K. Venkataraman Ch Satyanarayana c co K. o ｖｅｎｋｾｔａｒｍ＠ CH.SATYANARAYANA Zoological Survey of India, ｍ ｾ ｂｬｯ｣ｫＬ＠ New ａｬｩｾ･Ｌ＠ Kolkata ｾ＠ 700 053 ,Zlolologica Survey of ndia Kolkata CITATIO N V,e nkataraman, K. and Ch. Satyanarayana. 2012. Coral Identification manual: 1-136. (Published by the Director, 2001. Surv. India, Kolkata) Published: May, 2012 ISBN Ｙ Ｗ Ｘ ｾ Ｑ ＮｳｴＷＱ＠ ...308..7 © Govt. loj India, 2012 [ Printing of Publication Supported by NBA ) Published at the Public.ation Division by the Director Zoological Survey of India, M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata - '700 053. Print1e d at M j s Calcutta Repro Graphics, Kolkata- 700 006. ｾｃﾫｦｔ＠ NAT 0 A 810 V - SITY A 'qJ'«f 'E't «$1 ( OR TV Govt. of India OR WOR Coral Reefs are home for a variety ,of fJlora , fauna and micr,obes and the we,alth ,of ecological lprocesses that ecosystem 'on earth,. In India, al the threle major reeftYlpes (atol!l support ,all of these, forming the most ､ｾｮ｡ｭｩ｣＠ firinging and banrier) Ｌ ｯ｣ｵｾ＠ and the region includes ,some ,o f the most diverse, extensive ,and Ileast disturbed reef areas of the Indian Ocean, many of which are ,among the least scientifica Iy known. There are four major reef regions in ｾｮ､ ｩ｡＠ on aU sides of itscoastrne. The Gulf of IKachchh lin the northwest, Palik Bay and Gulf of Mannar in the southeast, the Andaman and lNicobar Iisiands on the east and Lakshadwe'ep ,archipela,go lin the west. l ndia bas a combination of main Iand reefs and near pristine continental and oceanic r,eefs. The diversity of corals in India was estimated to be 199 species under 71 genera till the r-ecent past. With the eff-orts of Zoological Survey of India by w.ay of ,conductingfaun'stic surveys and International expeditions in the past decade, we currently have information ,on 345 species belongin,gto 87 genera. The status of he,alth of corals and coral re,efs in the world is very allarming. Out of 845 known specie,s of reefbuild'ng cor,als of the world, only 704 ,sp'ecies have enough data to assess their status. Of these, 5 species are critically endangered, 25 are endangered and 201 ,are in the vulnerable category. Near threatened a e 176 and Iremaining 297 are in the Ileast concern ,category. Even though our country stands 10th in the worlld with a cora Ireef ar-ea ,of 5790 sq km, lits status is Irather poor with most of the reefs being in ,a degraded state Iprimarily due to anthropogenic i nterference. The pressure on naturall habitats associated with increasing population, dimate change and economic growth will ,continue to lead to the Iloss of cor,al reef diiversity. Therefore, the Zoollogica Survey of India has taken ,conservation and mana,gement measures of the ,oorals to Iprotect the reefs by conductiingstatus surveys through national and international initiatives. The present book is a very good attempt to develop ,capacity in better understanding of the diversity as wei as taxonomy of ,ooral reefs. I stlrongly believe that the information catered in this book will not only help in better management of our corals but also provide ,a base for science based policy making. In this decade of biodiversity, I whole hearted Y appreciate and congratu ate this attempt t o develop the ,capacity in coral taxonomy which in turn willi ,conserve and IProtectcoralsand coral reefs which ,are designated underwaterpar,adlises. (Balakrishna Pisupati) Chairma NationalllBiodiversity Authority Apri1 130,2012 5th Floor, TICEL Biopark, CSIR Road, Taramani, Chennai 600113. Tami nadu, India . (l) +9144 22541805; A +9144 22541073 ｾ＠ ohairman@nbailldia.in Web: www.nbaindia.org e PREFACE "The corals constitute ,a chaot' c collection of ind' viduals and the uncertainty as to what may be considered a species is the first problem that must confront anyone who happens to study corals." - an opinion expressed by Wood Jones, a renowned British observational naturalist in the early twentieth century (1907) is still valid today because of the variety and variedness in the body and skeletal struchme of corals. Cora s ga' ed s' gnific ,ce because 0 the; ability to for the · agnificent, wo de ful and beautiful reef ,ecosystems in the shallow regions of marine environment, which in turn provide ,a n array of benefits to the humankind. Unfortunately, very little is known about the identity of these beautiful animals because of their occurrenoe in relatively less inaocessible media and difficulties faced while studying them. Many of them ,a r'e disappearing very fast before their identity is known and it is predicted that this valuable group of animals along with their ･｣ｯｳｹｴｾｭＬ＠ which appeal1ed on this earth many millions of years ago may disappear in less than a centu-.ry. 