Lobophytum sp. indet.

Fassbender, Nico, Stefanoudis, Paris V, Filander, Zoleka Nontlantla, Gendron, Gilberte, Mah, Christopher L, Mattio, Lydiane, Mortimer, Jeanne A, Moura, Carlos J, Samaai, Toufiek, Samimi-Namin, Kaveh, Wagner, Daniel, Walton, Rowana & Woodall, Lucy C, 2021, Reef benthos of Seychelles - A field guide, Biodiversity Data Journal 9, pp. 65970-65970 : 65970

Lobophytum sp. indet.

Materials

Type status: Other material. Taxon: scientificName: Lobophytum; kingdom: Animalia; phylum: Cnidaria; class: Anthozoa; order: Alcyonacea; family: Alcyoniidae; genus: Lobophytum; scientificNameAuthorship: Marenzeller, 1886; Location: waterBody: Indian Ocean; country: Seychelles; locality: Aldabra N 1, Aldabra W 1, Alphonse N 1, D'Arros N 1, Desroches S 1, Poivre E 1 ; minimumDepthInMeters: 8.8 m; maximumDepthInMeters: 36.3 m; locationRemarks: First Descent : Seychelles Expedition ; Identification : identifiedBy: Nico Fassbender , Kaveh Samimi-Namin , Paris Stefanoudis ; dateIdentified: 2019, 2020; identificationRemarks: identified only from imagery; Event : samplingProtocol: Submersible OR Remotely Operated Vehicle OR SCUBA; Record Level: basisOfRecord: Human observation

Notes

Colonies thickly encrusted with lobed projections, typically <50 cm across (= in the longest dimension). Some species are bowl-shaped or stand more erect. Generally following the substrate, colonies look like large plates. Some form small individual bumps (1), others have long valleys and walls (2). Polyps are only present on the upper surface. Colouration brown to grey. The tips of the individual lobes are often coloured lighter than the sides. Similar species include Pectinia , which has deeper valleys towards the centre of the colony. Sinularia looks similar, but has smaller gaps between bumps (Fig. 28).