Thyone herberti, a new dendrochirotid species from the east coast of SouthAfrica (Echinodermata : Holothuroidea)

A new species of a dendrochirotid holothuroid, Thyone herberti, is describe d from the deer waters of Matigulu, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The new sp ecies is distinct from other species of the genus in the form of its calcar eous ring, in which the radial plates are prolonged posteriorly before bifu rcating, and in the presence of non-rosette-like perforated rods and plates in the tentacles and the introvert. The new species increases to eight the number of southern African species currently classified in the genus Thyon e.