Dendrophyllia cornigera (Lamarck, 1816)

Filander, Zoleka N., Kitahara, Marcelo V., Cairns, Stephen D., Sink, Kerry J. & Lombard, Amanda T., 2021, Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) from South Africa, ZooKeys 1066, pp. 1-198 : 1

Dendrophyllia cornigera (Lamarck, 1816)

Fig. 8K, L

Madrepora ramea . - Linnaeus 1758: 797.

Caryophyllia cornigera Lamarck, 1816: 228.

Dendrophyllia cornigera . - Milne-Edwards and Haime 1848c: 100. -Lacaze-Duthiers 1879: 216, pl. 11, fig. 8. -von Marenzeller 1904a: 313, pl. 18, fig. 21. - Moseley 1881: 198. - Gravier 1920: 104, pl 12, figs 186-192. -Joubin 1922: 8, figs 4, 5. -van der Horst 1926: 44. -van der Horst 1928: 1, pl. 1, fig. 1. - Best 1970: 315, fig. 15. -Zibrowius et al. 1975: 97, pl. 5G. -Zibrowius 1979: 19, pl. 1, figs 1, 2. - Zibrowius 1980: 172-175, pl. 87, fig. 1A. - Blainville 1834: 354. - Ocaña et al. 2015: 44-43. - Cairns 2001: 33.

Type locality.

Unknown, presumed to be off the Mediterranean ( Zibrowius 1980).

Type material.

Type specimen is presumably lost ( Zibrowius 1980).

Material examined.

DEFF/SAEON_ D00817 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 23 km from Plettenberg Bay / 25 km off Piesang Estuary, 34°16'15.60"S, 23°24'50.40"E; 95 m. SAMC_A072969 (1 specimen): Locality data unknown; 125 m. SAMC_A072982 (2 specimens): Southern margin, 14 km from Pringle Bay / 16 km off Buffels Oos Estuary, 34°23'48.00"S, 18°41'05.99"E; 88 m. SAMC_A073003 (9 specimens): Locality data unknown. SAMC_A073010 (2 specimens): Eastern margin, 20 km from Durban / 13 km off Mbokodweni Estuary, 30°01'05.87"S, 31°03'11.88"E; 150 m. SAMC_A073023 (3 specimens): Locality data unknown. SAMC_A073031 (3 specimens): Eastern margin, 12 km from Port St. Johns / 11 km off Bulolo Estuary, 31°44'17.87"S, 29°32'42.00"E; 300 m. SAMC_A073087 (3 specimens): Eastern margin, 32 km from Port Dunford / 33 km off Mlalazi Estuary, 29°11'24.00"S, 31°59'23.99"E; 50 m. SAMC_A073148 (3 specimens): Eastern margin, 26 km from Cape Vidal / 25 km off St Lucia Estuary, 27°54'18.00"S, 32°37'59.87"E; 105 m. SAMC_A073174 (1 specimen): Eastern margin, 132 km from Coffee Bay / 13 km off Bitou Rivier Estuary, 31°58'48.00"S, 29°16'48.00"E; 90 m. SAMC_A073272 (1 specimen): Locality data unknown; 101 m. SAMC_A090119 (2 specimens): Eastern margin, 28 km south of Ponta Do Ouro / 18 km off Kosi Bay Estuary, 27°06'29.99"S, 32°52'54.00"E; 70 m. SAM_H1361 (2 specimens): Southern margin, off CAPE ST BLAIZE; 212 m. SAM_H3062 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 11 km from East London / 5 km off Gouda Estuary, 33°05'03.24"S, 27°49'33.40"E; 146- 238 m. SAM_H3063 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 28 km from Gonubie / 27 km off Buffalo Estuary, 33°09'29.99"S, 28°03'06.00"E; 86 m. SAM_H3147 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 15 km from Port Alfred / 11 km off Riet Estuary, 33°39'18.00"S, 27°01'36.00"E; 90 m. SAM_H3148 (1 specimen): Eastern margin, 32 km from Coffee Bay / 9 m off Ntlonyane Estuary, 32°15'00.00"S, 29°00'47.99"E; 90 m. SAM_H3412 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 14 km from Gansbaai / 31 km off Bot River Lagoon, 34°36'35.99"S, 19°12'36.00"E; 78 m. SAM_H3839 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 9 km from East London / 6 km off Buffalo Estuary , 33°04'00.00"S, 27°56'59.99"E; depth unknown. SAM_H3840 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 15 km from Pringle Bay / 14 km off Buffels Oos Estuary, 34°15'06.00"S, 18°44'48.00"E; 53 m. SAM_H3841 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 12 km from Pringle Bay / 10 km off Buffels Oos Estuary , 34°17'35.99"S, 18°45'00.00"E; depth unknown. SAM_H3842 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 19 km from Pringle Bay / 16 km off Buffels Oos Estuary, 34°12'36.00"S, 18°46'41.99"E; 40 m. SAM_H3843 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 12 km from Pringle Bay / 10 km off Buffels Oos Estuary , 34°17'35.99"S, 18°45'00.00"E; depth unknown. SAM_H3844 (1 specimen): Southern margin, 12 km from Pringle Bay / 11 km off Buffels Oos Estuary, 34°17'59.99"S, 18°44'30.00"E; 40 m. USNM 91827 (6 specimens): Eastern margin, 26 km from Durban / 22 km off Beachwood Mangroves, 29°48'00.00"S, 31°16'00.00"E; 232 m.

