Pacific Science (1973), Vol. 27, No.2, p. 154-155 Printed in Great Britain

ANew of the Pacific Coral from New Caledonia1

MAYA WIJSMAN-BEST2

IN 1961, J. W. Wells (1961: 189) described the registered in the Zoological Museum, Amster­ new species Bantamia mer/eti. Later on (1968: dam. 276), he changed the generic name and defined However, in a subaquatie cave in the exposed the new genus Blastomussa, with B. merleti as the slope of the barrier reef, at a depth of 30-35 m, type and only species. In the latter article an large colonies were found resembling B. merleti, additional specimen was figured. In my opinion but differing by the much larger size of the in this case another species is involved than the corallites, the consequently higher number of one described in 1961, though both belong to septa (the latter being more exsert and more the same genus. dentated), and the less-developed epitheca. During my stay in New Caledonia in 1968, When I considered describing this material as a I frequently met with , which new species and asked his opinion, Wells is not rare in the bays around Noumea, where mentioned (personal communication, 1972) it occurs with species like Alveopora catalai and that he was, by then, aware that the specimen Cynarina rynarea in rather turbid water, where figured as B. mer/eti in 1968 belongs to a hither­ the light is scarcer than in the lagoon. The to undescribed species. On the basis of photo­ bottom consists of sand and mud (Wijsman­ graphs of the holotype of this new species Best, 1972: 63). Several specimens were collec­ (Fig. 1 and 2), Wells confirmed that it does not ted. B. merleti is rather variable in color; pale belong to B. merleti and that it is conspecific violet polyps have not been mentioned before, with his 1968 specimen. It seems appropriate but their skeleton is hardly different from that of then to name the new species in honor of the brown ones. Professor Wells who has done so much to promote our knowledge of coral .

Blastomussa merleti (Wells, 1961) sp. n. Material Fig. 1, 2 Baie Dumbea near Noumea, New Caledonia: Colony phaceloid; budding extratentacular. Coel 6058 (depth 10-20 m; polyps brown with Calices more or less round, average diameter green fluorescent peristome) and Coel 6056 11 mm (ranging from 9 to 13 mm); septa (depth 16 m; polyps brown with pale green ranging in number from 24 to 32 (average 28); fluorescent peristome). septa well developed. Primary septa continuing Banc Gail, lagoon near Noumea, New Cale­ up to the columella, with four to six teeth. donia: Coel6059 (depth 30-35 m; polyps brown Outer teeth near the theca strong (Mussidae with green fluorescent peristome), Coel 6060 type), giving the corallite a spiny appearance. (depth 30 m, polyps pale violet, septa on the The teeth continue on the costal ridge up to the average more dentated), and Coel 6061 (depth edge zone. No paliform lobes present; colu­ 30 m, polyps brown with green fluorescent mella trabecular. peristome). Theca septothecal, about 2-3 cm high. All specimens mentioned are preserved and occasionally up to 5 cm. Polyps light brown. 1 Work supported by a grant from the Netherlands' Foundation for the Advancement of Tropical Research Holotype: Coel 6905, 10 the Zoological (WOTRO). Manuscript received 24 August 1972. Museum, Amsterdam. 2 Rijksmuseum van Natuurlijke Historie, Leiden. Paratypes: Coel 6906, 6907, 6908, in the 154 New Species of the Coral Genus Blasfomussa-WIJSMAN-BEST 155

FIG. 1. Blas/omussa wellsi sp. n. Holotype, corallum, FIG. 2. Blas/omussa l1;ellsi sp. n. Close-up ofsome ofthe x 2.5. Photograph by Ch. Hoorn. calices of the holotype, x 5. Photograph by Ch. Hoorn.

Zoological Museum, Amsterdam. Locality: from New Caledonia. Pacif. Sci. 15: 189-191. Grotte de Merlet, 30-35 m depth, near Passe 5 fig. Kouare in the barrier reef south of Noumea, ---. 1968. Notes on Indo-Pacific scleractin­ New Caledonia. ian corals. Part 6, Further note on Bantamia merleti Wells. Pacif. Sci. 22: 276. 2 fig. LITERATURE CITED WIJSMAN-BEST, M. 1972. Systematics and ecology of New Caledonian Faviinae (Coe­ WELLS, J. W. 1961. Notes on Indo-Pacific lenterata-). Bijdr. Dierk. (Amster­ scleractinian corals. Part 3, A new reef coral dam) 42: 1-90, fig. 18, pI. XIV.