Pseudothesea flava ( Nutting, 1910 )

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 : 69-70

Pseudothesea flava ( Nutting, 1910)

Thesea flava Nutting, 1910: 52–53 , pl. 8, fig. 1, 1a (Malay Archipelago).

Opinion: There is no evidence that this species occurs in the region and its true identity is unknown.

Justification:

These Indian records seem to be either invalid or unconfirmable: Thomas & George 1986: 102–103, fig. 1g, 1–4, z (Gulf of Mannar); Thomas & Jacob 1987: 21–23, fig. 1 A, B, C (Gulf of Mannar).

Literature analysis: Thesea flava was assigned to the genus Pseudothesea by Kükenthal (1924), but the sclerites of the species have never been figured and the true nature of Nutting’s specimens remain unknown. Thomas & George (1986) retain the original name and cite Pseudothesea flava as a synonym, but the identity of their material is not recognisable. Thomas & Jacob (1987) deal with the same material as in the 1986 paper mentioned above and clearly describe a species of Echinogorgia . The genus Thesea occurs only in the Atlantic and eastern Pacific. Thomas & George (1987) and Venkataraman et al. (2004) just listed the species under the old original name.