Siderastrea, de Blainville, 1830

Salimi, Parisa Alidoost, Mostafavi, Pargol Ghavam, Chen, Chaolun Allen, Fatemi, Seyed Mohammad Reza & Pichon, Michel, 2018, Microphysogobio bicolor, Zoological Studies 57 (56), pp. 1-34 : 27-28

Siderastrea savignyana Milne Edwards and

Haime, 1850

( Fig. 27 )

Synonym: Siderastrea savignyana Milne Edwards & Haime, 1850.

Material examined: Abu-Musa Island ( ZUTC 6633).

Other Material: Nay-Band Bay ( ZUTC 6634).

Description: The living colony has light blue color. Colony is thick encrusting to submassive. Corallum surface with irregular humps. Corallites arrangement is cerioid and formation by extratentacular budding. Corallites are polygonal to subcircular in outline and small-sized (maximum diameter 3 mm). 24-30 septa are in 2 orders. The inner free margin of the second order septa curve and fuse with first order septa, forming the characteristic triangular group or wedge commonly found in the families Siderastreidae and Coscinaraeidae. Septal free upper margin gently and regularly sloping towards the center of the calice. Wall is synapticulothecal with 2 clearly visible rings and the inner one often incomplete. Columella well developed, a solid mass and slightly elongated or oval in outline.

Remarks: This species mostly founds in the sedimentary substrate, and sometimes have to take the sediments off to find it. This species is considered to be the mono-species of Siderastrea in the Persian Gulf and is restricted to west of Indo-Pacific.

Distribution: Relatively common in the Iranian waters.

Figures

Fig. 27. (a-b) Siderastrea savignyana from Abu-Musa Island; (c) corallites; (d) synapticulothecal theca with two rings. Scale bar = 1 mm. © 2018 Academia Sinica, Taiwan