Memoirs of the Queensland Museum | Nature 57 Revision and catalogue of worldwide staghorn corals Acropora and Isopora (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) in the Museum of Tropical Queensland Carden C. Wallace, Barbara J. Done & Paul R. Muir © Queensland Museum PO Box 3300, South Brisbane 4101, Australia Phone 06 7 3840 7555 Fax 06 7 3846 1226 Email [email protected] Website www.qm.qld.gov.au National Library of Australia card number ISSN 0079-8835 NOTE Papers published in this volume and in all previous volumes of the Memoirs of the Queensland Museum may be reproduced for scientific research, individual study or other educational purposes. Properly acknowledged quotations may be made but queries regarding the republication of any papers should be addressed to the Director. Copies of the journal can be purchased from the Queensland Museum Shop. A Guide to Authors is displayed at the Queensland Museum web site www.qm.qld.gov.au A Queensland Government Project Typeset at the Queensland Museum Memoirs of the Queensland Museum | Nature Volume 57 Minister: The Honourable Ros Bates, MP, Minister for Science, Information Technology, Innovation and the Arts CEO: I.D. Galloway, PhD Editor in Chief: J.N.A. Hooper, PhD Managing Editor: S.M. Verschoore Issue Editor: P.J.F. Davie PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE BOARD 30 JUNE 2012 © The State of Queensland (Queensland Museum), 2012 PO Box 3300, South Brisbane 4101, Qld Australia Phone 61 7 3840 7555 Fax 61 7 3846 1226 www.qm.qld.gov.au National Library of Australia card number ISSN 0079-8835 COVER: Acropora muricata (Linnaeus, 1758), type species of Acropora, Maldives, 2006 (MTQ-G60372), photo: Paul Muir. NOTE Papers published in this volume and in all previous volumes of the Memoirs of the Queensland Museum may be reproduced for scientific research, individual study or other educational purposes. Properly acknowledged quotations may be made but queries regarding the republication of any papers should be addressed to the Editor in Chief. Copies of the journal can be purchased from the Queensland Museum Shop. A Guide to Authors is displayed at the Queensland Museum web site: http://www.qm.qld.gov.au/About+Us/Publications/Memoirs+of+the+Queensland+Museum A Queensland Government Project Typeset at the Queensland Museum Printed by Watson Ferguson & Company, PO Box 113 Moorooka Qld 4105 Revision and catalogue of worldwide staghorn corals Acropora and Isopora (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) in the Museum of Tropical Queensland Carden C. WALLACE Barbara J. DONE Paul R. MUIR Museum of Tropical Queensland, 70–120 Flinders St Townsville 4810 Queensland. Email: [email protected] Citation: Wallace, C.C., Done, B.J. & Muir, P.R. 2012 06 30. Revision and catalogue of worldwide staghorn corals Acropora and Isopora (Scleractinia: Acroporidae) in the Museum of Tropical Queensland. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum — Nature 57: 1–255. Brisbane. ISSN 0079-8835. ABSTRACT Species of the reef-building coral genera Acropora and Isopora are reviewed and their synonymies, descriptions and distributions updated, following previous revisions in 1999 (Acropora) and 2007 (Isopora). A catalogue is given of all specimens of these genera in the Worldwide Staghorn Coral Collection in the Museum of Tropical Queensland, Australia, providing geographic records from present-day Indo-Pacific and Atlantic species. The collection includes primary types of 61 species, numerous secondary types, topotypes and fragments of types donated by other museums and specimens represented in more than 59 publications during a period of intense coral research in late 20th and early 21st centuries. One new species, Acropora arafura, is described from Northern Australia and species newly added to the collection since 1999 are included. q coral reefs, biogeography, taxonomy, biodiversity, Anthozoa, hexacorals. Species of the scleractinian coral genus Acropora as a subgenus of Acropora (Wallace et al. 2007) (Oken, 1815) have a strongly established role in and found to have occurred briefly in the the evolution, biogeography and ecology of the Caribbean (Budd & Wallace 2008; Wallace & world’s coral reefs. With approximately 150 Budd 2009; Wallace 2012) but not in Europe or species living mostly in the Indo-Pacific, but the Middle East. Isopora has considerably fewer also in the Caribbean (Wallace 1999; Veron species than Acropora and a contrasting life history, 2000), it has the greatest species diversity of any Acropora species being broadcast spawners and modern reef-building genus. Numerous fossil Isopora species brooders (Fukami et al. 2000; species indicate that diversification of Acropora Wallace et al. 2007). The taxonomic history of began in the Eocene (55.8–33.9 ma) of Europe these two genera owes