Overview of the genus Briareum (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Briareidae) in the Indo-Pacific, with the description of a new species

Collection: Pensoft Publishers

Keywords: Alcyonacea · Topics: Coral and Marine Ecosystems Studies, Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology, Coastal wetland ecosystem dynamics

The status of Indo-Pacific Briareum species (Cnidaria, Octocorallia, Briareidae) is reviewed by presenting their sclerite features and habitus descriptions. Following the re-examination of type material, museum specimens and newly collected specimens, a species identification key is provided. The species distributions are discussed and updated distribution ranges are depicted. Moreover, a new taxon, B. cylindrum sp. n. is described and depicted, whereas B. excavatum (Nutting, 1911) is synonymised with B. stechei (Kükenthal, 1908). Briareum hamrum (Gohar, 1948) is recorded from the Persian Gulf and Oman Sea for the first time. Consequently, in total four Briareum species are recognized in the Indo-Pacific; B. hamrum from the western Indian Ocean, and B. cylindrum sp. n., B. stechei, and B. violaceum from the central and eastern Indo-Pacific region.

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