'G lobal warming is considered as a major destroyer in addition to many biotic and abiotic threats. There is a dire need to know about these animals, especially to ,c onserve and protect them for the benefit of sustenance of life on earth. This Training Manual, produced for building c,a pacity in the taxonomy of true corals (Scleractinia), which ar,e one of the few highly threatened groups due to human impacts and global w,armin,g, not only develops taxonomic skill in this neglected group but also inculcates a sense of belongin,gness, which ultimately and Wldoubtedly leads to its conservation. This book produces excellent results if it is used as a guide during Capacity Building Workshops on Coral Taxonomy. Information about the coral taxa recorded from India are dealt in this book and made simple for usage in neighbouring counties also . The primary aim in producing this book is to develop interest in ,coral identification, which is being considered as a difficult task to ,achieve, due to lack of simplified guides. With this aim, definitions used in coral identification were made ,a s simple as possible and d,e scriptions also made a bit elabor,a tive where ever necessary. Considering the fragile ,a nd endangered nature of these organisms, developing the capacity in taxonomy helps in their discovery, inventorisation and conservation. Finally, it is expected that the field identification of cor,als prepares the enthusiast1) on the long path of becoming a coral taxonomist. We take this OPPOI tunity to acknow edge the M' 'stry 0 Enviro ent and Fo ests, Government of India and National Biodiversity Authority for their support in bringing out this publication. May, 2012 Venkataraman, K. Ch. Satyanarayana CON ENTS INTRO DUC'T ION ........................................ '.......................................................................................... 1 ,CORAL REEFS IN INDIA ...................................................................................................................... 2 BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF CORALS .... '......... '.'....................................................................................... 8 ,C ORAL T AXON10 MY ...........................................................................'........... '..................................... 11 LIST OF SCERATINIAN SPECIES RECORDED IN INDIA ........................................................ 14 IDENTIFYING A HARD CORAL ......................................................................................... ,............. 23 DIFFICULTIES IN CORAL IDENTIFICATION ..............................'.............................................................. 29 TAXONOMIC INFORMATION OF SCLERACTINIAN CORALS ............................................. 33 Ord,er 'Sci,e ractinia Bourne, 1900 ........................................................................... ,....................... 33 Fantily Acroporidae Verrill, 1902 ......................... '.................. '................................................. 35 Family Ag,aricli,d ae Gray, 1,847 .......................... '............................... '............................................ 56 Family Astroco'e niidae Koby, 1890 ....................................................................................... ,... 63 Family Caryophyllidae ...................................................................................................................... 164 Family Oen dropbylliidae Gray, 1847 ..................................................................................... 68 Family Eupbylliidae Gray, 1847 .......................................... '........... '......... '......... '......... '........... '... 