Actinopyga mauritiana ( Quoy & Gaimard, 1834 )

Netchy, Kristin, Samyn, Yves & Paulay, Gustav, 2025, Dividing the monopoly: the most broadly distributed Actinopyga is two species (Holothuroidea: Holothuriidae), Zootaxa 5673 (1), pp. 27-44 : 29-32

publication ID

https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.5673.1.2

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7576FE04-7311-46B5-835F-1DA89D47F4B2

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/03FB87C0-FFFB-4445-FF1B-F92A6224DC97

treatment provided by

Plazi

scientific name

Actinopyga mauritiana ( Quoy & Gaimard, 1834 )
status

 

Actinopyga mauritiana ( Quoy & Gaimard, 1834) View in CoL

( Fig. 1A–F; Fig. 4B, Fig. 5B, 6, 7)

Holothuria mauritiana Quoy & Gaimard, 1834: 138 View in CoL .

On Official List of Specific Names in Zoology (name 2386): ICZN (1970) Opinion 914.

4 https://www.megasoftware.net/

lsid: zoobank.org:act: 6345B610-53F5-4EFC-B6B3-662A6C4F4254

Mülleria mauritiana — Brandt 1835: 74.— Selenka 1867: 315.— Selenka 1868: 116.— Lampert 1885: 98 (partim).— Ludwig 1887: 32. Koehler & Vaney 1908: 22.— Pearson 1910: 174, text fig. 16 A–C.

Holothuria (Actinopyga) mauritiana View in CoL — Panning 1929 [1931]: 128.

Actinopyga mauritiana View in CoL — Pearson 1903: 199.— Pearson 1914: 179–180, pl. 29, fig. 6.— Panning 1944: 55 (synonymy).— Cherbonnier 1952: 41, fig. 16A–J.— Cherbonnier 1955: 139.— Cherbonnier 1967: 55.— Clark & Rowe 1971: 176 (partim).—Price & Read: 8.— Cherbonnier 1988: 16, fig.2 a–m.— Samyn 2003: 13 (partim).— Samyn et al. 2006: 52.

Material examined:

Lectotype (here designated)

Mauritius ( Ile de France ), Ile aux Cerfs • MNHN-IE-2013-17843 (formerly MNHN H3277 About MNHN ).

2 Paralectotypes (specimens of Actinopyga echinites ( Jaeger, 1833))

Mauritius (Ile de France), Ile aux Cerfs • MNHN-IE-2013-17842 (formerly MNHN H3276), MNHN-IE-2013- 17845 (formerly MNHN H3279).

Red Sea : NHM 1991.11.15 (Stn. MB.A.); USNM E22420 About USNM : Yemen, off South coast; UF 12185 : Saudi Arabia, Jeddah; UF 13485 *: Saudi Arabia, offshore of Farasan Banks, Dolphen Lagoon.

Oman: UF 22746 , 22747 : Mirbat, rocky intertidal inshore of Chinese Wreck, 0–2 m ; UF 22848 *: Mirbat, intertidal near military base, 0–1m.

Pakistan: NHM 1967.11.1.23: Karachi, Cape Mounze.

East Africa: USNM E23079 View Materials : Kenya, Mombasa ; USNM E.22885: Kenya, Mombasa ; USNM E.23079: Kenya, Mombasa ; NHM 1950.10.17.3: Zanzibar; NHM 82.10.16.38: Mozambique, between tide marks; USNM E.24530: Tanzania, Dar Es Salaam ( Kendwa Island ) ; USNM E.24497: Tanzania, Dar Es Salaam ( Kendwa Island ) ; RBINS, MOZ/2018.472 (tissue sample only): Mozambique, Inhambane Province , Zavora beach; RBINS, HOL.1716: Mozambique, Inhambane Province, Zavora beach ; RBINS, MOZ/2018.56 (tissue sample only): Mozambique, Inhambane Province , Tofo beach;; RBINS, HOL.1639: Republic of South Africa, Sodwana Bay .

