Platygyra, Ehrenberg, 1834

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 : 16-18

Platygyra daedalea ( Ellis and Solander, 1786)

( Fig. 16 )

Synonym: Madrepora daedalea Ellis & Solander, 1786; Astroria astraeiformis Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Astroria daedalea ( Ellis & Solander, 1786); Astroria esperi Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849; Caeloria daedalea (Ellis & Scholander, 1786); Coeloria astraeiformis ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Coeloria esperi ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Coeloria rustica (Dana, 1846); Maeandra astraeiformis ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Maeandra daedalea ( Ellis & Solander, 1786); Maeandrina daedalea ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Maeandrina rustica Dana, 1846; Meandra esperi ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Platygyra astraeiformis ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Platygyra esperi ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849); Platygyra rustica (Dana, 1846).

Material examined: Abu-Musa Island ( ZUTC 6606), Sirri Island ( ZUTC 6607).

Other Material: Kish island ( ZUTC 6608), Nay-Band Bay ( ZUTC 6609).

Description: Colony is encrusting and massive to sub massive. Corallites arrangement is meandroid. Septa are in two orders (mostly distinguishable). Septa slightly exert above the wall. Septal margins ornamented with teeth. Septal side frequently connected by a thin vertical ridge running parallel to the valley axis above the wall. Exertness of septa above the theca (ES) 1-2 mm, valley width (VW) 4-5 mm, valley depth (VD) 4.5-6 mm (vertically from the columella to the top of the septa). Paliform lobes absent. Columella present. Wall is thin and not perforated.

Remarks: The genus Platygyra is a common throughout the Indo-Pacific and its species displays wide genotypic and phenotypic variation ( Veron et al. 1977). The specimens showed different colony forms and colors in the field ( Fig. 16 a-b), but skeletal examination indicated their corallites traits (VW, VD, ES, etc.) are stable, so that collected specimens belonged to a single species.

Distribution: Widespread in the Persian Gulf, Red Sea and Indo-Pacific.

Figures

Fig. 16. (a-b) Different colonies of Platygyra daedalea from Abu-Musa (rather flat) and Sirri Islands (spherical); (c-d) close-up of corallites. Scale bar = 1 mm. © 2018 Academia Sinica, Taiwan