Muricea spicifera Lamouroux, 1821, by subsequent designation: Milne Edwards and Haime 1850. [M. spicifera was later synonymised with Muricea muricata (Pallas, 1766) apud Bayer 1961: 179–180]

Diagnosis (based on Bayer 1961, 1994; Marques and Castro 1995; Castro et al. 2010).

Colonies planar or multiplanar, bushy, arborescent, laterally branched, pinnately branched, dichotomous or with long flexible branches without occasional branch anastomosis. Branches and branchlets upward bending almost parallel, and with about the same thickness all along, frequently with slightly enlarged tips. Coenenchyme moderately to very thick (compared to other plexaurids) with a circle of longitudinal canals surrounding the axis and dividing the coenenchyme into a thin inner layer or axial sheath, and a thicker outer layer. Polyps fully retractile within prominent calyces longitudinally and closely placed and at all sides of the branches. Calyces prominent, shelf-like or tubular, with prickly projecting spindles, longitudinally arranged, imbricate or not. Anthocodial sclerites mainly small spindles, in weakly differentiated transverse collaret and points below the tentacles, or just with some sclerites scattered along the neck zone of the polyp. Sclerites of the outer coenenchyme mostly long, unilateral spinous spindles, often massive, sculptured on inner surface by crowded complex tubercles and on outer surface by simple spines or prickles, and in some species with a few more or less prominent coarse, prickly projections. Axial sheath composed of capstans, spindles, or oval forms. Sclerite colours white, various hues of yellow, amber, orange, purple and red. Anthocodials with lower colour hues.

From Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Brazil, including Bahamas, Greater and Lesser Antilles, and Caribbean islands (Bayer 1961); in the eastern Pacific from southern California to Peru. The genus occurs at depths down to 200 m, but normally found less than 100 m. Muricea midas Bayer, 1959 is the deepest record for the genus in the western Atlantic, 146 m (Bayer 1959); and Muricea galapagensis Deichmann, 1941 in the eastern Pacific, 91 m.

Colony shape and branching patterns are variable among Muricea species. The shape of calyces shelf-like or tubular, and related features as being imbricate or sparse show many intermediate forms. In the tubular-calyces species group the apical branches show a closer arrangement of calyces and smaller projecting angles in respect to the branch than at the lower branches. Therefore, the strongest character that separates Muricea from other genera is the type of sclerites.

Holotype: YPM 1791 (figured specimen), dry, Bay of Panamá, Panamá, F.H. Bradley, 1866, no more data. Schizotype: USNM 1130758 (donated by YPM).

The holotype is a 20 cm tall and 12 cm wide colony, the branching is lateral, almost in one plane (Fig. 1A) candelabrum-like. All branches are thick and rigid with almost the same diameter, 7–8 mm, from base to top. Two main branches, subdivide from a 2 cm long stem in secondary branches that remain unbranched up to the top of the colony, or subdivide up to 3 times producing branchlets of almost the same diameter. The branches are up to 20 mm apart, branch at angles of 45°–90°, and curve upwards, with blunt tips. Undivided terminal ends are up to 7 mm in diameter and 70 mm long (Fig. 1A–B). A vestige of the holdfast remains at the base of the stem. Axes are amber at the tips and darker at the base. Calyces are uniformly crowding the branches, close together, about 21 calyces/cm. They are up to 2.50 mm long and about the same in width, 1.8–2.0 mm. The rounded, small calyx apertures contain remains of anthocodial sclerites. The anthocodia are retracted and the eight projections of the calyces close over them. They are separated by slightly sunken grooves, which show an octoradiate star-like arrangement, that Verrill remarked as typical of this species (Verrill 1869a) (Fig. 1B). However, it is the normal condition of polyps in this genus, when retracted. The coenenchyme is thick compared with the other three species. The outer coenenchyme is composed basically by the same type of sclerites found in the calyx. They are spindles of several shapes, mostly unilateral spinous, curved, straight, with blunt or acute ends, or one acute end and the other bifurcate. They are 0.50–1.82 mm long and 0.15–0.28 mm wide (Fig. 2A), Verrill (1869a) reported spindles up to 2 mm long. They are of a light brownish to dark orange colour, some with the outer surface darker than the inner (Fig. 1C). The axial sheath is composed of pale yellow to colourless (Fig. 1C), warty elongated spindles 0.15–0.30 mm long and 0.060–0.085 mm wide (Fig. 2B), and irregular radiates, up to 0.24 mm long and 0.10 mm wide (Fig. 2C). Anthocodial sclerites are pale yellow, irregular warty rods with a spinulose end 0.25–0.30 mm long and 0.037–0.060 mm wide, and small torch-like clubs with a warty handle, measuring up to 0.28 mm long and 0.10 mm wide (Fig. 2D). The colour of the colony is brown.

