Holothuria cadelli Bell, 1887

Massin, Claude, Uthicke, Sven, Purcell, Steven W., Rowe, Frank W. E. & Samyn, Yves, 2009, Taxonomy of the heavily exploited Indo-Pacific sandfish complex (Echinodermata: Holothuriidae), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 155 (1), pp. 40-59 : 53

Holothuria cadelli Bell, 1887

Decision for synonymy: Panning (1935).

Type data: Four syntypes, NHM 1866.6.26.86–92 with type locality Andaman Islands ; largest specimen (180 mm long, NHM 1886.6.26.86a) here designated as lectotype; paralectotypes with collection numbers NHM 1886.6.26.86b–d .

Taxonomic description (see also Bell, 1887a): Type material well preserved, well relaxed. Largest specimen 180 mm long and 40 mm wide at mid body. Body cylindrical with rather fusiform extremities, espe- cially posteriorly. Ventral side flattened, dorsal side somewhat arched. Mouth ventral; number of tentacles could not be determined. Anus terminal, surrounded by anal papillae. Tube feet dispersed without apparent order over bivium and trivium. Body wall rough to the touch, only 1 mm thick. Calcareous ring with radial pieces with well-developed posterior bifurcation and more than twice as long as the interradial plate. Tentacle ampullae large (> half body length); number could not be determined. Polian vesicle single, large (> half body length). Stone canal(s) and madreporite(s) could not be found. Gonad present, very large, extensively ramified. Longitudinal muscles narrow, not attached laterally. Cuvierian tubules present.

The ossicle assemblage, with very low tables and nodulous small buttons, together with the distinctive morphology of the calcareous ring and the presence of Cuvierian tubules leave no doubt that H. cadelli must be removed from the synonymy of H. scabra . Instead, the species clearly belongs to the holothurian subgenus Theelothuria . We prefer not to assign its specific status until a complete taxonomic revision of Theelothuria is carried out.