Anthothela Verrill, 1879

Horvath, Elizabeth Anne, 2019, A review of gorgonian coral species (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) held in the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History research collection: focus on species from Scleraxonia, Holaxonia, and Calcaxonia - Part I: Introduction, species of Scleraxonia and Holaxonia (Family Acanthogorgiidae), ZooKeys 860, pp. 1-66 : 1

Genus Anthothela Verrill, 1879

Briareum Sars, 1856b: 63 [pars].

? Gymnosarca Kent, 1870a: 397. Stephens, 1909: 7.

Anthothela Verrill, 1879a: 199; 1883: 40. Studer (and Wright) 1887: 28. Grieg 1891: 3. Broch 1913: 4. Kükenthal 1919: 43; 1924: 14. Thomson and Dean 1931:? 11-20. Stiasny 1937: 20. Verseveldt 1940: 37. Bayer 1961: 57-58 (key), 65 (key), 67-68, 70. Arantes and de Medeiros 2006: 2. Moore et al. 2017: 19.

? Stereogorgia Kükenthal, 1916: 178.

Suberia Nutting, 1911: 15.

Type species.

Briareum grandiflorum Sars, 1856b (by subsequent designation).

Diagnosis.

With slender, rounded, tortuous, commonly upright, abundant anastomosing branches producing tangled colonies. Branches always solid; no main stems developed, branches grading upwards from broadened membranous base. Polyps present on base as well as on branches, widely scattered on all sides, sometimes clustered into large masses. Polyps elongated in expansion arising from distinctly projecting, short yet elevated cylindrical calyces. Polyps partially retractile, seldom entirely retractile; large anthocodiae commonly preserved exsert, arising from either extended, rather thin, slightly sharp, spiculose, but spongy, basal membrane (encrusting) or from slender irregular stems (branched). Axis spiculose, well differentiated, not firm. Long, strongly warted, often irregular spindles and short, girdled rods in coenenchyme. Sclerites of axis more irregular; bear fewer, larger warts, knobs or lobes. Spongy base filled with thin spindles and rods, permeating tissue. Bright rosy-red or brownish in life, but other color forms likely.