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Cavernulina orientalis (Thomson & Simpson, 1909) (Fig. 1) Cavernularia orientalis Thompson and Simpson 1909: 305–306, pl. 9, figs. 1a, 1b; Hickson 1916: 52–55, fig. 9; 1937: 110–115, figs. 1, 2. Cavernulina orientalis Kuekenthal & Broch 1911: 175; Kuekenthal 1915: 10; D’Hondt 1984: 629; Imahara 1991: 83–84, fig. 20, pl. IIk; Williams 1989: 307–308. Material examined. VSCo2, Mangamaripeta, Visakhapatnam, 17°51'3.35"N and 83°24'50.45"E, beach, coll. S. Veena. 9 July 2009, 2 colonies. Description. One of the two colonies has a total length of 48mm (Fig. 1A). It is clavate and elongate and has a peduncle 27 mm long and 3 mm wide that occupies about 56% of colony length. The rachis length is about 44% of colony length; 21 mm long and 7 mm maximum width. Both rachis and peduncle are thick and fleshy. Autozooids and siphonozooids are distributed on the rachis surface with no orderly pattern of arrangement. The autozooids are all completely retracted, some to level with the surface of the rachis and others forming dents, all appearing as dark brown to black pores, 0.30–1.00 mm diameter, and separated by distances varying from 0.50–1.00 mm. The siphonozooids are smaller than the autozooids and are distributed between them (Fig. 1A). A white, highly calcified internal axis is present, 19mm in length. It extends from the rachis down to about the upper 1/4 of the peduncle; 39% of colony length. The axis is rod shaped with a median whorl of projections and is 1 mm in maximum diameter (Fig. 1B). Sclerites are present in the surface of rachis and include crutches 0.60–0.90 mm long, bone-shaped rods 0.40–0.80 mm long and spindles 0.40– 0.90 mm long (Fig. 1C). Sclerites from the interior of rachis are similar in shape and size to those of the surface. Peduncle surface sclerites are oval to spindle-shaped and many have a pre-median whorl. They are 0.30–0.98 mm long and the ends are rounded to bluntly pointed (Fig. 1D). Peduncle interior sclerites are sparse and similar in shape and size to those of the peduncle surface. Colouration is greyish white in the rachis, with dark brown to black autozooids. Sclerites are colourless. The second colony is 31mm long and its characters are much the same as those of the one described above. This is the first record of Cavernulina orientalis from the Visakhapatnam coast and adds a new record to the benthic fauna of this region., Published as part of Veena, S. & Kaladharan, P., 2012, The first record of Cavernulina orientalis (Thomson & Simpson, 1909) (Octocorallia: Pennatulacea: Veretillidae) from the Bay coast of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, pp. 61-64 in Zootaxa 3204 on page 62, {"references":["Thomson J. A. & Simpson J. (1909) An Account of the Alcyonarians collected by the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator in the Indian Ocean by J. Arthur Thomson & J. J. Simpson with a report on the species of Dendronephthya by W. D. Henderson. II. The Alcyonarians of the Littoral area. Aberdeen, The University Press, Calcutta, 319 pp.","Hickson, S. J. (1916) The Pennatulacea of the Siboga Expedition, with a general survey of the order. E. J. Brill Publishers, Siboga Expeditie Monograph 14 (77), Leiden, The Netherlands, 265 pp.","Kuekenthal, W. & Broch, H. (1911) Pennatulacea. Wissenschaftliche Ergebnisse der Deutschen Tiefsee - Expedition \" Valdivia \" 1898 - 99, 13 (1), Lieferung 2, 113 - 576.","Kuekenthal, W. (1915) Pennatularia. R. Friedldnder und Sohn Publishers, Berlin, Germany, 132 pp.","D'Hondt, Marie-Jose. (1984) Contribution a la connaissance de certains genres de la famille Veretillidae (Pennatulacea). Description de Cavernulina grandiflora n. sp. et de Lituaria valenciennesi nom. nov. Bulletin du Museum National D'Histoire Naturelle, Section A, Zoologie Biologie et Ecologie Animales, 6 (3), 625 - 640.","Imahara, Y. (1991) Report on the Octocorallia from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan. Bulletin of Institute of Oceanic Research and Development, Tokai University, 11 / 12, 59 - 94.","Williams, G. C. (1989) The pennatulacean genus Cavernularia Valenciennes (Octocorallia: Veretillidae). Zoological Journal of Linnean Society, 95, 285 - 310."]}

Many initiatives have come up to investigate the fauna around India. Due to accidental sighting and dislocation caused due to fishing and forming a part of the trash brought ashore is how the organisms are located. During regular sampling carried out from Mangamaripeta fish landing centre of Visakhapatnam, delicate shallow-water sea pens were collected and investigated. No previous records are available pertaining to the presence of these animals from this area and the species have not been identified from these waters. This report identifies and describes the species as Cavernularia malabarica Fowler, 1894 for the first time from these waters.

Ascidians referred to as ‘sea squirts’ constitute a major component of biofouling community in coastal waters. Knowledge of diversity of ascidians in the waters around India is very less. Perusal of literature by Renganathan (1990), Venkat et al. (1995), Meenakshi and Senthamarai (2004, 2006) and Meenakshi (2005) indicate that there are about 300 species of ascidians belonging to 10 families and 38 genera reported so far from Indian waters comprising both colonial and solitary forms. Bhavanarayana and Ganapati (1971) studied the ascidian species among pelagic tunicates from the inshore waters of Visakhapatnam.