Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) of Western Australia
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Records of the Western Australian Museum 18: 361-417 (1998). Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) of Western Australia Stephen D. Cairns Department of Invertebrate Zoology, MRC-163, W-329, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D. C. 20560, USA Abstract - One hundred five species of azooxanthellate Scleractinia are known from Western Australia. Seventy of these species are reported herein as new records for Western Australia, 57 of which are also new to Australia. Eleven new species are described. The study was based on an examination of approximately 1725 specimens from 333 stations, which resulted in additional records of 98 of the 105 known species. New material was examined from six museums, as well as the historical material of Folkeson (1919) deposited at the Swedish Museum of Natural History. A majority (69/105 species) of the azooxanthellate species known from Western Australia occur in the tropical region of the Northern Australian Tropical Province (bordered to the south by the Houtrnan Abrolhos Islands and Port Gregory), which can be considered as a southern extension of the larger Indo-West Pacific tropical realm. Nine species are endemic to this region, and the highest latitudinal attrition of species occurs between Cape Jaubert and the Dampier Archipelago. Another 20 species, also known from tropical regions, extend to varying degrees into the Southern Australian Warm Temperate Province. Twelve species are restricted to warm temperate waters of the Southern Australian Warm Temperate Region, most of these species being relatively shallow in depth distribution. A majority of species (53) occur at depths shallower than 200 m, 46 occur exclusively deeper than 200 m (to 1011 m), and 6 species cross the 200 m isobath. Commensal relationships (galls) with ascothoracidan crustaceans were found with two corals hosts (Madrepora oculata and Deltocyathus magnifieus), and with acrothoracican cirripedes (thecal borings) with six coral hosts: Flabellum politum, Tnmcatoflabellum folkesoni, T. formosum, T. australiensis, Javania lamprotichum, and Dendrophyl/ia alcocki. INTRODUCTION Western Australia, ranging from the intertidal to 1011 Veron and Marsh (1988) listed 318 species of m. These, combined with the known zooxanthellate "hermatypic" (or zooxanthellate) Scleractinia from coral fauna, result in a total of 422 scleractinian Western Australia. The term zooxanthellate simply species from Western Australia, one species, means that the coral lives in symbiosis with Heterapsammia cochlea, occurring in both forms. dinoflagellate algae and thus must occur within the The history of the azooxanthellate coral fauna of euphotic zone and in tropical to subtropical Western Australia is not lengthy. Only 13 temperatures, and usually implies that the coral publications report 35 azooxanthellate species from contributes to reef structure, although not necessarily this region, the first (Rehberg, 1892) being (Schuhmacher and Zibrowius 1985). There is, Heterocyathus pulchellus from the "Westkuste however, a second ecological class of Scleractinia Australiens", a species later synonymized with H. known as azooxanthellate corals, literally those sulcatus (Verrill, 1866) by Hoeksema and Best (1991). species that do not live symbiotically with Ten new records were added by Folkeson (1919), dinoflagellate algae. These species are not limited to resulting from collections made by E. Mj6berg's the euphotic zone or by warm temperatures and are Swedish Scientific Expeditions to Australia (1910 ubiquitous, known from the Norwegian Sea to 1913). These records, which include three new Antarctica from the intertidal to 6328 m (Cairns and species and one new genus, were from WSW of Stanley 1982). Coralla of azooxanthellate species are Cape Jaubert and off Broome at depths of 11-42 m, usually small, solitary, and do not contribute to reef and include: Truncatoflabellum spheniscus (originally structure, but exceptions to all these conditions occur. reported as Flabellum rubrum, in part); T. aculeatum Approximately equal numbers of both types of coral (reported as F. rubrum, in part); T. angiostomum; species occur in the world oceans. 