73 Family Faviidae 'G reg,ory, 1900 . .................. ,........... ,........... ,......................................................... 75 Family F abellidae ............................................................ '....... '.................................................... 90 Family Fungiidae Dana, 1846 .................................................................................... '............................... 94 Family Merulinidae V,erriIl, 1866 ................................................................................................... 102 Family Mussidae Ortmann, 1,890 .......................................................................................... 104 Family Oculinidae Gray, 1847 '.'......... '.'....... '.......... '.'................. '.......... '.,.......... ,....... ,........... ,.......... 108 Family P,e ctiniidae Vaughan & Wells, 1943 ............................................................................ 109 Family Pocilloporldae Gray, 1842 ................................................................................................ 112 Family Poritidae Gray, 1842 ........................ '........... '............................. '................................... 115 Family Rhizangiidae ............................ '.................. '........... ,........................................................ 123 Family Siderastreidae Vaughan & W'e lls, 1943 ....................................................................... 124 Family TrachyphyUiidae Verrill, 1'901 .............................. ,.................................................... 127 GLOS,S A,RY ...... '...................................................................... '........... '.................................................................... 128 SU'G GESTED READING ................................................................................................................. 133 INTRODUCTION :rr oral reefs e one of the most ｡ｮｾ･ｴ＠ and ､ｾｩ｣＠ ecosystems of India. ｾ･＠ coral ｲｾｳ＠ not only provIde a sanctuary to a myriad of manne life but ,also playa key role m protectmg the oastline from erosion. In addition, people living along the 8000 km long coastal stretch of India depend on coral reefs for their livelihood. India is ,centr.ally placed within the warm tropical region of the Indian Ocean and exhibits extensive coral reefs throughout its marine territories. G Reef-building corals (= true, hard, stony or hermatypic) are among the most import.ant contributors to the reef structure. As per the recent global estimate, shallow coral reefs oocuPY 2,84,300 sq km, an area ,a bout half the size of Mada,gascar. This estimate is 1.2 % of the worldi s continental shelf ar,ea, and only 0.09 percent of the total area ,of the w,o rld's oceans. Cor.al reefs are scarce, but critically important r,esource. They provide shelter, food and protection for a diverse array of marine plants and animals. Efforts to quantify the total numbers of species, which are found on reefs, remain largely restricted to wild extrapolations and estimates. As many as 100,000 species may have been named and described world wide from reefs, but the total number inhabiting the world' s ｲｾ･ｦｳ＠ may be anything between half and 2 million, perhaps more. Large portions of the world's coral reefs occur within the Indian Ocean. The total ,a rea of ,c oral reefs in India is estimat-ed to be 2,379 sq km, which is less than one percent of al the coral reef areas in the world. The most diverse region of the world for coral reefs is centered on the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia ,a nd apua ew Guinea, w ith between 500 ,a nd 600 species of coral in each of these countries. Unfortunately, these are also some of the most threatened ,c oral reefs of the world. There ave 345+ species of hard corals hav,e been recorded within four major ,c oral reefs of India viz. Gulf of Mannar, Gulf of Kachchh (= Kutch), Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands, ,a nd as resear,c h continues, many more are expected to be discovered in the coming years. For example a GCRMN' Coral genera identification Training (December 1999) yielded 13 new records from Andaman (New Wando or area: unpublished data by Zoological Survey of India) and the GOI/ UNDP/GEF diving mission yielded 234 species of which 110 are new records to India (Turner et al., 2001). Still more studies are required to complete the inventorisation in the remote ar'eas of the Andaman ,a nd Nicobar Islands as well as other reef areas of Indian main land. The coral ,a ssemblages of Indian reefs are of great interest to evolution and biogeography because they stem from a blend of widespread ｉｮ､ｯｾｰ｡