Figure 1. 

Muricea acervata Verrill, 1866 YPM 1791. A Colony B Detail of branches C Sclerites, light micrograph.

Figure 2. 

Muricea acervata Verrill, 1866 YPM 1791. A Calycular and coenenchymal spindles B, C Axial sheath spindles and radiates D Anthocodial sclerites.

Reported only from the type locality, Bay of Panamá. This species has not been found in our recent surveys along the Pacific coast of Panamá. No data available about the depth range.

This species was first mentioned by Verrill (1866) as Muricea acervata in 1869. It was transferred to the genus Eumuricea and properly described from just one specimen from Panamá that represents the holotype. The species is different from the others by the thicker coenenchyme, and especially the shorter calyces with a wider apical aperture that exposes the contracted polyps, which in the other species are hidden in the tubes. The dark orange colour of the calycular and coenenchymal sclerites is not present in the other species, which are of various hues of brown instead.

Lectotype (here designated): YPM 567, dry, Panamá, no depth given, F.H. Bradley, 1866. Paralectotype: YPM 1790, figured specimen in Verrill 1868, plate VII, fig 4, data as in the lectotype.

USNM 49386 (erroneously identified as E. hispida), dry, Punta Arenas, Isla San Lucas, Golfo de Nicoya, Costa Rica, M. Valerio, 15 January 1930. USNM 34063 (erroneously identified as this species; it is a species of Muricea), dry, Panamá Bay, L.C. Cash, no more data. USNM 1016582, (erroneously identified as E. hispida), dry, Punta Paitilla, Panamá Bay, C.D. Ridder, 14 August 1976.

The lectotype is an 8.5 cm tall and 4 cm wide incomplete colony, branching is sparingly dichotomous (Fig. 3A). A short stem, 0.4 cm long, arises from a small remainder of the holdfast, and subdivides in two main branches deprived of coenenchyme, one of them is broken and the other subdivides in two secondary branches, 7–10 mm in diameter, that subdivide up to 4 times. All branches are almost the same diameter, with blunt, clavate tips. The branches are separated at distances of 0.6–5 cm and growing upwards at close angles of 30°–45°. Undivided terminal branches are up to 20 mm long, and 8 mm in diameter. The axes are dark brown at the base, and amber at the branchlets. The calyces are all around the branches, close together, about 14 calyces/cm. They are tubular and elongated reaching up to 3.5–4.0 mm long and up to 1.8–2.0 mm wide at the clavate tips; with projecting spines around the polyp apertures (Fig. 3B). The polyps are situated at the summit of the tubular calyces, the apertures are covered by anthocodial sclerites that represent what remained of the polyps. The coenenchyme is very thin, basically composed by the same type as the calyx sclerites. The outer coenenchyme and calycular spindles are unilateral spinous, spinulose on the outer surface and warty on the inner, 0.90–1.60 mm long and 0.14–0.20 mm wide, with acute ends, or one acute and the other blunt; others have stout, complex terminal spikes, 0.57–0.83 mm long and 0.10–0.14 mm wide (Fig. 4A, B). The axial sheath is composed of warty spindles with sparse warts and/or conical tubercles with acute tips; and irregular rods branched at one end, 0.13–0.56 mm long and 0.04–0.09 mm wide (Fig. 4C). The anthocodial sclerites are complex irregular branched forms, thorn scale-like with complex warts on the surface, sparse conical spines and/or with one spinulose end; irregular club-like spindles with warty handlers, straight or curved, and with spinulose, shaft-like heads. These sclerites are 0.26–0.70 mm long and 0.05–0.03 mm wide (Fig. 4D). All the sclerites are colourless (Fig. 3C). The colour of the colony is light brown.

