Jourdan was the first to describe Eloactis mazeli. In 1880 he published Recherches zoologiques et histologiques sur les Zoanthaires du golfe de Marseilles (1), and in this paper E. mazeli is described under the name of Ilyanthus mazelii. Jourdan obtained his specimen from the muddy sand of the north-eastern part of the Gulf from a depth of 60-80 metres. He compares its external characters with those of Peachia, Ilyanthus, and Halcampa; the following is a translation:–