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Octocoral diversity and distribution on the south-west Indian coast

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  04 March 2011

Anita G. Mary ,
Robert D. Sluka  and
S. Lazarus
Anita G. Mary*
Affiliation:
Marine Scientist, HMR Consultants, PO Box 1295, CPO Seeb, PCIII, Sultanate of Oman
Robert D. Sluka
Affiliation:
Marine Conservation Consultant, Chinnor, Oxfordshire, UK
S. Lazarus
Affiliation:
Chairman, Institute for Environmental Research and Social Education, Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India
*
Correspondence should be addressed to: A.G. Mary, HMR Consultants, PO Box 1295, CPO Seeb, PCIII, Sultanate of Oman email: [email protected]
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Abstract

A survey of the distribution, percentage coverage, and diversity of octocoral fauna on the south-west coast of India yielded fourteen species from six families: Clavulariidae, Nephtheidae, Melithaeidae, Plexauridae, Gorgoniidae and Ellisellidae. This study produced ten new zoogeographical records of octocoral species to India, two species which were first records to the shallow water fauna (11–12 m depth), and one found to be a potential new record to the Indian coast. Octocoral coverage was <1% at all sites and diversity ranged from 6–13 species among the five study sites.

Keywords

CnidariaOctocoralliaAlcyonaceaoctocoralssouth-west IndiaIndian OceanIndian coastnew records
Type
Research Article
Information
Marine Biodiversity Records , Volume 4 , December 2011 , e16
Copyright
Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2011

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