｣ｩｦ＠ species ,a nd species unique to the Lndian Ocean as well as local waters. The studies ,o n taxonomy of Indian coral reef started in India as early as 1847 by Rink in Nicobar Islands and later in 1898 by Thurston in Gulf of Mannar region. Edgar Thurston collected several specimens froOm Rameswaram, (Gulf of Mannar) at a time as FoOote (1888) has aptly commented when the place was "the most oOut of the way, an Un-get-able" one in India. Thurst"Ons/s collections were later studied by Brook (1893) and Bernard (1897, -1905). Brook (1893) r,eco,g nized 8 species of Acropora frQm Ramesw,aram, out of which, A. multicaulia, A . thurstoni and A . indica hav,e been described.as new. Alcock (1893) published an account of some ahermatypic corals from the seas around India. Later Alcock (1898) described 25 species of Ｂ､･ｰ ｾ ｳ･｡＠ Madrepo aria" dredged by the Royal Indian M,a ine Survey ship "Investigator" from depth of more than hundred fathoms, around Andaman Islands, off Madras, Konkan Coast, off Kerala, Lakshadweep and Maldives. Bernard (1897) has mentioned the oOccurrence oOf ｍｯｮＮｴＺｩｰｾ｡＠ divaricata .(<= M. ramose) and M. fo,liosa in Rameswaram. Bernard (1905) has also described 14 specimens of Porites collected by Thurston from the living and subfossilised reefs of Rameswaram. Gardiner (1904, 1905) has recorded 27 species of corals assignable to 17 genera from Minicoy. Matthai's (1924) work on the coral collecttons of Indian Museum, Calcutta (=Kolkata) has already been alluded to. Matthai (1924 a) has reported a species of Culicia from Chilka Lake, Odisha (;:; 'Orisa). In his catalogue oOfthe "Meandroid Astraoidae", Matthai (1928) has reported the occurr-ence of Symphyllia recta, S. radians ,a nd Platygyra ,lamellina around Mandapam. Gravely (1927) reported on the Scleractinia of the littoral waters of Krusadai Island and nearby places. This lncludes 22 genera and 30 species. He has only mentioOned the occurrence of the genera Goniopora and Porit,es. Sew,e ll (1935) during his ,geogr.aphic and oceanographic researches in Indian waters ,collected 13 species of ,c<orals belonging to 8 genera from 2 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL the raised reefs of Rameswaram and Mandapam. Gravely (1941) noted the presence of the remnants of Pocillopora damicomis at the M,a dras beach. Pillai (1%7) the first Indian worker on ,c orals submitted his Ph 0 thesis on the "Studies on Coralsf.l from Mandapam group of Islands ,of Gulf of Mannar and Chetlet and Minicoy group of islands from Laks I adw,e ep. This thesis is considered to be first of its kind in India on corals, dealing with 125 species of corals belonging to 34 genera and one subgenus in detail, During 1969, Pillai published a series of six papers (Pillai 1969 a, b, c, d, e, f) on the coral species of Gulf of Mannar followed by distribution of ,c orals in Minicoy Atoll, Lakshadweep (Pillai 1971). Pillai (1971 ,a, b, c, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977) ,c ontributed on composition, distribution, coral resources, and human ,effects on ,c orals of Gulf of Mannar. Lat-er Pillai (1977, 1977, 19'78, 1983) also published a series of account on the ,cor.als of Andaman and Nicobar Islands with the impetus gained from the earlier works on the collection ,o f Andaman and Nicobar Islands jointly with Scheer (Scheer and Pillai, 1974). His work with Patel in 1988 on the Sderactinian corals from the Gulf of Kachchh is the only work from that region. Only a very few stray papers were published by Pillai after his cr,e am publication on the Goral reefs of India, their conservation and management (Pillai, 1996). Excepting the taxonomic studies of Pil1ai, there is no other ,c ontribution on corals till late nineties probably-due t-o the risks involved in diving. Aft"€r the massive and devastating bleaching event in 1998 Zoologic.al Survey of India has responded positively t-o the conservation efforts of the world r,e ef community. The outcome in the form of scientific output includes 1. The first authentic r'e port of ,c oral bleaching in the Indian waters (Gulf of Marmar) reported. 