Abstract
A new shallow water scleractinian coral species, Echinophyllia tarae sp. n., is described from the Gambier Islands, French Polynesia. It is characterized by an encrusting corallum, a few large and highly variable corallites with protruding walls, and distinctive costosepta. This coral was observed in muddy environments where several colonies showed partial mortality and re-growth. The new species has morphological affinities with both Echinophyllia echinata and with Echinomorpha nishihirai, from which it can be distinguished on the basis of the diameter and the protrusion of the largest corallite, the thickness of the septa, and the development of the size of the crown of paliform lobes.
Highlights
IntroductionEchinophyllia Klunzinger, 1879 is known to include eight extant zooxanthellate species (Veron and Pichon 1980, Veron 2000, 2002), namely E. aspera (Ellis & Solander, 1786), the type species, E. echinata (Saville-Kent, 1871), E. orpheensis Veron & Pichon, 1980, E. echinoporoides Veron & Pichon, 1980, E. patula (Hodgson & Ross, 1982), E. costata Fenner & Veron, 2000, E. pectinata Veron, 2000, and E. taylorae (Veron, 2000)
Echinophyllia tarae sp. n. is described from the Gambier Islands, French Polynesia
It shows typical features that distinguish it from the other Echinophyllia species and from Echinomorpha nishihirai, such as the dimensions and the protrusion of the largest corallite, the thickness of the septa, and the development of the crown of paliform lobes
Summary
Echinophyllia Klunzinger, 1879 is known to include eight extant zooxanthellate species (Veron and Pichon 1980, Veron 2000, 2002), namely E. aspera (Ellis & Solander, 1786), the type species, E. echinata (Saville-Kent, 1871), E. orpheensis Veron & Pichon, 1980, E. echinoporoides Veron & Pichon, 1980, E. patula (Hodgson & Ross, 1982), E. costata Fenner & Veron, 2000, E. pectinata Veron, 2000, and E. taylorae (Veron, 2000). Based on molecular results by Fukami et al (2008), Dai and Horng (2009) moved Echinophyllia and Oxypora to the family Lobophylliidae Dai & Horng 2009, and Budd et al (2012) placed the remainder of the Pectiniidae in the Merulinidae Verrill, 1866. Echinophyllia is known to occur in the Indo-Pacific, from the seas around Arabia (Sheppard and Sheppard 1991, Pichon et al 2010, Riegl et al 2012), the Indian Ocean (Obura 2012) and the western and central Pacific Ocean (Chevalier 1971, Veron and Pichon 1980, Best et al 1989, Veron 2000, Hoeksema and van Ofwegen 2004) to French Polynesia in the east, including the Society, Tuamotu, Austral and Gambier Islands (Pichon 1985, Glynn et al 2007)
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