Cyphastrea, Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848

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 : 13-14

Cyphastrea microphthalma (Lamark, 1816)

( Fig. 13 )

Synonym: Astraea microphthalma Lamarck, 1816; Cyphastrea aspera Quelch, 1886; Cyphastrea gardineri Matthai, 1914; Cyphastrea muelleri Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851; Cyphastrea savignyi Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849.

Material examined: Abu-Musa Island ( ZUTC 6599), Sirri Island ( ZUTC 6600).

Other Material: Kish Island ( ZUTC 6601).

Description: Colony is irregular and sub massive to encrusting. Corallites arrangement is plocoid and formation by extratentacular budding. They are circular in outline, average diameter 2 to 3 mm. Septa are in 2 orders with 10 primary and 10 secondary septa (in most calices); primary septa markedly exert, reaching the columella, secondary septa are less exert and short (< R /3 on average). Secondary septa limited to the wall. Septal margins finely serrated. At the base of the septal margin, occasionally one long, thin, twisted paliform structure extends vertically or obliquely upwards at times merging with the columella. Costae present, first order well developed bearing 2 or 3 blunt spines, second order is little developed or obsolete. Coenosteum is covered with granules or blunt spines, themselves bearing minute starshaped ornamentations. Columella is trabecular (compact).

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

Figures

Fig. 13. (a-b) Cyphastrea microphthalma from Sirri and Abu-Musa Islands; (c-d) close-up of corallites, coenosteum and septal arrangement. Scale bar = 1 mm. © 2018 Academia Sinica, Taiwan