2. The myth of high mortality of coral reefs due to bleaching at Andamans was also broken by the International Expedition ,c arried out by ZSI in Andaman waters. 3. Studies by ZSI on Lakshadweep reefs rev,e aled the disastrous bleaching event which is responsible for a coral mortality amounting t-o more than 60% and its due to bleaching because of its recovery in subsequent years. 4. 'G ulf of Kutch is the least ｡ｦｾ｣ｴＭ･､＠ location in semiarid and industrial infested environment. 5.The elevated reefs of Gulf of Kutch and continental reefs of Andamans has the pot-ential to seed the ravaged reefs in the Indian Ocean region especially veefs like Maldivian reefs which are much affected due t-o 1998 bleaching ,event. In addition to this, Indian Coral Reef Mo ·toring Network was started and major surveys and capacity building efforts were carried out through the well trained scientists from Zoological Survey of India and impetus was provided to other reef researchers in India. The training of about 150 Indian reef researchers by the scientists of Z.oological Survey of India after their training in Australia under India..Australia Trainin,g and Capacity Building Programme and the discovery of the pristine and diverse condition of Andaman reefs by the scientists of ZSI and UNDP/ GEF are some of the big leaps forward in Indian r,e e! research. Couple of important public.ations in the form of hand books on taxonomy of hardcorals (Venkataraman et al., 2003, Satyanarayana and Ramakrishna, 2009) were brought out with the description of some more new records t-o India. The present effort is also a follow up of that r,e lentless initiative. CORAL REEFS N INDIA All the three major reef types occur in India (atoll, frin,gm,g and barrier). Within these habitats the Indian Ocean, To this day, many ,of these reefs are larg,e ly unstudied. The mainland ,c oast of India has two widely separated areas containing ｲｾ･ｦｳＺ＠ the Gulf of Kachchh in the northwest, which has some of the most northerly reefs in the world, and Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar in the southeast. In additton to these, there are patc 'es of reef growth on the W,e st Coast, for examp e coral ｲｾ･ｦｳ＠ at Malvan. The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have fringing reefs around many islands, and a long barrier reef (329 km) ,o n the west coast. Little is known about these reefs, which may be the most ､ｩｶｾｳ･＠ and pristi-.ne reefs in India, The Lakshadweep also has extensiv,e reefs but these are also poorly explored. are some of the most diverseJ exte sive and least disturbed reefs i The Indian landmass forms a major physical division between the Arabian Sea and the Bay of BengaL Oceanographically, the Bay of Bengal differs from the Arabian Sea in maintaining clockwise circulation of major currents during both the northeast and southwest monsoons. The cir,c ulation in the Arabian Sea reverses, with surface water masses circulating ,c ounter clockwise during the northeast monsoon ,a nd clockwise during the southwest monsoon. There is also major difference in salinity. In the Arabian Sea, ,e vaporation exceeds precipitation and runoff, leading to the formation 3 V£NKATARAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA Major coral reef areas in India of highly saline water masses that flow south. The Bay of Bengal has comparatively low salinity due to hi,g h runoff and precipitation-i during the southwest monsoon, maximum salinity is found at depths of about 500 m as highly saline water moves into the Bay from the Indian Ocean. Indian subco tinent with its ,coastline extending ov'e 8,000 I , and subtrQPical c '" atic conditio has very few cor,al reef areas when compared to other regions of the world. In India, the reefs are distributed along the east and west coasts at restricted places. However, ,all the major reef types are repr,e sented. Fringing r,e eis are found in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. Platform reefs are seen