New name for the soft coral Alcyonium rubrum Stokvis & van Ofwegen, 2006 (Alcyonacea, Alcyoniidae): Alcyonium burmedju nom. n.

Alcyonium rubrum Stokvis & van Ofwegen, 2006, an encrusting soft coral (Figure 1), was described from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean based on specimens collected during the Dutch CANCAP VII Expedition to the Cape Verde Archipelago (Stokvis & van Ofwegen 2006). This species was later reported from the Azores (Braga-Henriques et al. 2013).

A review on the taxonomic literature of octocorals by the first author revealed the existence of a species described from Scandinavia under the same name, Alcyonium rubrum Müller, 1776, which was also reported from Ireland (Hassal 1841). In such a case of primary homonomy, the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature Article 60, states that the junior homonym is invalid and needs to be replaced by a new name. We propose to replace Alcyonium rubrum Stokvis & van Ofwegen, 2006 by Alcyonium burmedju nom. n.