A New Species and New Record of the Soft Coral Genus Lobophytum (Octocorallia: Malacalcyonacea: Sarcophytidae) From the Andaman Islands, India

A new species of soft coral, Lobophytum andamanensis sp. nov., is described and illustrated, along with a specimen of Lobophytum patulum Tixier-Durivault, 1956, which is reported herein as a new record for India. The type locality of Lobophytum patulum is Diego Suarez bay in Madagascar, and it was later from recorded from the Seychelles, Kenya, Mauritius, and the Indian Ocean coast of South African. Both these species are recorded from the North Andaman group of Islands of the Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago.