Holothuria gallensis Pearson, 1903

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 : 53-54

Holothuria gallensis Pearson, 1903

Taxonomic decision for synonymy: Panning (1935).

Type data: Status and whereabouts of three syntypes undetermined; type locality Reef Galle , Ceylon (= Sri Lanka)

Taxonomic description: Cf. Pearson, 1903: 203, pl. III, figs 46–50.

Remarks: As the types of this species have thus far not been located – Pearson provides no indication as to where they have been deposited (Calcutta? Madras?) – it is difficult to judge whether H. gallensis is indeed a synonym of H. scabra . Fortunately, the description is rather accurate and thus serves as a guide. Pearson (1903: 204) notes that ‘The yellow transverse stripes on the dorsal surface and the mottling on the ventral side are very characteristic’. H. scabra as defined here through the neotype, however, does not present ‘yellow’ but greenish transverse bands. Whitish bands have, however, been described for H. scabra by various authors. Selenka (1867), for instance, describes and superbly illustrates them for at least one of the specimens he identifies as H. tigris Brandt, 1835 , but from which of the localities he lists [Carolinen (Martens), Zanzibar, Amboina, Java] it has been collected from is not clear. More recently other authors also illustrated this coloration pattern as being typical of H. scabra (among others: James et al., 1994: 5, fig. II, 6, fig. III, 32: fig. XV; James & James, 1994: 26, fig. XI; Conand, 1999: 23, pl. 3F; Samyn, 2003: 149, pl. 3A). It must be noted that these illustrations all are of specimens from the Indian Ocean.

The taxonomic status of H. gallensis will remain doubtful until more material from the Indian Ocean becomes available for morphological and molecular determination. If the Indian Ocean form does prove to represent a valid species then the name gallensis is the oldest subjective synonym available, but needs to be stabilized, taxonomically, by the establishment and description of a neotype.