Figure 3. 

Muricea hispida Verrill, 1866 YPM 567 A Colony B Detail of branches C Sclerites, light micrograph.

Figure 4. 

Muricea hispida Verrill, 1866 YPM 567. A, B Calycular and coenenchymal spindles C Axial sheath spindles D Anthocodial sclerites.

Panamá, Bahía de Caraquéz, Ecuador (Riess 1929). No data available about the depth range.

This species was first mentioned by Verrill in1866, together with M. acervata with a minimal description. They both were properly described in 1869a. Muricea hispida was described from two specimen fragments from Panamá. Muricea hispida is similar to M. squarrosa and M. tubigera. These three species have long tubular calyces, similar colour and shape of the colonies. The main difference that separates them is the calyx length M. tubigera with the largest and M. squarrosa with the shortest (Table 1). The calyces in M. hispida are sharp and distally curved upwards with projecting spines beyond the calyx border as in M. tubigera, however, the latter has thinner, longer and more crowded calyces (Table 1). Muricea tubigera has the largest spindles, up to 2 mm long, in M. hispida up to 1.6 mm and in M. squarrosa, up to 1.3 mm (Table 1). Muricea hispida was misidentified in some collections, including the syntypes. For example, YPM 1636 listed as a syntype belongs to a different Muricea species, and other specimens, such as USNM 49386, 1016582 belong to M. squarrosa. We designate YPM 567as the lectotype of M. hispida to establish the identity of this species and avoid future misinterpretation.

Plate 3, figs 5–8 (Möbius 1861), no material available.

Holotype figured. According to Möbius (1861) the holotype was deposited in the Hamburg Museum (ZMH); however, the material was not housed there anymore (P. Stiewe and H. Roggenbuck, ZMH, pers. comm. 2011).

(after Möbius 1861 and Verrill 1869a). The figured specimen is a fragment of a 20 cm tall and 22 cm wide colony with a thin, 6 cm diameter holdfast attached to a rock. The branching looks mostly dichotomous and starts close to the base (Fig. 5 [5]). The branches are closely placed and divergent, they subdivide at small angles and up to 6 times. All branches are about the same diameter with slightly tapered ends. Undivided terminal branches are short. The axes are brown at the base, and light yellow at the branchlets. The coenenchyme is granulose and brittle. The calyces are all around the branches, close together. They are mostly standing perpendicular to the branches, closer together and inclined upwards, at smaller angles, at the upper branchlets (Fig. 5[6]). They are tubular and elongated, up to 1.5 mm long with truncate tips. There is not enough information about the sclerites. They are straight or curved warty spindles reaching up to 1.2 mm long. They are yellow and seem asymmetric, perhaps unilateral spinose as for the genus, but from the drawings it is difficult to tell (Fig. 5[7, 8]). The colour of the colony is light brown.

Figure 5. 

Muricea horrida Möbius, 1861. From plate 3, figs 5–8 (Möbius 1861).

Reported for Perú, the type locality.

According to Kükenthal (1924, in key) M. horrida differs from M. squarrosa in having shorter coenenchymal sclerites. Möbius (1861) description and illustration show a species that is similar to M. squarrosa from Perú. Muricea squarrosa is a common species in Perú. We did not find another similar species, a possible M. horrida, in the UPCH octocoral collection that is very comprehensive and well documented. It is indeed possible that M. squarrosa is a synonymous of M. horrida; however, without a specimen to analyse we prefer to keep the status of M. horrida as dubious.

