Additions to the South African sea anemone (Cnidaria, Actiniaria) fauna, with expanded distributional ranges for known species

Abstract

The last monograph on South African sea anemones was published by Carlgren more than 75 years ago. Since that time, very little taxonomic research has been undertaken on this group and only seven additional species have been added to the regional fauna. In this study we document the history of taxonomic research and of species discovery for the South African anemone fauna, report on further additions to the fauna, and document expanded distributional ranges of known species. This study presents data from our own collections, as well as from the examination of historical data and museum collections, and from photographic records and specimens collected by SCUBA divers. Based on these data, two newly-discovered, but still un-described species, along with 12 new records, are added to the list of South African sea anemones. In addition, the ranges of 39 previously-known species are expanded. These new discoveries raise the total number of Actiniaria and Corallimorpharia species recognised from South African waters to 63.