Litophyton maldivensis (Hickson, 1905)

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 : 14

Taxon classification Animalia Alcyonacea Nephtheidae

Litophyton maldivensis (Hickson, 1905) Figures 1E, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49

Eunephthya maldivensis Hickson, 1905: 824, fig. 12 (Maldives, Kolumadula Atoll); Kükenthal 1907: 380.

Litophyton maldivensis ; Hickson 1908: 173-176.

Material examined.

BMNH 1962.7.20.123, syntype; BMNH 1962.7.20.124, syntype; ZMTAU Co 26249, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Ras Gahra, depth 2 m, 19 November 1977, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 26221, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, A-Tur, 20 September 1967, coll. L. Fishelson; ZMTAU Co 26252, Red Sea, Gulf of Suez, Ras Gahra, depth 2 m, 20 November 1977, coll. Y. Benayahu; ZMTAU Co 28548 (E262), Red Sea, Dahlak Archipelago, Daliacus; depth 3 m, 18 October 1993, coll. Y. Benayahu; RMNH Coel. 42084, Indian Ocean, Socotra, sta. 267, sample 86, subtidal, 15 April 1999, coll. G. Reinicke.

Diagnosis.

Litophyton with polyps with small rodlets. Internal spindles of the base of the stalk short, mostly unbranched, several with blunt ends.

Description.

The holotype is 3.5 cm high and 5 cm wide (Figure 45A).

The polyps have small rodlets and spindles, situated in the tentacles and both the lateral and abaxial parts of the polyp (Figure 46 A–B). Length of the spindles up to 0.25 mm.

Lobes. Surface and interior with narrow spindles up to 0.5 mm long (Figure 46D).

Surface layer top of stalk. Radiates, derivatives of these, and spindles (Figure 46E); up to 0.30 mm long.

Surface layer base of stalk. Radiates, derivatives of these, spindles and unilateral spinose spindles (Figure 47A); the spindles and unilateral spinose spindles up to 0.25 mm long.

Interior base of stalk. Spindles with widely spaced simple tubercles (Figure 47 B–D); some spindles branched; some smaller ones almost smooth; many with blunt ends. The interior spindles are up to 0.85 mm long.

Distribution.

Maldives, Red Sea, Socotra.

Remarks.

The characteristics of specimen BMNH 1962.7.20.124 agree with the description of Hickson (1905) of his single specimen. Therefore it is puzzling why nowadays the BMNH has two syntypes of Litophyton maldivensis . The other syntype, BMNH 1962.7.20.123, was also examined and shows characters of the genus Scleronephthya . Therefore, BMNH 1962.7.20.124 is here considered to be the holotype of Litophyton maldivensis .

The species can be confused with Litophyton arboreum Forskål, 1775, as that species has also many blunt spindles in the interior of the base of the stalk. But they are longer, have more regularly spaced tubercles and do not include smaller, smoother forms. Also the polyps are more strongly armed. Litophyton maldivensis can also be confused with specimens of Litophyton simulatum in terms of having short sclerites in the interior of the stalk. But Litophyton simulatum , like Litophyton arboreum , differs in lacking the smooth smaller internal spindles and having more strongly armed polyps. Moreover, it has many branched internal spindles.

SEM images of the sclerites of ZMTAU Co26249 (Figure 45B) are also presented (Figures 48-49). The polyp body sclerites of ZMTAU Co26249 (Figure 48B) are different from the rodlets of the holotype (Figure 46C), and the sclerites from the top of stalk surface (Figure 48D) are different to those shown for the holotype in Figure 46E. I consider these difference intraspecific variation.