Lectotype (here designated): YPM 1561a, dry (with sponge), Pearl Islands, Panamá, F.H. Bradley, 1866, no further data; YPM 1563 [fragment of lectotype, possible figured specimen (Verrill 1869a)]. Paralectotypes: MCZ 4975; MCZ 7017; USNM 33592 (YPM 1561); YPM 1561b-d, YPM 566, data as for the lectotype. YPM 1636 (previously identified as E. hispida), ethanol preserved, Pearl Islands, F.H. Bradley, 1866, no further data.

COSTA RICA: UCR 587, dry, Pitaya Beach, Guanacaste, Pacific coast, Costa Rica, 20–23 m, J. Cortés, 16 June, 1991; UCR 1742, ethanol preserved, Bajo Negro, Marino Ballena National Park, 25 m, O. Breedy,13 April 2008; UCR 2261, ethanol preserved, Isla Larga Oeste, Manuel Antonio National Park, 19 m, O. Breedy and H. Guzman, 6 February 2012; UCR 2262, ethanol preserved, Isla Larga, Manuel Antonio National Park, 25 m, O. Breedy and H. Guzman, 7 February 2012; UCR 2396, ethanol preserved, Marino Ballena National Park, 25 m, O. Breedy, 27 April 2002; UCR 2410; 2414, ethanol preserved, La Danta, Santa Elena Bay, 35 m, O. Breedy and Minor Lara, 10 August 2014; UCR 2418–2419, ethanol preserved, Bajo Mixta, Golfo Dulce, 21 m, O. Breedy and H. Guzman, 7 February 2009 ECUADOR: IIN 25, dry, Bajo Lunes, Reserva de Producción Faunística Marino Costera Puntilla de Santa Elena, 18 m, P. Martínez, F. Rivera, R. Nabot and O. Breedy, 21 July 2010; IIN 47, dry, Gigima, Reserva de Producción Faunística Marino Costera Puntilla de Santa Elena, 14 m, P. Martínez, F. Rivera, R. Nabot and O. Breedy, 22 July 2010. PANAMÁ: STRI 561, 563, 569–571, ethanol preserved, Islas Viudas, Chiriquí Gulf, Panamá, 20 m, H. Guzman, 18 April 2003; STRI 867–868, ethanol preserve, Achotines, Chiriquí Gulf, 10 m, H. Guzman, 5 May 2004; STRI 575A, ethanol preserved, Isla Saboga, 1–5 m, H. Guzman, 14 December 2001. PERÚ: UPCH-CZA 280, 284, 291, 296, 298, 302, 411, dry, Canoas de Punta Sal, Tumbes, 10–13 m, Y. Hooker, 2 July 2011; UPCH-CZA 410, Cabo Blanco, Piura, 10–13 m, Y. Hooker, 13 August 2012.

The lectotype is a 14 cm tall and 12 cm wide colony, flabellate, spreading in one plane. It has a sponge attached to the main branches (Fig. 6A). The branching is mostly dichotomous. A short stem, 0.4 cm long, 60 mm diameter, arises from an irregular holdfast, 23 mm in diameter, covered by a layer of coenenchyme, but deprived of calyces. The stem subdivides in two main branches that produce secondary branches subdividing up to 3 times. All branches are about the same in diameter, 40–80 mm (including calyces), with tapered ends. The branches are separated at distances of 0.5–6 cm and spread at small angles and bend upwards in a curve. The branchlets are situated almost perpendicular to the main branch. Undivided terminal branches are up to 40 mm long. The axes are brown at the base, and lighter at the branchlets. The calyces are all around the branches, close together, about 14 calyces/cm. They are mostly directed perpendicular to the branches, but also incline upwards at small angles (Fig. 6B). They are tubular and elongated, up to 2.6 mm long and up to 1.75 mm wide with clavate tips, between the larger calyces there are a number of smaller ones (Fig. 6B). The remains of the polyps are at the summit of the tubular calyces, the apertures are covered by anthocodial sclerites. The coenenchyme has a few layers of sclerites and is basically composed of the same types as the calyx spindles. They are straight or with a slight curvature. They are mostly acute, but can have one end blunt or lobed. They are unilateral spinous with the inner side with complex warts, crowded together so much that their processes anastomose, while on the outer side there are less and sparse spines. Some calycular spindles are club-like with warty elongated handles, straight or curved, and various types of head arrangement, from few conical spines to sharp and long spines crowding the upper part or along the outer side of the sclerite; they have stout terminal spikes (Fig. 7A). The spindles reach up to 1.3 mm long and 0.23 mm wide (Fig. 7A), Verrill (1869a) reported spindles up to 1.8 mm long. They are of a dull yellow to a light brownish colour. The axial sheath is composed of whitish and colourless, tuberculate spindles, 0.14–0.30 mm long and 0.03–0.075 mm wide (Fig. 7C) and irregular forms with- the same range of size, and immature forms 0.06–0.07 mm long and 0.015–0.02 mm wide. The anthocodial sclerites are of a pale yellow colour to colourless, mostly club-like as described for the calycular spindles, but shorter (Fig. 7B). The colour of the colony light brown.