along the Gulf of Kachchh. Patchy reefs are present near Ratnagiri and Malvan ,coasts. Fringing and barrier reefs are fou-.nd in Andaman and icobaI Islands. Atoll reefs a-.re foand in Lakshadweep. The absence of reef in Bay of Bengal (North East Coast) is attributed to the immense quantity of freshwat-er and silt brought by the rivers such as Ganga, Krishna and Godavari. Satellite imagery (Space Application Centre! Ahmedabad) shows scattered patches of 'c orals in the intertidal areas ,a nd occasionally at subtidal depths along the West Coast of India notably at Ratnagiri, Malvan and Rede Port. I I The mainland ,c oast of India has the Gulf -of Kachchh· the orthwest (Gujarat State) and Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar in the southeast (Tamil Nadu Stat-e). Other than these important off shore island grQUPS of India, the Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal ,a nd Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea also have extensive reef growth. The total area -of coral reefs in India is estimat-ed to be 2,375 sq km. EAST COAST OF INDIA PALKBAY Coral reefs on the Tamil Nadu coast (South East Coast) are located in Palk Bay near Rameswaram and in the Gulf of Mannar. Mandapam peninsula and Rameswaram Islands separ,a te Palk Bay from the Gulf of Mannar. The reef is centered at 90 17' N and 79'1.5' E. There is only one fringing reef in the Palk Bay, which lies along the mainland from the Pamban channel at the Pamban end of the bridge to Rameswaram Island. This reef is 25-30 km long, and generally less than 200 m wide; maximum depth is ,a round 6 m. They are situated almost parallel to the shore in an ･｡ｳｴ ｾ ｷ･ｳｴｲｬｹ＠ direcHon. 4 CORAL IDENTIPICA'flON MANUAL The lagoon is shallow and ,c an be waded through at lowest tides. The width of the lagoon varies from 200 to 600 m 'e ters in different regions. A ,c hannel with two to three meters depth almost at the mid length of the reef, through which fishing boats enter the lagoon, divides the reef into the eastern and western halves. The eastern half, which extend eastward up to Pamban Pass, is called Kathuvallimunai Reef, while the western half, which extends westward up to Thedai is ,c alled Vellaperthumunai Reef. The Kathuvallimunai reef is comparatively wider than the VellaperthumU.-na· reef for most of its length. Visibility is poor due to siltation and it is influenced by the northeast monsoon. The reef flat is relatively broad from Pamban channel to the southern end near Ramnad and narr,o w from Pamban t,o south 'o f Ra 'e swaram. Map of Palk Bay GULF OF MANNAR The Gulf of Marmar reefs on the other hand are developed around a chain of 21 .slands that lie along the 140 km stretch between Tuticorin and Rameswaram. These islands are located between latitude 8° 47' and 9D 15'_ and longitude 78° 12'E ,and 79014' E, The islands lie at ,a n ,a verage distance of 8 km from the main land. They are a part of the Marmar Barrier reef, which are 140 km long and 25 kIn wide between Pamban and Tuticorin. Different types of reef forms such as shore, platform, patch and fringing type are ,also observed in the Gulf of Mannar. The islands have fringing coral reefs and patch reefs around them. Narrow fringing reefs ar,e located mostly ,a t a distance of 50 t-o 100 m from the islands_ On the other hand, patch reefs rise from depths of 2 to 9 m and extend to 1 to 2 km in length with width as much as 50 meters. Reef flat is ext-ensive in ,a lmost all the reefs . the Gulf of Mannar. Reef ve,g etation is richly distributed on these ｾ･ｦｳＮ＠ The total area occupied by reef and its associated features is 94 sq km. Reef flat and reef vegetation including algae 'occupies 65 and 14 sq km, respectively (0.0.0 and S.A.C../ 1997). Usually monsoons./ coral mining and high sedimentation load affect the visibility. These reefs are more luxuriant and richer than the reefs of Palk Bay. Map of Gulf of Mannar showing 21 islands VeNKATARAMAN AND SATYANARAYANA 5 Pillai (1986) provided ,a ,c omprehensive account of the ,c oral fauna .of this region. There are about 96 species of corals belonging to 38 genera in the Gulf of Mannar. The most commonly occurring genera of corals are Acropora, Montipora and Porites. Coral associates such as ornamental fishes belonging to the family 'O laetodontidae, (butterfly fish); Amphiprion spp (clow fish), Holocentrus spp (squirrelfish), Scams spp (parrotfish), Lutjanus spp (snapper fish) and Abudefdul saxatilis (sergeant Major) are f.ound. Extensive sea grass beds are present; green turtles, olive ridley turtles and du.g.on,gs are dependent on the sea grasses. ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS The Andaman & Nicobar gr-oup of Islands is located in the SE of the Bay of Bengal, between 6 0 .. 14 latitude and 91 94° E longitude. They are the emer.ged part of a mountain chain and lie on a ridge that extends southward fr-om the Irr,a waddy delta a{'\ea of Burma, continuing the trend of the Arakan Yoma r.ange. 0 0 - The Andam,a n and Nicobar consist of 530 islands, of which only 38 are inhabited, along with a number of ,e xposed islets rocks. The principal of these is the North Andaman, Middle Andaman with Ritchies archipelago to the east, South Andaman, little Andaman, and Baratang and Rutland Island. The coral veefs are of fringin.g type ,a nd except for a few investigation reports, t I_e reefs of the area stH largely remain unknown. A deep oceanic ridge alon.g lOoN separates the Andaman IG roup and the Nicobar group islands. The orientation of the chaLn of islands groups is north south. In these island groups there are two Marine National Parks viz., Mahatma Gandhi and Rani Jhansi Marine ｡ｴｾ＠ 0 al Parks. The cora fauna is diverse when compared t-o other parts of India. I WEST COAST OF INDIA MALVAN The West Coast of India between Bombay and Goa is reported to have submerged banks with isolated ,c oral formations <-air and Qasim, 1978). Coral patches have been recorded in the intertidal vegions of Ratnagiri, Malavan and Rede, south of Bombay (Qasim and Waf,e r, 1979) and at the Gaveshani bank, 100 km west to Mangalore ( .a ir and Qasim, 1978). 6 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL Malvan coast forms part of Western Ghats wher,e Sahyadri ranges gradually meet the Arabian Sea. From Ven,gurla point, the coast trends towards north for ,a bout i2 km. From Malvan bay, a chain of submerged and exposed rocky islands extends straight towards south up to 150 53' N and 73 27' E. In this chain, several islands exist includin,g Vengurla Rocks at the Southern tip and Sindhudurg Fort at the northern tip. Other small islets around Sindhudurg Fort are Mandel Rock, Malvan Rock etc. There are numerous exposed rocky outcrops in this area. Sindhudurg is a low fortified island on the coastal reef, which is connected to the mainland by a fringing MMl_.llita ｾＢｉｃ＠ reef. Kalarati and Kolamb rivers flank the Malvan coast in the north and Karli River in the south. The coast mainly consists of granites and genisses and in a f,e w genissic interruptions the rocks are covered by laterite beds. Behind these marine coastal tertiaries, there are genisses up to 16°15' N and further orth Deccan lava starts. Sandy beach,e s and rocky ,c liffs interrupt the coastline near Malavan. Most of the marine flora and f,a una from the intertidal area' s exposed during any low tide. However, during lowest low tides (particularly minus tides), the coral reefs get ,exposed. Porites, Coscinaraea, Tu rbina rial Favia and Pseudosiderastrea are some of genera r,e ported from this coast. Siltation is -of high rate and salinity may chop to 20 ppt during monsoon in some habitats, which may restrict the growth of ec010gically sensitive Map of Malvan forms of ramose corals. Q ｌａｋｓｈｄｾｅｐｉｎ＠ The Lakshadweep Islands lie scattered in the Arabian Sea at about 225 - 450 km from Kerala coast. GeographicallYI the islands lie between 8° N ｾ＠ 12° 3' N latitude and 71'° E ｾ＠ 74° E longitude. The islands consist of coral f'o rmations built up ,o n the 1. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , Laccadive-Chagos submarine ridge rising steeply from iUI 'w e@p a depth of about 1500 m to 4000 m off the west coast of India. The Union Territory of Lakshadweep along with the Maldives and the Chagos Archipelagoes form an interrupted chain of coral atolls and reefs on a continuous submarine bank covering a distance of over 2000 km. This ridge is supposed to be a continuation of the Arravali Mountain, and the islands are believed to be remnants of the submerged mountain cliffs. There are six tiny islands, 12 atolls, 3 reefs and 5 submerged banks, covering an area of 32 km 2 with lagoons occupying about 4200 km2• Only 11 of the 36 islands are inhabited. They are Andrott, Amini, Agatti, Bangaram, BUra, Chetlat, Kadmat, Kalpeni, Kiltan, Minicoy and the headquarters at Kavaratti. The Minicoy ｾ ｉｳｬＮ｡