Cladiella laciniosa (Tixier-Durivault, 1944)

Lazar, Einav, Mcfadden, Catherine S., Huchon, Dorothée & Benayahu, Yehuda, 2025, Redescription of type material of the genus Cladiella Gray, 1869 (Octocorallia, Malacalcyonacea, Cladiellidae) from the Red Sea, Zootaxa 5674 (1), pp. 1-84 : 49-51

publication ID	https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5674.1.1
publication LSID	lsid:zoobank.org:pub:FF8F0124-E9C0-45E0-9989-C0B74BF11036
persistent identifier	https://treatment.plazi.org/id/039787D2-FC68-FFE3-EDA9-FF198D8BE4C0
treatment provided by	Plazi
scientific name	Cladiella laciniosa (Tixier-Durivault, 1944)
status

Treatment

Cladiella laciniosa (Tixier-Durivault, 1944) View in CoL

( Figs. 28C View FIGURE 28 , 33 View FIGURE 33 & 34 View FIGURE 34 )

Lobularia laciniosa Tixier-Durivault, 1944a: 188 View in CoL ; Tixier-Durivault 1948: 79–83, Figs. 71–75.

? Cladiella laciniosa View in CoL ; Tixier-Durivault 1966: 38, Figs. 18 View FIGURE 18 & 19 View FIGURE 19 ; ( Madagascar, Mauritius); Tixier-Durivault 1972: 58 (listed only: Madagascar, Tonga); Verseveldt 1971: 12–13, Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 ( Madagascar); van Ofwegen & Benayahu 1992: 139 (listed only, Tanzania); Benayahu et al. 2003: 55 (listed only, Mozambique); Rao & Devi 2003: 11–12, Fig. 6 View FIGURE 6 (Little Andaman, India); Schleyer et al. 2018: 337 (listed only, Glorieuses Islands, France), Schleyer et al. 2019: 2487 (listed only, Europa Island, France).

Material examined. Syntypes. MNHN-IK-2000-386, Red Sea, 1850, coll. A. B. Clot Bey; MNHN-IK-2000-345, 3 fragments, same details as MNHN-IK-2000-386 .

Description. Syntype MNHN-IK-2000-386 colony is fragment of an encrusting colony with a maximum cross-section of 67 x 65 mm attached to a calcareous piece, and its irregular short lobes and lobules are arranged in several groups ( Fig. 28C View FIGURE 28 ). The retracted polyps appear on the lobe surface as small pits.

The sclerome of the polyps comprises platelets, figure-eights, and some rods, 0.04–0.06 mm long ( Fig. 33A View FIGURE 33 ). They feature a lateral constriction or slits, and their surface has a tuberculate texture and occasionally a cristate-like one. On the surface of the lobes there are poorly developed dumbbells, 0.05–0.08 long, with low pointed conical or rounded tubercles ( Fig. 33B View FIGURE 33 ). The dumbbells from the interior of the lobes feature rounded, blunt-ended conical and a few pointed conical tubercles. Occasionally, some slits are found between the tubercles. These sclerites are 0.05–0.09 mm long, separated by a bare waist, 0.01–0.03 mm wide and 0.01–0.02 mm long ( Fig. 33C View FIGURE 33 ). The poorly developed dumbbells of the surface layer of the colony base are 0.05–0.09 mm long and feature rounded or low pointed conical tubercles ( Fig. 34A View FIGURE 34 ). The dumbbells from the interior of the colony base are 0.06–0.10 mm long, featuring similar tubercles to those of the surface of the base ( Fig. 34B View FIGURE 34 ). Their bare waist is 0.02–0.03 mm wide, and 0.01–0.02 mm long.

Color. The dry syntype MNHN-IK-2000-386 is beige-brown.

Remarks. The initial species assignment of L. laciniosa by Tixier-Durivault (1944a: 188) did not depict the morphological characters of the syntype colony. They were subsequently presented in the revision of the genus ( Tixier-Durivault 1948: 79–83, Figs. 71–75). In general, the current examination of the syntype MNHN-IK-2000- 386 corresponds to its amended description by Tixier-Durivault (1948). No distinction was made in that description between the sclerites of the surface of the lobes and those of the polyps (Fig. 75). This species is characterized by the shape of the poorly developed dumbbells of the lobe surface and some of those in the base ( Fig. 33B & C View FIGURE 33 ; Fig. 34 View FIGURE 34 ). The syntype fragments MNHN-IK-2000-345 (not shown) resemble MNHN-IK-2000-386, except for the size. No details are provided on the exact locality in the Red Sea where the type colony was collected.

The references listed above may indicate a wide biogeographic distribution of C. laciniosa on a variety of Indo-Pacific coral reefs, including Madagascar, Tonga, Mauritius, Tanzania, Mozambique, Little Andaman ( India), Glorieuses Islands, Europa Island, and the Gulf of Mannar. However, the relevant material needs to be re-examined in order to confirm its taxonomic assignment.

Distribution. Red Sea.