Melithaea braueri ( Kükenthal, 1919 )

Ramvilas, Ghosh, Alderslade, Philip & Ranjeet, Kutty, 2023, The taxonomy of Indian gorgonians: an assessment of the descriptive records of gorgonians (Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) recorded as occurring in the territorial waters of India, along with neighbouring regions and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the highlighting of perceived unethical practice, Zootaxa 5236 (1), pp. 1-124 : 27

Melithaea braueri ( Kükenthal, 1919)

Wrightella braueri Kükenthal, 1919: 902 ( Seychelles) .

Opinion: There is no evidence that this species occurs in the region.

Justification:

These Indian records seem to be either invalid or unconfirmable: Kumar et al. 2014a: 100, pl. 47, fig. A–D (Nicobar); Fernando et al. 2017: 27, pl. 9, fig. A–D (Nicobar).

Literature analysis: This species was originally named Wrightella braueri , but despite Kükenthal (1924) expanding his very short original description, there have never been any colony or sclerite illustrations of the species and therefore the necessary details of the characteristics remain unknown to this day and identifying specimens as this species based on Kükenthal’s text alone seems impossible. The publications of Kumar et al. (2014a) and Fernando et al. (2017) present an identical account, which must be based on assumptions and is not verifiable. Kumar et al. (2015) just lists the species under the original name and provide a colony image, Kumar & Raghunathan (2015: PY-P) just list the species, and Kumar et al. (2015, 2018) lists the species and provide a colony figure. Kumar et al. (2019, 2019a) remark that the species has been reported from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and give references.