much to early taxono - and the Middle East (Wallace & Rosen 2006; mists, both biologists and palaeontolo gists, Wallace 2008), continuing during the Oligocene whose names are preserved in the valid species and early Miocene up to the Burdigalian names, authorships and synonymies that are (33.9–23.03 ma) (Chevalier 1961; Schuster 2002; presented herein. Perrin & Bosellini 2012). In the Caribbean it is As coral reef studies intensified during the seen in the fossil record from the Oligocene, second half of the twentieth century, the reaching its greatest diversity before the dominance of the two genera on Indo-Pacific present (Wallace 2012). Further diversification reefs saw them feature in various major occurred in the Indo-Pacific from the mid environmental and evolutionary discoveries, Miocene (~ 15 ma) (Bromfield & Pandolfi 2011). e.g. Acropora as a major participant in coral Linked to Acropora in many studies is its sister mass spawning (Harrison 2011); both genera in genus Isopora, recently elevated from its position the development and application of molecular Memoirs of the Queensland Museum — Nature 2012 57 www.qm.qld.gov.au 1 Wallace, Done & Muir approaches to phylogeny, evolution and popu - as specimens and vouchers from biogeo - lation biology of corals (e.g. Fukami et al. 2000; graphic, molecular, reproductive and ecological Wei et al. 2006; Richards, van Oppen et al. 2008; studies, surveys, field experi ments and some Chen et al. 2009). Both genera also feature in paleontological and strati graphic work record - environ mental issues leading to population loss, ed in (but not restricted to) publications listed e.g. Acanthaster planci sea star population outbreaks in Table 1. (Marshall & Baird 2000; Pratchett 2001), coral Acropora (including Isopora as a subgenus) bleaching events associated with the el Niño was revised from eastern Australia, Indonesia phenomenon (Phongsuwan 1998; Loya et al. 2001; and Taiwan in the late 20th century (Wallace Donner 2008); reef degradation due to human 1978; Veron & Wallace 1984; Wallace & Dai and environmental impacts (Fabricius 2005; 1997; Wallace & Wolstenholme 1998; Wallace Carpenter et al. 2008); and efforts to conserve 1999). The 1978 collection is in the Queensland and restore reefs (e.g. Putchim et al. 2008). Museum, Brisbane, and is not documented in This revision and catalogue is a companion to this work. Specimens mentioned in the other Wallace (1999): it is not meant to replace that four references are included in the WAIC, volume and both can be used in parallel. In which now contains approximately 21,000 particular reference should be made to Wallace specimens from 2,000 sites around the world. (1999) for detailed illustrations of skeletal Included in the collection are neotypes of three features. The present catalogue updates genera species: the type species of Acropora, A. muricata and species descriptions from the 1999 mono - (Linneus, 1758), and two other long-standing graph and records a collection and associated species A. digitifera (Dana, 1846) and A. database, now known as the ‘Worldwide pharaonis (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1860). Acropora and Isopora Collection’ (WAIC), Currently there are primary types of 58 other housed at the Museum of Tropical Queensland species, numerous secondary types, fragments (MTQ) in Townsville, Australia. The WAIC of types donated by other museums or authors, includes types and mentioned specimens from and vouchers, cited or uncited, for many works taxonomic works, numerous topotypes, as well listed in Table 1. Table 1. Publications that cite specimens in the Worldwide Acropora and Isopora Collection. 1. Adjeroud et al. (2009) 21. McMillan & Miller (1990) 41. Wallace (1999) 2. Babcock et al. (1986) 22. Noreen (2010) 42. Wallace (2001) 3. Bongaerts et al. (2011) 23. Pichon et al. (2010) 43. Wallace (2003) 4. Bridge et al. (2012) 24. Picket et al. (1985) 44. Budd & Wallace (2008) 5. Cabioch et al. (2011) 25. Pillay et al. (2002) 45. Wallace, Chen et al. (2007) 6. Carpenter et al. (1997) 26. Richards, Beger et al. (2008) 46. Wallace & Christie (1992) 7. Carpenter et al. (2008) 27. Richards, van Oppen et al. (2008) 47. Wallace & Dai (1997) 8. Chen et al. (2009) 28. Richards & Wallace (2004) 48. Wallace, Fellegara et al. (2009) 9. Connell et al. (1997) 29. Richards et al. (2010) 49. Wallace & Muir (2005) 10. Connell et al. (2004) 30. Turak & DeVantier (2011) 50. Wallace, Muir et al. (2007) 11. Fosså & Nielsen (1998) 31. Veron (1985) 51. Wallace et al. (1991) 12. Fukami et al. (2008) 32. Veron (1986) 52. Wallace et al. (2003) 13. Harriott & Banks (2002) 33. Veron (1990) 53. Wallace et al. (2001) 14. Hodgson & Carpenter (1995) 34. Veron (2000) 54. Wallace & Willis (1994) 15. Kenyon (1997) 35. Veron (2002) 55. Wallace & Wolstenholme (1998) 16. Mangubhai &