Figure 6. 

Muricea squarrosa Verrill, 1869a YPM 1561a. A Colony B Detail of branches C Sclerites, light micrograph.

Figure 7. 

Muricea squarrosa Verrill, 1869a YPM 1561a. A Calycular and coenenchymal spindles B Anthocodial sclerites C Axial sheath spindles.

The other material examined is very consistent with the lectotype, variation is basically in the number of branches and size of the colonies. The largest colony measured was a specimen from Perú reaching 35 cm tall and 30 cm wide (Fig. 8C, in situ). The colony branching is abundant in some colonies (Fig. 8C, D). The colour of the colonies when alive is reddish brown (Fig. 8A–D). This colour fades in dry or ethanol preserved colonies. Fresh collected colonies turn the alcohol into a dark brownish colour. The polyps are pale yellow to whitish (Fig. 8A–D).

Figure 8. 

Muricea squarrosa Verrill, 1869a. In situ colonies, A–C Canoas de Punta Sal, Tumbes, Perú. Photograph by Yuri Hooker D Reserva de Producción Faunística Marino Costera Puntilla de Santa Elena, Ecuador. Photograph by Fernando Rivera.

Panamá: Gulf of Chiriquí, Pearl Islands, 10–20 m. Costa Rica: Nicoya Gulf, Santa Elena Peninsula, Marino Ballena National Park, Golfo Dulce, from 25–40 m. Colombia: Málaga Bay (Prahl et al. 1986, specimens in CRBMco). Ecuador: Puntilla de Santa Elena, Salinas 18–20 m. Perú: Cabo Blanco, Canoas de Punta Sal, 10–13 m deep. Nicaragua: La Flor, Hueco de Diego, South Pacific, 2–5 m. The species has a wide bathymetric range from 2 m to 40 m, the deepest range being found in Costa Rica.

This species was described by Verrill (1869a) with specimens from Pearl Islands without a holotype designation and appropriate illustrations. We designate YPM 1561a as the lectotype of M. squarrosa to establish the identity of this species and avoid future misinterpretation.

The main difference to separate this species from M. hispida and M. tubigera is that the calyces are shorter and more distantly placed. Other differences were discussed above (under M. hispida).

Holotype: YPM 807, dry, figured specimen, Pearl Islands, Panamá, low tide, F.H. Bradley, 1866.

