Caryophyllia berteriana Duchassaing, 1850

Reyes, Javier, Santodomingo, Nadiezhda & Cairns, Stephen, 2009, Caryophylliidae (Scleractinia) from the Colombian Caribbean, Zootaxa 2262 (1), pp. 1-39 : 5-6

Caryophyllia berteriana Duchassaing, 1850

Fig. 2A–B

Caryophyllia berteriana Duchassaing, 1850: 15 .— Cairns, 1979: 47–49, pl. 6, figs. 4–8, pl. 7, fig. 1, Map 7 (description and synonymy; in part).— Viada & Cairns, 1987: 132.— Cairns et al., 1991: 47 (listed).— Stolarski, 1995: 30–32, figs. 8A–H (microstructure).— Cairns, 2000: 61–62, figs. 62–63.—Lattig, 2000: 116, fig. 60.— Lattig & Reyes, 2001: 25–26, fig 3.— Reyes et al., 2005: 324 (listed).— Kitahara, 2007: 498–499, 507, fig. 2H.— Santodomingo et al., 2007: 286 (listed).

Caryophyllia formosa Pourtalès, 1867: 113 .

Remarks: C. berteriana specimens from Colombia exhibit corallites up 2 cm in GCD and 4 cm length. Growth form is pseudo-colonial, with two generations of coralla. This species usually presents wide and flat costae; C4 wider than C1–3 ( Cairns 2000), but in the Colombian specimens C1 is the widest and most exsert costae. Costae from the major septa are progressively smaller than C1. Due to its morphological characteristics, relatively large corallites and pseudo-colonial development, and the high abundance of this species, it has been suggested that C. berteriana , among other scleractinian species, could build azooxanthellate coral communities along the Colombian Caribbean continental margin ( Reyes et al. 2005; Santodomingo et al. 2007).

Distribution: Tropical western Atlantic, from Florida to Brazil, between 100 to 1033 m ( Cairns 1979; 2000; Kitahara 2007). In Colombia, C. berteriana has been found off Quitasueño Bank, Punta Gallinas, Santa Marta and San Bernardo Islands, between 100 and 293 m depth.

Material: USNM 61733 , O-4832; USNM 49027 , 1 specimen , O-4834; INV CNI318 , 1 specimen , O- 4834; INV CNI376 , 2 specimens , E8; INV CNI664 , 1 specimen , E85; INV CNI665 , 4 specimens , E156; INV CNI666 , 1 specimen , E156; INV CNI667 , 11 specimens , E155; INV CNI668 , 70 specimens , E155; INV CNI2416 , 1 specimen , C2; INV CNI2433 , 2 specimens , C2; INV CNI2457 , 2 specimens , C3; INV CNI2506 , 33 specimens , D3; INV CNI2530 , 72 specimens , D12; INV CNI2536 , 3 specimens , D28; INV CNI2687 , 3 specimens , D30; INV CNI2694 , 3 specimens , D31; INV CNI2736 , 1 specimen , D38; INV CNI2788 , 5 specimens , D23; INV CNI2792 , 1 specimen , D67; INV CNI2836 , 1 specimen , D15; INV CNI2890 , 20 specimens , D28; INV CNI2896 , + 50 specimens , C2; INV CNI2913 , 9 specimens , C3.

Figures

FIGURE 2. A–B, Caryophyllia berteriana, INV CNI2553, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 1.5; C, Caryophyllia crypta, USNM 99187, Santa Marta, paratype, x 4; D–E, Caryophyllia barbadensis, INV CNI669, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 10; F–G, Caryophyllia ambrosia caribbeana, INV CNI364, off La Rada inlet, calicular and lateral views, both x 1.6; H–I, Coenocyathus parvulus, INV CNI671, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 10; J–K, Trochocyathus rawsonii, INV CNI681, off Gulf of Morrosquillo, calicular and lateral views, both x 3.2; L–M, Trochocyathus sp. cf. T. fasciatus, INV CNI379, off Santa Marta, calicular and lateral views, both x 4.6; N, Tethocyathus prahli, INV CNI905, off La Guajira (Punta Gallinas), calicular view x 2.7; O, T. prahli, INV CNI1514, off Chocó, Pacific Ocean, calicular view x 2.7; P–Q, Tethocyathus variabilis, INV CNI2404, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 4; R–S, Paracyathus pulchellus, INV CNI2305, off La Guajira, calicular and lateral views, both x 4.4; T–U, Polycyathus senegalensis, INV CNI809, off La Guajira, calicular view and colony, both x 2.7; V, Cladocora debilis, INV CNI877, off Palomino, colony fragment showing typical branching pattern, x 0.8. Scale bars for A–B, F–G,V = 1 cm;C, J–U = 5 mm; D–E, H–I = 1 mm.