Heliania spinescens ( Gray, 1859 )

Ramvilas, Ghosh, Alderslade, Philip & Ranjeet, Kutty, 2023, The taxonomy of Indian gorgonians: an assessment of the descriptive records of gorgonians (Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) recorded as occurring in the territorial waters of India, along with neighbouring regions and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the highlighting of perceived unethical practice, Zootaxa 5236 (1), pp. 1-124 : 92

Heliania spinescens ( Gray, 1859)

Heliania spinescens Gray, 1859: 481 ( Philippines) .

Junceella (Heliania) spinescens Bayer & Grasshoff 1994 .

Heliania spinescens Grasshoff, 1999: 72 , fig. 119 ( New Caledonia).

Opinion: There is no evidence that this species occurs in the region.

Justification:

These Indian records seem to be either invalid or unconfirmable: Fernando, 2011: 114–115, pl. 73, fig. 1–1d (SE coast); Fernando et al. 2017: 256, pl. 119, fig. 1–1d (SE coast).

Literature analysis: This species was established by Gray for a colony collected in the Philippines, possibly from shallow water. The holotype was redescribed by Bayer & Grasshoff (1994) and the much-damaged colony was figured. Later, Grasshoff (1999) described a specimen from New Caledonia with a good figure of the colony showing the typical subsecund branching. The descriptions of the Indian material by Fernando (2011) and Fernando et al. (2017) are more-or-less identical, but unfortunately it is not possible to accurately compare the sclerites of the holotype with those of the Indian material as the illustrations of the latter are exceedingly small and also unsharp. However, the colony figured has a very different growth form to that of the Central West Pacific material and it does seem that some of the characteristic sclerites illustrated for the holotype may not be present in the Indian material, and some present there may not occur in the holotype.

Grasshoff said that the question of whether Heliania racemosa ( Wright & Studer, 1889) could be a synonym of H. spinescens remains open, commenting that the original material was collected at 600 m compared to all records of H. spinecens being from less than 100 m. He also stated that an orange colony with yellow polyp tips referable to H. racemosa had been collected from Baa Atoll, Maldive Islands, which must be that described by Thomson & Simpson (1909) (see Simpson, 1910; 56 bottom). Fernando (2011) and Fernando et al. (2017) include Nutting’s (1910d) treatment of that species as a synonym, even though it was not illustrated, but did not include the species in any of their papers.