The holotype is a 17 cm tall and 10 cm wide stout and rigid colony, branching mostly dichotomous (Fig. 9A). A short stem, 1 cm in diameter, 1.5 cm long, arises from an oval 3 cm diameter holdfast, and subdivides in two main branches, 0.8–1.2 mm diameter, that fork producing secondary branches that subdivide up to 3 times. All branches are almost the same diameter with blunt, clavate tips. The branches are at distances of 2–7 cm apart and stick upwards at small angles of 30°–35°. Undivided terminal branches are up to 70 mm long, and 7–8 mm in diameter. The axes are dark brown. The calyces are uniformly crowding the branches, close together, about 26 calyces/cm. They are tubular, slender and elongated, up to 5 mm long and up to 0.75 mm wide, with clavate summits. The borders of the calyces are surrounded by long, slender and sharp spindles that project from the surface giving a prickly appearance to the branches (Fig. 9B). What remains of the polyps is at the summit of the elevated calyces, the apertures are covered by anthocodial sclerites and some calyx sclerites. The coenenchyme is of a few layers of sclerites, basically of the same types as the calyx spindles. They are mostly unilateral spinous spindles, large, slender, with sharp, blunt or bifurcated ends, some are spinulose on the outer surface and tuberculate on the inner, measuring 0.80–2.0 mm long and 0.07–0.30 mm wide (Fig. 10A). The calyx wall is mostly formed by warty, slender rods with one end acute and the other with long complex spines These sclerites are 0.435–0.76 mm long and 0.50–0.65 mm wide, they can have conic spines on the outer side of the sclerite and sparse warts on the inner side (Fig. 10 B). Verrill (1869a) reported a maximum size of 2.34 mm long. The axial sheath is composed of warty spindles (Fig. 10C) and tuberculate radiates, 0.12–0.46 mm long and 0.1–0.4 mm wide (Fig. 10D). All sclerites are whitish to colourless (Fig. 9C). The colour of the colony is light brown.

Figure 9. 

Muricea tubigera Verrill, 1869a YPM 807. A Colony B Detail of branches C Sclerites, light micrograph.

Figure 10. 

Muricea tubigera Verrill, 1869a YPM 807. A, B Calycular and coenenchymal spindles C, D Axial sheath spindles.

Reported only from the type locality, Pearl Islands, Panamá. This species has not been found in our recent surveys along the Pacific coast of Panamá.

Verrill (1869a) described this species with one specimen that constitutes the holotype. The very long and slender calyces of this species, the sharper spindles and the thickness of the branches separate this species from the others (Table 1).

Colonies branching mostly in one plane, fan-like, dichotomous, pinnate-like, or unbranched. Branches mostly free or with some anastomosing. Polyp mounds conical, prominent, or slightly raised, scattered or crowded, usually biserial and with two opposed polyp mounds at the tip of the branches. Coenenchyme usually thin. Coenenchymal sclerites mainly capstans, radiates and spindles. Thin, sharp and elongated spindles concentrated in the polyp mounds. Anthocodiae with points arrangements of bar-like rods straight or curved, frequently long. Collaret absent or of a few bar-like rods. Axis horny and flexible. Colour of the colonies red, orange, pink, or white.

Gorgonia exserta Ellis & Solander, 1786, by monotypy.

Holotype. USNM 25430, ethanol/dry preserved, Point Loma, San Diego, California, Albatross R/V, California Coast Expedition, 166–177 m, 15 May 1904.

(after Nutting 1909: 718). The holotype was a small, roughly flabellate colony, 37 mm long, branching in an irregular manner. The main stem gives off four alternate branches at irregular intervals, the two longest being 13 mm apart. The calyces are low rounded domes, about 1 mm long and 2 mm wide, separated about 2.5 mm from summit to summit. The polyps are completely retracted. “The calycular walls are covered with very hispid spicules (sclerites), which have their edges somewhat overlapping and are, in general, disposed transversely rather than otherwise”. Nutting reports the presence of a collaret and tentacles armed with sharp spindle-shaped sclerites longitudinally arranged, but in chevron at the base of the tentacles. Other type of sclerites are asymmetrical spindles with irregular sharp edges and processes, various types of clubs, scales, stars and double stars. The colour of the colony is whitish to gray.

Reported for the type locality Point Loma, California.

