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Type: Article
Published: 2023-02-20
Page range: 293-298
Abstract views: 283
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First report of free-living, solitary zoanthid from Andaman and Nicobar Islands

Zoological Survey of India, Andaman and Nicobar Regional Centre, Port Blair—744 102, Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata—700 053, West Bengal.
Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata—700 053, West Bengal.
Zoantharia Sphenopus marsupialis sandy bottom morphology Coelenterata

Abstract

Studies on zoantharians (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Zoantharia) from Indian waters are exceptionally sparse. Most studies were carried out on the colonial inter-tidal species whereas exploration from shallow coastal waters is yet to be carried out thoroughly. The present study reports the first record of one of the four species of free-living and solitary genus Sphenopus Steenstrup, 1856; Sphenopus marsupialis (Gmelin, 1791) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The specimens were collected from the sandy bottom of Point Island at depths of 25 to 38 m. Detailed morphological features along with distributional ranges are reported here.

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