coel. 6655, Ankify, on mainland of Madagascar, opposite Nosy Komba, depth 1 m, 23 August 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1320); RMNH Coel. 6659, Nosy Iranja, SW Nosy Bé, depth 15 m, 9 August 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1239); RMNH Coel. 6660, W of Andilana, 13°18'S, 48°07'E, 20 m deep, 24 August 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1331); RMNH Coel. 6656, Ankify, on mainland of Madagascar, opposite Nosy Komba, depth 1 m, 23 August 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1321); RMNH Coel. 6657, Ankify, on mainland of Madagascar, opposite Nosy Komba, depth 1 m, 23 August 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1322); RMNH Coel. 6658, Ankify, on mainland of Madagascar, opposite Nosy Komba, depth 1 m, 23 August 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (1323); RMNH Coel. 6661, Pass at Pte Lokobe, Nosy Bé, Madagascar, depth 15 m, 19 June 1967, coll. A.G. Humes (A28).

Description.

The holotype is 18 cm high and 13 cm wide (Fig. 10A). The primary lobes branch off once or twice, lobules finger-shaped, up to 1 cm wide and 3 cm long.

The polyps have a collaret and eight points. Points with poorly developed clubs, up to 0.13 mm long (Fig. 11A), collaret with bent spindles. Tentacle sclerites not observed.

The surface layer of the lobules has leptoclados-type clubs, the smallest are 0.05 mm long, most are around 0.10 mm, but some reach a length of 0.15 mm (Fig. 11B); in addition longer wart clubs are present, up to 0.20 mm long (Fig. 11C). Furthermore, the surface layer of the lobules has spindles, up to 0.45 mm long, with simple tubercles (Fig. 11D, 12A); the smaller ones with a distinct median waist.

The interior of the colony has unbranched spindles. In the lobules they are up to 2.5 mm long (Fig. 12B), with simple or complex tubercles (Fig. 12C). In the base of the colony the spindles are also up to 2 mm long (Fig. 12D), with more complex tubercles (Fig. 12E).

The sclerites of the surface layer of the base of the colony resemble those of the surface layer of the lobules but they are wider (Fig. 13).

Colour.

The holotype is brown.

Intraspecific variation.

Most of the colonies of Sinularia leptoclados are stalked and rarely feature an encrusting colony shape (Fig. 14).

Remarks.

Verseveldt (1980) re-examined ZMB 6495, the type specimen of Kolonko’s Sinularia leptoclados var. gonatodes from the Bata islands (East coast of Palawan, Philippines), and considered it nothing else than Sinularia leptoclados (Ehrenberg, 1834). Alderslade and Shirwaiker (1991) also re-examined ZMB 6495, assuming it was Sinularia leptoclados , to differentiate their Sinularia kavarattiensis . They noticed many small rods in the surface layer of the lobes. Unfortunately, neither Verseveldt nor Alderslade and Shirwaiker presented any figures of sclerites of Sinularia leptoclados var. gonatodes. Here we present such sclerites of the lobe surface (Fig. 15), which are more like those of Sinularia maxima Verseveldt, 1971, and therefore we consider Sinularia leptoclados var. gonatodes to be Sinularia maxima . The main difference between Sinularia leptoclados and Sinularia maxima is not in the sclerites but concerns the much wider lobes of the latter (Fig. 10E). As a consequence, Alderslade and Shirwaiker (1991) compared their S. kavarattiensis with Sinularia maxima instead of with Sinularia leptoclados . Their new species differs from both in having leptoclados-type clubs with an angle between the head and handle of about 90 degrees, thus considered to be valid.

One other species that can be confused with Sinularia leptoclados is Sinularia verseveldti Ofwegen, 1996. Its colony shape was described as being cup-shaped, but examination of many specimens from Indonesia showed that colony shape to be exceptional. Mostly the colonies resemble Sinularia leptoclados very closely. Manuputty and Ofwegen (2007, fig. 2b, fig. 5) showed such a colony and its sclerites. The species differs in club shape, with the angle between the head and handle larger than 90 degrees in Sinularia leptoclados and about 90 degrees in Sinularia verseveldti . Sinularia aff. leptoclados in Ofwegen (2009: 671) we now consider also to be Sinularia verseveldti .