Revision of the gorgonian genus Simpsonella (Octocorallia: Chrysogorgiidae) from the western margin of the Indo-Pacific, with the description of a new species from southeastern Africa

The five species of the chrysogorgiid genus Simpsonella Stiasny, 1940, are described from recently collected material this includes the description of a new species from south-eastern Africa. The genus is presently known onlv from the western margin of the Indian Ocean, along the east African coast of Tanzania and South Africa. The name Simpsonella is here chosen as the valid generic name by subsequent designation. The genus differs from most other genera in the family Chrysogorgiidae by the possession of sclerites with scalloped margins and/or strong tuberculations and foliations, together with a crowded and mostly multiserial arrangement of the polyps.