Acanthogorgia muricata Verrill, 1883

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 : 38

Acanthogorgia muricata Verrill, 1883

Acanthogorgia muricata Verrill, 1883: 34 ( Barbados)

? Acanthogorgia schrammi Diechmann 1936: 151–152 , pl. 16, figs. 5–13, pl. 31, figs. 1–1a

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

Justification:

These Indian records seem to be either invalid or unconfirmable: Thomson & Simpson 1909: 192–194 (Andamans, off Cape Comorin, off Gopalpur, Coromandel coast, off Malabar coast); Fernando, 2011: 31. pl. 10, fig. 1–1d; Fernando et al. 2017: 54, pl. 20, fig. 2–2D (Nagapatinam, Cuddalore).

Literature analysis: This species was established by Verrill (1883) for material collected off Barbados in the West Indies. The form of the sclerites is unknown because the description was not illustrated and the holotype has not been redescribed, therefore, all subsequent records of the species would have to have been based just on Verrill’s text or on the unverifiable accounts by other authors, such as Deichmann (1936) who stated that this species was a synonym of A. schrammi . However, Deichmanns’ simple sclerite figures are of no value. Consequently, the descriptions of specimens assigned to this species by Thomson and Simpson (1909), which are unillustrated and almost completely ignore the sclerites, are of no value at all. Similarly, the records given by Fernando (2011) and Fernando et al. (2017), which are identical and offer figures but no descriptions, referring to the account given by Thomson and Simpson (1909) instead, have no factual basis. Their material certainly appears to be an Acanthogorgia species, but without a detailed description of the sclerites and close-up images of the polyps it is not possible to recognise the species they have or distinguish it from similar species such as their Acanthogorgia cylindricus . Without a revision of the genus, it would be impossible to establish if it is a synonym of another species. Being originally collected in the West Indies, it is extremely unlikely to occur in the region.