What remain from the holotype are small pieces of branches: two fragments, 16 mm and 12 mm long, the former with 9 polyps, the latter with 5 (pers. comm. S. Cairns) (Fig. 11A). Nutting’s illustrations (1909, PL. LXXXVIII) show some fragments of a thin colony. The sclerites are almost disintegrated, SEMs obtained by S. Cairns (USNM) show spindles as the prevailing type of sclerites (Fig. 11B). It is not possible to confirm the other types of sclerites described by Nutting (1909) and his description is fairly general. However, the characteristics that we could analyse of the species fit with the genus Swiftia. For this reason, we herein propose the genus Swiftia as a more accurate alternative for the species (Table 2).

Figure 11. 

Swiftia pusilla (Nutting, 1909). A Fragment of the holotype B SEM sclerites. Photographs by S. Cairns (USNM).

Astrogorgia sinensis Verrill, 1868b by monotypy.

[based on Grasshoff (2000), Fabricius and Alderslade (2001), Hermanlimianto and Ofwegen (2006)]. Colonies growing in one plane as open fans, with irregular lateral branching, never net-like. Polyps retractile into raised calyces, arranged in rows or all around the branches. Coenenchymal sclerites mostly spindles, straight, curved, branched, heavily ornamented with complex tubercles, and prickles; and smaller spindles and some capstans in the inner-coenenchyme. Anthocodiae with numerous flattened sclerites around the tentacle bases and up the tentacles in numerous oblique rows. Collaret does not occur. Colour of the colonies, various hues of red, orange, yellow, whitish or yellowish brown.

Holotype: BM 1933.05.03.094, ethanol preserved, Marble Rock, Mergui Archipelago, Myanmar, Andaman Sea. No more data available.

[see also Thomson and Simpson (1909)]. The holotype is a 9.5 cm tall and 6 cm wide colony. Several stems arise from a spreading holdfast but only one branch ramifies in two secondary branches, the others are broken close to the base (Fig. 13A, B) that is partially covered by a sponge. The branching is lateral and irregular, predominantly in one plane. Secondary branches subdivide up to 7 times upwards at small angles. Free end branches reach up to 3.5 cm long. The axis is horny and of a light brown colour. The polyps are prominent and distributed longitudinally in two rows at the base of the main branches, but more irregularly and crowded at the upper parts. The calyces are prominent up to 2 mm in diameter and up to 1.5 mm high (Fig. 12B). The anthocodial sclerites are arranged in collaret and points, “en chevron” at the base of the tentacles. The anthocodiae are completely retractile and show an octoradiate star-like arrangement. The coenenchyme and calyces are composed of whitish and reddish sclerites (Fig. 12C). They are mostly warty spindles, straight, curved, and branched, mostly with acute ends, and ornamented with complex tubercles and prickles. These spindles measure 0.21–1.0 mm long and 0.046–0.16 wide (Fig. 13). The anthocodials are warty rods, 0.15–0.20 mm long and 0.03–0.06 mm wide (Fig. 12C). The colour of the colony is pale pink with reddish calyces.

Figure 12. 

Astrogorgia splendens (Thomson & Simpson, 1909), BM 1933.05.03.094. A Colony B Detail of branches C Sclerites, light micrograph.

Figure 13. 

Astrogorgia splendens (Thomson & Simpson, 1909), BM 1933.05.03.094. SEM sclerites.

From the type locality, Marbel Rock, Mergui Archipelago, Andaman Sea, Indian Ocean. No data available about the depth range.

The two species described in Eumuricea by Thomson and Simpson (1909) appear in the BM catalogue as species of the genus Muricella, ramosa and splendens. However, Fabricius and Alderslade (2001), and Grasshoff (1999) refer to the genus Muricella as being planar large fans, often net-like, and large, with thick coenenchyme. Eumuricea splendens sensu Thomson & Simpson (1909) is a small specimen 9.5 cm in height, and E. ramosa is supposedly a large specimen, both with thin coenenchyme, and without net-like colonies. The description and sizes of the sclerites given by the above authors for the genus Muricella do not fit these two species. Furthermore, Thomson and Simpson’s (1909) holotype of E. splendens does not agree with the characteristics of Eumuricea. Although Thomson and Simpson (1909), acknowledge some resemblance with E. acervata, the holotype does not have tubular calyces and does not show the characteristic unilateral spinous spindles of Eumuricea. The dominant types of sclerites are acute warty spindles and variations. Therefore, we propose to transfer this species to the genus Astrogorgia.