Seychelles: NHM 1969.5.1.273: Aldabra; NHM 1978.9.20.396 401: Aldabra; NHM 1972.1.13.5: Aldabra, 2.5m below mean tide level, off reef edge, outside settlement; NHM 1969.9.28.26: Seychelles, Anse aux Pins, algal ridge, sublittoral fringe, in sand; NHM 92.10.16 57 63: Amirante Islands, HMS Alert.

Madagascar: USNM E22882; RBINS, HOL. 787, 819, 867, 1486: Tulear.

Mozambique Channel: USNM E.22882; UF 9258*: Juan de Nova Island, Iles Esparses.

Mascarenes: NHM 76.5.5.31: Rodriguez; UF 7861: Mauritius, Flic en Flac Harbour; UF 3197: Mauritius, Cape Malheureux, Coin de Mire Island; UF 2066: Réunion Island, Saint Gilles Les Bains; UF 2069: Réunion Island, Saint Gilles Les Bains; UF 6332*: Réunion Island, Saint Gilles Chez Go; UF 6333*: Réunion Island, Saint Gilles Chez Go; UF 6558*: Réunion Island, La Possession, Banc des Lataniers; UF 6365*: Réunion Island, La Saline, Trou d’Eau; UF 6922: Réunion Island (exact locality not specified); UF 6985*: Réunion Island (exact locality not specified).

Lakshadweep & Maldives: NHM 1955.10.1. Mini Koi , between Laccadive & Maldive Islands ; USNM E24495 View Materials : Maldives, 4 o 17’50”N, 73 o 33’40”E, 13 ft, RV Te Vega. 21.III.1964; NHM BMNH E/056/C/2: Maldives; Lakshadweep, pictures only, made by N. Marimuthu (exact locality not specified) GoogleMaps .

Chagos: NHM 1969.5.27.3: Diego Garcia; NHM 1969.5.27.4: Diego Garcia.

Indonesia: UF 4626 *: Anak Krakatau; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/185730901: Bali .

Cocos Keeling & Christmas Island: USNM E21591 View Materials : Cocos Keeling Islands ; https://www.inaturalist.org/ observations/162135465: Cocos Keeling Islands ; NHM 87.4.26.1 3: Christmas Island [possibly both A. mauritiana and A. varians in sample]; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/171501521: Christmas Island; RUMF-ZE-00080*: Christmas Island.

Western Australia: UF 9602*: Ningaloo Reef, Black Rock; UF 9604: Ningaloo Reef, Black Rock; UF 9096: Ningaloo Reef, Black Rock; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/157516353.

Description

Length to 35 cm, width to 10 cm; preserved specimens up to 30% smaller ( Samyn 2003). Color variable (see “live coloration” below). Bivium clearly separated from flattened trivium that forms an adherent sole. Numerous, brown conical papillae scattered evenly over bivium. Trivium densely covered with long, light brown to green tube feet, scattered evenly across the ambulacral and interambulacral areas. Body wall up to 10 mm thick. Mouth ventral, with 20–26 brown, stout, peltate tentacles. Distinct collar of brown oral papillae. One to three Polian vesicles, and 1–10 stone canals ending in egg-shaped madreporic plates. Anus terminal, guarded by five white anal teeth. Cuvierian tubules reported as a small pinkish tuft in live specimens ( Samyn 2003, see also Vanden Spiegel and Jangoux 1993). Calcareous ring very stout, with radial pieces almost three time as wide as interradial elements, and interradials and radials of nearly the same height (cf. Cherbonnier 1988: 19, fig. 2H).