Imagery data.

BMNH 1939.7.20.8 (2 specimens): Eastern margin, off Umhloti River mouth; depth unknown. BMNH 1939.7.20.317 (2 specimens): Locality data unknown. ZMA 1194 (2 specimens): Southern margin; 95 m.

Description.

Colony bushy, stemming from an elongate, cylindrical, and firmly attached axial corallite that has a robust pedicel (PD:GCD = 1.1). Secondary corallites ceratoid/trochoid to cylindrical. Calice circular to slightly elliptical (GCD:LCD = 1.0-1.1); calicular margin lanceted. Largest corallite examined (axial) 9.3 × 8.3 mm in CD, 9.9 mm in PD, and 55.0 mm in H. Costae conspicuous throughout corallum, broad, equal in width, flat, slightly porous, and granular. Intercostal furrows shallow and quite porous. Corallum white.

Septa hexamerally arranged in four complete cycles according to the formula: S1 ≥ S2 > S4 > S3 (48 septa). S1 independent, not reaching columella, and bear dentate (occasionally smooth) axial margins. Remaining septa (S2-4) also bear dentate axial margins, of which that of S4 having conspicuously longer teeth. S2 also independent, as wide to only slightly smaller than S1. S3 least wide septa. S4 arranged in a Pourtalès plan: in each system a pair of S4 neighbouring S1 curves towards common S2, fusing with S4 closer to S2 deeper in fossa before reaching columella. Septal faces finely granular. Fossa moderately deep, containing a spongy columella.

Distribution.

Regional: Western to eastern margins of South Africa, from off Pringle Bay extending towards off Kosi Bay Estuary (28 km south of Ponta Do Ouro: Mozambique); 40-300 m. Elsewhere: Mediterranean ( Duncan 1873; Ocaña et al. 2015); Morocco (Zibrowius 1983); Celtic Sea (Joubin 1922); off France (Lacaze-Duthiers 1879; Moseley 1881); Bay of Biscay ( Milne-Edwards and Haime 1848c); Portugal ( Zibrowius 1980); Canary Islands ( Gravier 1920); Maldives; Almirantes; and Providence (van der Horst 1926); 89-600 m.

Remarks.

Dendrophyllia cornigera has been systematically recorded in the southwest Indian Ocean (van der Horst 1926), specifically off the southern Agulhas (von Marenzeller 1904a; van der Horst 1927) and KwaZulu-Natal region ( van der Horst 1927; Cairns and Keller 1993). Nonetheless, the examined specimens are in accordance with the description of Mediterranean specimens ( Zibrowius 1980). Dendrophyllia cornigera is distinguished from D. arbuscula and D. cladonia by S4 bearing a distinctively long dentate axial margins as compared with S4 bearing slightly dentate to laciniate axial margins ( D. arbuscula and D. cladonia ).

Figures

Figure 8. A, B Balanophyllia (Balanophyllia) diffusa A (USNM 91782, off Port St. Johns, 138 m) calicular view B (USNM 91780, off Kosi Bay Estuary, 74 m) calicular view C, D Balanophyllia (Balanophyllia Balanophyllia) sp. cf. Balanophyllia Balanophyllia malouinensis C (SAM _ H 3069, off East London, 146 - 238 m) calicular view D (SAM _ H 3068, off Mazeppa Bay, 174 m) lateral view E, F Balanophyllia (Eupsammia) stimpsonii (SAM _ H 3831, off Cape Point, 97 - 99 m) E calicular view F lateral view G, H Dendrophyllia arbuscula (SAMC _ A 073119, off Cape Vidal, 65 - 70 m) G calicular view H lateral view I, J Dendrophyllia cladonia I (SAM _ H 1445, off Plettenberg Bay, 146 m) calicular view J (SAM _ H 2833, off Gonubie, 155 m) lateral view K, L Dendrophyllia cornigera K (USNM 91827, off Durban, 232 m) calicular view L (SAM _ H 3841, off Pringle Bay, depth unknown) lateral view M, N Dendrophyllia dilatata (SAMC _ A 073016, off Richards Bay, 500 m) M calicular view N lateral view O, P Dendrophyllia ijimai O (USNM 91844, off Shaka's Rock, 68 - 70 m) calicular view P (SAMC _ A 090121, off Port Dunford, 85 m) lateral view. Scale bars: 10 mm (A - I, K, M, O); 100 mm (J, L, N, P).