None available.

[based on Thomson and Simpson (1909)]. Thomson and Simpson (1909) described a colony 23 cm tall and 30 cm wide. The branching is irregular, predominantly in one plane. The main stem is sinuous, about 8 mm in diameter arising from a conical holdfast. The branches are tapered at the ends, and the twigs are of almost the same thickness throughout, some are clavate. The axis is horny, composed of thin sheets of gorgonian. The coenenchyme is moderately thin. It is composed of colourless sclerites irregularly arranged at the lower part of the branches and more longitudinally placed at the twigs. The polyps are distributed all around the branches closer at the upper branches and more separated at the lower parts. The anthocodiae are completely retractile into slightly elevated cones, 1 mm in height and 1 mm in diameter at the base. The anthocodial sclerites are arranged in eight distinct groups “en chevron” at the base of the tentacles with projecting teeth around the oral aperture. The coenenchymal sclerites are spindles, straight, curved or S-shaped, with acute or blunt ends, with the surface covered by warts, they measure 0.4–1.5 mm long and 0.075–0.17 wide. The anthocodiae are club-shaped, with warty heads and smooth handles, 0.3–0.6 mm long and 0.05–0.1 mm wide. The colour of the colony is a greyish white.

From the type locality, Andaman sea, Indian Ocean, 83–494 m in depth.

We only have a few drawings of sclerites of this species from Thomson and Simpson (1909: Plate VIII. Fig. 15). The type material was not available for analysis, however, the sclerite drawings, the depth range and the geographic distribution of this species is not consistent with the genus Eumuricea. Considering that the Thomson and Simpson’s (1909) description and illustrations of this species and E. splendens closely agree; we also propose, with some caution, to transfer E. ramosa to the genus Astrogorgia (Table 2).

Holotype: BM 1933.03.13.024, fragment, ethanol preserved, Campagne 1901, Stn. 1203: 15°54’ N, 22°54'45"E, Iles du Cap Vert, 91 m, 18 August 1901.

(see also Thomson 1927). The holotype is a bright red fragment, 3 cm long and 3 cm wide (Fig. 14A). Thompson (1927) described a 15.5 cm tall colony. The branches are 2 mm in diameter. The axis is amber. The calyces are cones projecting up to 0.75 mm high and about 1 mm in diameter. They are placed all around the branches about 1 mm apart. The coenenchymal sclerites are red and basically warty spindles with acute ends, straight or curved, 0.2 mm–0.32 mm long and 0.065 mm–0.087 mm wide, and radiates 0.10–0.20 mm long and 0.04 mm–0.045 mm wide (Fig. 14B–C). Anthocodial sclerites are flat orange rods in an irregular point and collaret formation. They are 0.050 mm–0.15 mm long, with lobed or smooth borders (Fig. 14B). The sizes of sclerites given by Thomson (1927) are smaller than the ones we analysed in the holotype fragment. The colour of the colony is bright red.

Figure 14. 

Leptogorgia ruberrima (W. Koch, 1886), BM 1933-03-13-024. A Fragment of the holotype B Sclerites, light micrograph C SEM sclerites.

Reported from the scientific campaigns of Prince Albert 1st de Monaco in 1901, Station 1203, along Iles du Cap Vert, 15°54’ N, 22°54'45"E, Western Atlantic.

Thomson (1927) described two species of Eumuricea, E. rigida and E. rugosabut neither of these fit in the genus Eumuricea. The former was transferred to Thesea (Table 2) by Ofwegen (2014), and the latter does not show the characteristic spheroid plate-like sclerites of Thesea in the outer coenenchyme. The coenenchyme of E. rugosa is composed of acute, elongated spindles instead. We confirm the finding of Grasshoff (1992) that this is nothing other than Leptogorgia ruberrina (W. Koch, 1886).