A study of the Xeniidae (Octocorallia, Alcyonacea) collected on the "Tyro" expedition to the Seychelles with a description of a new genus and species

An examination of xeniid octocorals was carried out on specimens held in the National Museum of Natural History, Naturalis, Leiden, Netherlands. Samples collected during the Tyro expedition to the Seychelles Islands in the Western Indian Ocean were identified. Six species belong to the genera Cespitularia, Heteroxenia, and Ovabunda are described; five of these are new records for this location. Three new species belonging to the genera Anthelia, Cespitularia and Ovabunda are illustrated. In addition, a new genus belonging to the family Xeniidae is introduced accompanied by scanning electron micrographs of its sclerites. Gross morphology and the ultra-structure of the sclerites indicate there are some similarities in this new genus with Anthelia. However, the colonial morphology is distinct enough to make this genus unique among the Xeniidae and thus the new genus Fasciclia is introduced.