Ossicles: Tentacles with large, unbranched, rugose rods, 165–245 μm long ( Fig. 1A). Dorsal body wall with simple rosettes, 20–45 μm long, and spiny, unbranched rods, 68–121 μm long ( Fig. 1B). Ventral body wall with small grains, elongated grains, and smooth to spiny rods, 15–120 μm long ( Fig. 1C). Gonad with slender, mostly unbranched, relatively smooth rods, 80–150 μm long ( Fig. 1D). Cloacal wall with simple to complexly branched rods, 15–75 μm long ( Fig. 1E). Longitudinal muscles with smooth, unbranched rods, 90–135 μm long ( Fig. 1F).

Live coloration

The bivium of Actinopyga mauritiana is marked by a dense pattern of polygonal creases around papillae that are accentuated by dark lineation, giving the animal a breadfruit-like pattern ( Figs 4B & 5B). Overall color ranges from solid light to dark brown across its extent, to a brown dorsal band bordered by cream-colored lateral bands. The brown and cream bands are abruptly delineated in some, broken up in other animals. Trivium white-grey to light-brown covered with numerous, densely-packed, light-brown to greenish tube feet.

Distribution

Red Sea to South Africa, east to Christmas Island (Indian Ocean), Bali ( Indonesia) and Western Australia ( Fig. 7).

Remarks

Holothuria mauritiana Quoy & Gaimard, 1834 was described from an unknown number of specimens from Mauritius. Cherbonnier (1952) reported on four specimens attributed to Quoy & Gaimard at the MNHN and labeled ‘ Holothuria mauritiana Quoy & Gaimard, Astr. Zooph. , page. 138, de l’île de France, M.M. Quoy & Gaimard, 1829, expéd. D’Urville’. Cherbonnier regarded three specimens as syntypes of H. mauritiana ; the fourth he considered to be Actinopyga echinites ( Jaeger, 1833) . He did not provide registration numbers for these. In 2019, one of us (GP) found three syntypes of Holothuria mauritiana in the MNHN type collection. Only these three were listed as type specimens in the MNHN collection database. Only one of these specimens matches A. mauritiana , the other two are specimens of A. echinites . We are not sure what happened to the other specimens mentioned by Cherbonnier (1952), and why he did not encounter the second A. echinites specimen. The single A. mauritiana found is in very good condition, with the internal anatomy, ossicles, and diagnostic color pattern all well preserved. It is here designated the lectotype of the species. Cherbonnier (1952) gave an excellent description of the syntypes, we complement it with SEM images of ossicles recovered from selected tissues of the here designated lectotype ( Fig. 1).

MNHN

Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle

MB

Universidade de Lisboa, Museu Bocage

USNM

Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History

RBINS

Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences

UF

Florida Museum of Natural History- Zoology, Paleontology and Paleobotany

RV

Collection of Leptospira Strains

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Echinodermata

Class

Holothuroidea

Order

Holothuriida

Family

Holothuriidae

Genus

Actinopyga

Loc

Actinopyga mauritiana ( Quoy & Gaimard, 1834 )

Netchy, Kristin, Samyn, Yves & Paulay, Gustav 2025
2025
Loc

Actinopyga mauritiana

Samyn, Y. & VandenSpiegel, D. & Massin, C. 2006: 52
Samyn, Y. 2003: 13
Cherbonnier, G. 1988: 16
Clark, A. M. & Rowe, F. W. E. 1971: 176
Cherbonnier, G. 1967: 55
Cherbonnier, G. 1955: 139
Cherbonnier, G. 1952: 41
Panning, A. 1944: 55
Pearson, J. 1914: 179
Pearson, J. 1903: 199
1903
Loc

Mülleria mauritiana

Pearson, J. 1910: 174
Koehler, R. & Vaney, C. 1908: 22
Ludwig, H. 1887: 32
Lampert, K. 1885: 98
Selenka, E. 1868: 116
Selenka, E. 1867: 315
Brandt, J. F. 1835: 74
1835
Loc

Holothuria mauritiana

Quoy, J. R. C. & Gaimard, J. P. 1834: 138
1834
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