Redescription of Sclerhelia hirtella from Saint Helena, South Atlantic, and remarks on Indo-Pacific species erroneously referred to the same genus (Scleractinia)

Summary

Sclerhelia hirtella (Pallas, 1766), type species of Sclerhelia, is redescribed from samples from Saint Helena, South Atlantic, and referred to the family Caryophylliidae. Up to now there is no confirmation on the occurence of S. hirtella at any locality other than Saint Helena. Here, the species lives in rather shallow water but it is unknown whether symbiotic zooxanthellae are present in the soft parts.

The species from the Maldives and Indonesia known as Sclerhelia formosa (Alcock, 1898) is not congeneric with Sclerhelia hirtella but close to Madrepora oculata Linné, a species conventionally placed in the family Oculinidae.

The species from the Marshall Islands, described by Wells (1954) as Sclerhelia alcocki is a dendrophylliid coral identical with Dendrophyllia palita Squires & Keyes, 1967, from New Zealand. The Maldives are the third area where this species is known (the original record having been confused with another dendrophylliid species).