New record of Sarcophyton cornispiculatum Verseveldt, 1971 (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea: Alcyoniidae) in India, from the Andaman Islands

Abstract

Alcyonacean corals (Family Alcyoniidae) are represented by 153 species in seven genera in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Recent marine faunistic surveys revealed the presence of Sarcophyton cornispiculatum Verseveldt, 1971 from Oliver Island of Mayabunder, North Andaman, which is reported herein as a new distributional record in India, from the Andaman Islands. This species is characterised by the clubs of surface and coenenchyme of the capitulum; ramified and bifurcated spindles in the interior of the capitulum; and oval, cylindrical sclerites in the interior of the stalk. Further, a few morphological variations, viz. distance between autozooids and siphonozooids, and length of sclerites in the colony, are also reported in the present study and discussed vis-á-vis the type specimens reported elsewhere.

Keywords

• Sarcophyton
• soft coral
• new record
• Alcyoniidae
• Andaman Islands