The taxonomy of Indian gorgonians: an assessment of the descriptive records of gorgonians (Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) recorded as occurring in the territorial waters of India, along with neighbouring regions and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the highlighting of perceived unethical practice Author Ramvilas, Ghosh 0000-0001-5028-9058 ramvilas@kufos.ac.in Author Alderslade, Philip 0000-0001-5801-4681 phil.alderslade@csiro.au Author Ranjeet, Kutty 0000-0001-5028-9058 ramvilas@kufos.ac.in text Zootaxa 2023 2023-02-07 5236 1 1 124 journal article 54753 10.11646/zootaxa.5236.1.1 64c50077-1b03-44c5-9af9-0dac9180d62d 1175-5326 7639327 796FF9F5-E71F-4C69-92CC-CF4D6752BD77 Verrucella cerasina Grasshoff, 1999 Verrucella cerasina Grasshoff, 1999: 82 , fig. 137; pl. 10, fig. 2 ( New Caledonia ). Opinion: There is no evidence that this species occurs in the region. Justification: These Indian records seem to be either invalid or unconfirmable : Kumar et al . 2014a: 34 , pl. 14, fig. A–D (Andaman Is.); Fernando et al . 2017: 260 , pl. 121, fig. A–D (Andaman Is.). Literature analysis : The publications of Kumar et al. (2014a) and Fernando et al. (2017) present identical accounts, but it is not possible to assess all the true characters of the material because the text describing the sclerites is taken word-for-word from Grasshoff’s paper, even the dimensions. The copied statements “the polyps are little elevated and scattered” and “double heads with the girdle free of tubercles weakly developed” do not match their illustrations of a branch segment and of the sclerites. This species is probably endemic to New Caledonia . Kumar et al . (2015) just lists the species and illustrate the colony from the 2014 paper above, while Kumar et al . (2018a) just lists the species.