Tubastrea coccinea Lesson, 1829

Lam, Katherine, Morton, Brian & Hodgson, Paul, 2008, Ahermatypic corals (Scleractinia: Dendrophylliidae, Oculinidae and Rhizangiidae) recorded from submarine caves in Hong Kong, Journal of Natural History 42 (9 - 12), pp. 729-747 : 736

Tubastrea coccinea Lesson, 1829

( Figure 2A–B )

Tubastrea coccinea Lesson, 1829:93

Tubastrea coccinea Wells, 1982:216 ; Ogawa and Takahashi 1993:98, Plate 1, Fig. 3

Description

Encrusting and slightly massive corallum. Circular to slight eliptical corallites spaced closely and budding extra-tentacularly from the intercorallite coenosteum. Corallites are short and raised 3–5 mm above the coenosteum. Colony size ranges from 40 mm to 100 mm in length and width and 15–30 mm in height. Corallite diameter ranged from 8.5–10.2 mm. Septal order is hexameral and in four complete cycles. Septal size, in a descending order, is S 15 S 2.S 4.S 3. In large corallites, pairs of S 4 unite before S 3. Columella is large and spongy. Living colony is orange with yellow tentacles.

Distribution

Galápagos Islands, circumtropical ( Cairns 1991), Japan ( Ogawa and Takahashi 1993), Korea ( Song 1982) and Steep Island Cave, Hong Kong (this study).

Figures

Figure 2. Tubastrea sp. A–B, calicular (longer diameter58.2 mm) and top view of a colony of T. coccinea (length×width598.7 mm×34.6 mm); C–D, calicular (longer diameter56.37 mm) and top view of a colony of T. faulkneri (length×width568.9 mm×21.56 mm); E–J, calicular and side views of colonies of T. diaphana (height of F533 mm, height of G and H518.5 mm, longer calicular diameter and height of I and J59.9 and 21.5 mm, respectively); K–L, calicular (longer diameter59.5 mm) and top view of a colony of T. sibogae (height531.3 mm); M–O, calicular (longer diameter58.3 mm), top and side view of a colony of T. turbinata (height522.7 mm).

Figure 3. Tubastrea diaphana collected from Conic Island cave being grazed by three individuals of Aeolidiella sp. The white area of the skeleton is the grazed area. One Aeolidiella is on the top of the colony, the second is on the bottom and the third one was dislodged during collection.