Holothuria (Stichothuria) coronopertusa Cherbonnier, 1980: 639, fig. 13A-R, pl. 1B.x.; Amezian, 2007: 342.
Type data: EcHh 3100; South of reef of Island Ndie (New Caledonia); 20-30 m depth; Coll. ORSTOM; 1979; well preserved; well relaxed; dissected longitudinally, calcareous ring cut away.
Anatomical description: 370 mm long; 45-100 mm wide; bivium arched; trivium flattened; mouth ventral; anus dorsal; dorsal body wall brown; ventral body wall white to beige; tentacles beige; dorsal appendages dark brown; ventral tube feet brown; dorsal appendages spread regularly over complete bivium; ventral tube feet spread regularly over complete trivium; bivium and trivium not separated by lateral fringe of appendages; body wall 1-2 mm thick, rough to the touch; 16 tentacles counted; radial plates with a concave posterior side, interradial plates half the width of radial ones; number of tentacle ampullae could not be determined; 2 Polian vesicles; presence of stone canals could not be determined; gonad in single tuft, tubules ramified; longitudinal muscles bifid, very wide, flat, attached at edges; respiratory tree longer than 1/2 body length; cloaca 50 mm long; Cuvierian tubules absent.
Ossicle description: tentacles with large stout, slightly rugose rods and small slender C-shaped rods; dorsal and ventral body wall with tables and buttons, table disc perforated by four central holes and one to two rings of peripheral perforations, rim of disc smooth to spiny, spire with four pillars united by one cross-beam, ending in an open crown, buttons rather irregular with undulating, smooth rim, perforated by 3-4 pairs of holes; dorsal appendages with tables and buttons similar to those of the body wall and with perforated rods; ventral tube feet with tables, buttons, perforated plates with two rows of holes and slender C-shaped rods; anal papillae with buttons, tables, perforated rods and C-shaped rods; respiratory trees with C-shaped rods; longitudinal and cloacal retractor muscle, gonad, cloaca and gut devoid of ossicles.
Taxonomic decision: valid species (confirmed after re-examination of holotype and other voucher specimens).
Known distribution: Ndie Island (New Caledonia), Natal (South Africa; Samyn, pers. observ.); Palau (Starmer, pers. comm.)
Remarks: C-shaped ossicles as found in the body wall of H. coronopertusa were long time thought to be restricted to the Stichopodidae. Recent molecular analysis on material from South Africa and Palau (Paulay, pers. comm.) has however confirmed that coronopertusa belongs to the genus Holothuria. This is also backed up by the observation that the gonad consists of only a single tuft.
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