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 Nicella pustulosa Thomson & Simpson, 1909 Nicella pustulosa Thomson & Simpson, 1909: 267–268 , pl. 5, fig. 6; pl. 8, fig. 11 (Laccadives; Andamans). Opinion: This species does occur in the region but its true identity is unknown. Justification: Literature analysis : Kükenthal (1924) synonymised this species, using a question mark, with Phenilia sanguinolenta Gray, 1859 , but the redescription of that species given by Bayer & Grasshoff (1994: 39) clearly shows that it is very different from Nicella pustulosa . It is more likely that the species belongs in the genus Verrucella , but some of the sclerites illustrated by Thomson & Simpson are quite unusual, so the actual genus represented by Thomson and Simpsons’ material remains unknown. Rao & Devi (2003) just list the species.