105 species of Placotrochus laevis; Heterocyathus aequicostatus; H. azooxanthellate corals occur off the entire coast of aIternatus; H. hemisphericus (reported as 362 S.D. Cairns Spongiocyathus typicus); Rhizosmilia multipalifera An additional record of Rhizotrochus tuberculatus (reported as Paracyathus porphyreus); Conocyathus from the Late Pleistocene of Cape Burney, gracilis (reported as Trematotrochus zelandiae); and southwestern Western Australia was reported by Leptopsammia columna (Figs 9f, i). An eleventh Johnson, Baarli, and Scott (1995). species, Paracyathus profundus Duncan, 1889, was Finally, Cairns (1995) reported Conocyathus reported, but this specimen is not preserved well zelandiae from King George Sound, and Cairns and enough to verify its identification. Folkeson's Zibrowius (1997) reported three species from the specimens are deposited at the Swedish Museum northeastern tip of Western Australia, one of them, of Natural History, Stockholm. Balanophyllia imperialis, being a new record for the In a paper reporting deep-water corals from state. South Australia, Victoria, Tasmania, and New South Wales, Hoffmeister (1933) also reported one species, Flabellum tuthilli, from the continental MATERIAL AND METHODS slope of the Great Australian Bight off Western Museum Abbreviations: Australia. AMS Australian Museum, Sydney. The Miocene fossil species Trematotrochus BMNH British Museum (Natural History), lateroplenus Dennant, 1899 was reported by Wells London. (1942) from Langley Park Bore, Perth. As noted in NTM Museum & Art Gallery of the Northern the species account, this fossil may be Territory, Darwin. Trematotrochus verconis Dennant, 1904. NMNH National Museum of Natural History, In his book on Australian and Indo-Pacific reef Smithsonian, Washington, D. C. corals, Veron (1986) also included a short chapter (pp. NMV National Museum of Victoria, Melbourne. 597-610) on Australian azooxanthellates. Although SAM South Australian Museum, Adelaide. exact localities and specific identifications are SMNH Swedish Museum of Natural History, sometimes wanting, eight records of Western Stockholm. Australian azooxanthellate corals can be extracted USNM United States National Museum (now the from this book, including the following six new National Museum of Natural History). records: Deltocyathus magnificus (reported as WAM Western Australian Museum, Perth. Fungiacyathus); Cyathelia axillaris; Trochocyathus apertus (reported as Premocyathus ? compressus~ Endopachys Expedition Abbreviations: grayi (reported as Endopachys sp.); Heteropsammia DEKI Danish Expedition to the Kei Islands cochlea; and Tubastraea coccinea (reported as T. aurea). (1922). Additional Western Australian records of KARUBAR French-Indonesian expedition (1991) Heteropsammia cochlea can also be found in Veron and that collected in the southeastern Marsh (1988) and Veron (1993). Banda Sea. Named for the Kai, Aru, Grygier (1991) reported two Western Australian and Tanimbar Islands. azooxanthellate species as hosts for petrarcid ascothoracidan Crustacea, one of the species, Morphological Terms Abbreviations: Flabellum magnificum, being a new record for this GCD Greater Calicular Diameter state, the other being Deltocyathus magnificus. In the GCD:H Ratio of greater calicular diameter to same context, Grygier and Cairns (1996) reported corallum height Western Australian Madrepora oculata as hosts for GCD:LCD Ratio of greater to lesser calicular these parasites. diameter In a paper reviewing the Scleractinia of H:D Ratio of height to corallum diameter southeastern Australia, Cairns and Parker (1992) PD:GCD Ratio of pedicel diameter to greater also included 13 new records from the southern calicular diameter coast of Western Australia: Culicia australiensis, C. Sx, Cx, Px Septa, costae, or pali (respectively) of hojfmeisteri, Anthemiphyllia dentata, Desmophyllum cycle designated by numerical dianthus (reported as D. cristagalli), Solenosmilia subscript variabilis, Conotrochus funicolumna (reported as Sx> Sy Septa of cycle x wider than those of Conotrochus brunneus), Trematotrochus alternans, cycle y Platytrochus laevigatus, P. hastatus, Australocyathus SCI Septal Concavity Index: ratio of vincentinus, Rhizotrochus tuberculatus, Notophyllia distance from thecal edge to point of recta, and N. piscacauda (reported as Notophyllia n. greatest septal inflection to length of sp.). These specimens were collected by the Soela, thecal face measured along that RN Comet, Adelaide Pearl, and BANZARE, and septum from the Verco and WAM collections; they are SSI Septal Sinuosity Index: ratio of deposited at the South Australian Museum, amplitude of lower inner edge of a Western Australian Museum, and NMNH. septum to the thickness of that septum Table 1 Distribution of the Western Australian Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (A no new material; * new to WA; ** new to Australia) ~ 0 0 AUSTRALIA Distribution III>< Pattern ::l Western Australia Depth (m) -::r re. 1 2 I 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 W. Aust. (See Table 2) ;' -ro Vl FUNGIACYATHIDAE n **Fungiacyathus (F.) stephanus x x X x 304-720 1B ~ III... **F. (F.) fragilis x x 400-420 2A n *F. (F.) paliferus x x x x 101-300 1B S' -~. **F. (F.) multicarinatus x 348-350 lE **F. (B.) variegatus x x 300-302 1C 0 1C '"" **F. (B.) granulosus x x 302-400 ~ ro m MICRABACIIDAE ro x X X X X X X 302-500 2A