Junceella juncea Pallas, 1766

Lam, Katherine & Morton, Brian, 2008, Soft corals, sea fans, gorgonians (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) and black and wire corals (Ceriantipatharia: Antipatharia) from submarine caves in Hong Kong with a checklist of local species and a description of a new species of Paraminabea, Journal of Natural History 42 (9 - 12), pp. 749-780 : 766-767

Junceella juncea Pallas, 1766

( Figure 6 )

Gorgonia juncea Pallas, 1766:180

Gorgonia juncea Lamarck, 1816:325 ; Ellis and Solander 1786:81; Pallas 1787:226; Lamouroux 1816:419; Lamarck 1836:499

Junceella juncea Valenciennes, 1855:14

Juncella juncea Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1857:186

Ellisella juncea Gray, 1857:287

Ellisella juncea Gray, 1859:481

Juncella juncea Verrill, 1864:37 ; Kölliker 1865:140; Gray 1870:25; Ridley 1883:253; Wright and Studer 1889:158; Studer 1894:116

Juncella gemmacea Wright & Studer, 1889:158

Juncella juncea Studer, 1894:116 ; Hickson 1905; Thomson and Henderson 1905:820; Thomson and Crane 1909:133; Nutting 1910:18–19, Plate III, 1–4; Kukenthal 1924:363

Junceella juncea Toeplitz, 1928:269–270 ;

Juncella juncea Stiasny, 1940 , 159, pl. VII, fig. 27

Description

Colony unbranched, long. Axis calcareous, rigid proximally, flexible distally and round in cross-section. Narrow median dorsal and ventral lines are free from calyces. Colony diameter is, 7 mm and the axis 3 mm. The calyces are thickly and evenly implanted on all sides of the colony, except on the median lines. Their arrangement tends towards oblique rows of eight or nine, extending from the dorsal to the ventral median lines. The basal portion of the colony is almost devoid of calyces. A few centimetres from the base there are about 6 calyces to a row even though almost the greatest diameter of the colony is attained here. Sclerites, 0.1 mm and with both swollen heads covered by pointed tubercles.

Type locality

Indian Ocean.

Distribution

Indo-Pacific.

Remarks

This species occurs at the entrance to Conic Island Cave.

Figures

Figure 6. Junceella juncea (front) and Antipathes grandiflora (back) in Conic Island Cave.