Litophyton simulatum (Verseveldt, 1970)

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 : 19-20

Taxon classification Animalia Alcyonacea Nephtheidae

Litophyton simulatum (Verseveldt, 1970) Figures 2D, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69

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

Nephthea simulata Verseveldt, 1970: 221, figs 7-8, pl. 2 fig. 1 (Et Tur, Gulf of Suez).

Material examined.

RMNH Coel. 6822, part of holotype, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Et Tur, 6 July 1969, coll. L. Fishelson; RMNH Coel. 8921, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Abu Zanima, 12 June 1968, coll. Hebrew Univ.-Smiths. Red Sea project (identified as Nephthea chabrolii by Verseveldt); RMNH Coel. 8945, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Marsa abu Zabad, 15 September 1967, coll. Hebrew Univ.-Smiths. Red Sea project (identified as Nephthea chabrolii by Verseveldt); ZMB 6838, syntype of Nephthya striata , Rotes Meer, Klunzinger leg.; RMNH Coel. 42085, Indian Ocean, Socotra, Pbal el Keeri, sta. 188, sample 78, subtidal, 9 April 1999, coll. G. Reinicke; RMNH Coel. 42086, Indian Ocean, Socotra, Darsa, sta. 245, sample 89, subtidal, 8 April 1999, coll. G. Reinicke; RMNH Coel. 42092, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, 7°0'S, 72°30'E, Peros Banhos, Diamond, 28 February 1996, coll. G.B. Reinicke, no. 3; RMNH Coel. 42093, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, 7°0'S, 72°30'E, Peros Banhos, Ile Vache Marine, lagoon, 6 March 1996, coll. G.B. Reinicke, no. 87; RMNH Coel. 42094, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, 7°0'S, 72°30'E, Salomoms Atoll, Ile Fouquet, 8 March 1996, coll. G.B. Reinicke, no. 112; RMNH Coel. 42095, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, 7°0'S, 72°30'E, Salomons, off Ile de la Passe, 11 March 1996, coll. G.B. Reinicke, no. 184; RMNH Coel. 42096, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, 7°0'S, 72°30'E, Great Chagos Bank, Nelson Island, NE corner, 12 March 1996, coll. G.B. Reinicke, no. 194; RMNH Coel. 42097, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, 7°0'S, 72°30'E, Great Chagos Bank, Middle Brother, lagoon, 13 March 1996, coll. G.B. Reinicke, no. 226; ZMTAU Co 25839 1781, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Tiran Strait, depth 0-35 m, 13 July 1986, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25841, Red Sea, South tip of Sinai, Ras Muhamad, depth 0-25 m, 14 July 1986, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25844 1861, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, Tiran St., depth 30 m, 15 July 1986, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25856 (2015), Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Shag Rock, depth 3-24 m, 14 July 1987, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25874, Red Sea, South tip Sinai, South to Shag Mahmud, depth 10 m, 10 July 1986, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 25970, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Jubal Is., depth 30 m, 22 March 1988, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26201, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Nageb Shahin, depth 18 m, 5 November 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26211, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Shurat el Manqata, 9 November 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26213, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba, Shurat el Manqata, 9 November 1981, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26224, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez A-Tur, 6 July 1969, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26227, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Ras Rareb, 24 August 1971, coll. D. Popper; ZMTAU Co 26230, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Ras Tanaka, 25 September 1974, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26237, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba Muqeibla, depth 3 m, 17 April 1979, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26240, 3 colonies, all 3 cut in half lengthwise, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba W. Magrash km 207, 17 April 1979, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26244, Red Sea, Gulf of Aqaba Wadi Magrash km 207, 20 July 1974, coll. Y. Benayahu (in bottle with neotype of Litophyton chabrolii ); ZMTAU Co 34030, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, Ile Fouquet, 5°28.870'S, 71°48.762'E, 12 February 2006, coll. M. Schleyer; ZMTAU Co 34040, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, Middle Brother, 6°8.929'S, 71°31.630'E, 7 February 2006, coll. M. Schleyer; ZMTAU Co 34042, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, Ile de la Passe, 5°17.943'S, 72°15.449'E, 11 March 2006, coll. M. Schleyer; ZMTAU Co 34043, Indian Ocean, Chagos Archipelago, Ile Anglaise, 5°20.439'S, 72°12.809'E, 17 February 2006, coll. M. Schleyer; ZMTAU Co 34046, Indian Ocean, Chagos Ar chipelago, Ile Anglaise, 5°20.439'S, 72°12.809'E, 17 February 2006, coll. M. Schleyer; NTM C02254, C. of Eilat, Muqebla, depth 3 m; 8 August 1975; coll. Y. Benayahu.

Diagnosis.

Litophyton with internal spindles of the base of the stalk short, mostly up to 0.5 mm long, up to 0.25 mm wide. Spindles with blunt ends and branched spindles present.

Description

(after Verseveldt 1970). The specimen RMNH Coel. 6822 is the left part of the holotype as depicted by Verseveldt (1970: pl. 2 fig. 1).

The polyps are up to about 0.65 mm wide and 0.8 mm high. Supporting bundle not projecting, composed of spindles with simple tubercles, outer side and distal end with more tubercles. Length of these spindles is up to 1.1 mm. Polyp body sclerites irregularly arranged, the smallest are present adaxially; abaxially they merge into the smaller spindles of the supporting bundle and have larger tubercles on the outer side. The tentacle sclerites resemble the smallest adaxial polyp sclerites.

Surface layer top of stalk. Spindles, radiates, and derivatives of these, merging into unilaterally spinose spindles; all sclerites with simple tubercles. The spindles are up to 0.25 mm long.

Surface layer base of stalk. Sclerites similar to those of the top of the stalk but longer, up to 0.4 mm long; the unilaterally spinose sclerites having longer spines.

Interior base of stalk. Spindles, up to 1.0 mm long, with simple sparse tubercles. Several spindles have one or more side branches, the smaller spindles are more often branched than the larger ones. A few spindles have blunt ends.

Colour. The colony is grey.

Distribution.

Red Sea, Socotra, Chagos Archipelago.

Remarks.

The microscope slides of transparent polyps made by Verseveldt (1970) show smooth rodlets in the adaxial polyp body, his drawing of a polyp (Figure 7I) also shows a few, and they are even mentioned in his description. However, they represent the end views of polyp sclerites as smooth rodlets are not present in the slides of polyp sclerites.

Verseveldt (1970) compared the species with Litophyton laevis ( Kükenthal, 1913) and concluded the tuberculation of the sclerites, being much stronger in Litophyton simulatum , was the main character to distinguish between them. Also the interior sclerites differ, in Litophyton laevis they are slender, and only up to 0.5 mm long, in Litophyton simulatum they are twice as wide and up to 1.0 mm long.

The species also resembles Litophyton striatum as that species has also branched interior spindles in the base of the stalk. However, the sclerites of the interior of the base of the stalk of Litophyton striatum always include spindles with many small side branches or extra tall tubercles, while those of Litophyton simulatum have just one or a few.

RMNH Coel. 8921 and 8945, both identified by Verseveldt as Nephthea chabrolii , proved to be Litophyton simulatum .

ZMB 6838, a syntype of Litophyton striatum ( Kükenthal, 1903), shows sclerites characteristic of Litophyton simulatum (Figures 59A, 60-61).

For showing variation sclerites of ZMTAU Co 25874 (Figures 59B, 62-65) and ZMTAU Co 26201 (Figures 59C, 66-69) are presented.