ｮ､＠ is separated from the rest of the islands by a 180 km wide stretch of sea known as the nine..degree channel. The islands are flat and scCllcely rise more than two meters. They are made up of coral sand and boulders that have been ,c ompacted into sandstone. Coral reefs of I!"""""",,_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _- Map of Lakshadweep Islands _....J VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 7 the islands are mainly atolls except one platform at Androt. The reef flat occupies 137 km area, sea grass occupies 11 sq km and lag'o on ,o ccupies 309 sq km (Bahuguna and ayak, 1994). The depth ,o f the sea increases outside the coral reef and can reach up to 1500-3000 m . AndroU is the largest island with an area of 5 sq km and the only island that does not have a lagoon. Birta with an area of 0.10 sq km is the smallest in land area but perhaps has the most magnificent lagoon. All the islands lie north to south, excepting AndroU that lies east t-o west. The distance between them varies from 11 kIn to 378 km. The coral fauna of Lakshadweep is known to harbor 105 species divided among 37 ,g enera (Pillai, 1996). Acropora spp", Pocillopora spp., Porites 5pp. and massiv1e and encrusting favids dominate the lagoon and reef flat faunal elements. Psammocora spp. is common in the northern islands. ｔｨ･ｲｾ＠ is an abundance of blue cor,at Helipora coerulea,. ｍｩｬ･ｰｾ｡＠ spp forms the dominant element in the lagoon. Minicoy has some elements such as LobophyUia and Diploastrea that aIe common to the Mald ives but rarely found in the northern islands. Similarly, the genera Mont-ipora and Echinopora recorded from the northern group of atolls are not recorded in Minicoy. There ,a re 86 species of macrophytes, 10 Anomuran crabs, 81 Brachyuran ,crabs, 155 Gastropods, 24 Bivalves, 13 Sea stars, <6 Brittle stars, 23 Sea ,c ucumbers, 15 Sea urchins and 120 species of fish are found in the Lakshadweep. The gr,e en turtle and the hawks bill turtle are also found in all the islands" GULF OF KACHCHH Gujarat State has 600 km long coastline is very rich in various edible fishes and various types of alg,ae. Veraval and Mongrol are fishing harbours as they produce large quantity of export quality fishes, crabs etc. Mangrol, Porbandar, Okha, Bedi and Dwarka have also got a ,g reat potential value for producing large quantity of such fishes for ,e xport as the Gulf of I<acbchh IS a heaven for their breeding. The Gulf of Kachchh is the richest .source of flora1., faunal, and marine wealth of India, as it gives favorable conditions for breeding and shelter to all marine life in the 42 islands. Extensive mangroves are present in the Indus River Delta forming several islands. The tidal range in the Gulf is I1eported to be as great ,a s 12 fi, but may have seasonal changes with 'e xtreme low tides at certain times of the year (B OWO, 1997). The corals in the Gulf of Kachchh ｳｵｲｶｾ･＠ through extreme environmental conditions such as high temperature, salinity changes and high-suspended particulate loads (Wafar ,et .al., 2000).. Map of Gulf of Kachchh 8 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL The annual rainfall in this area is less than 5 em with maximum precipitation in July-August. As there are no major river 'openings, land runoff is minimal. Relative humidity is highest in August (82'%) and lowest in December-January (60%). Atmospheric temperature varies from IOU C (January) to 35 0 C (May-June). Wind pattern is predominantly seasonal with rare cyclonic disturbances. Predominant wind direction in the Gulf of Kachchh is West southw,esterly and north easterly during June to September and December to March respectively. July is the windiest month with wind speed exceeding 20 knotsJh for the major part of the month (Srivasthava and John, 1977). Dominant direction of the wind is from w'e st or ｷ･ｳｴ ｾｳｯｵｴｨ ｷ Ｌ ･ｳｴＮ＠ Tides in the ,G ulf of Kachchh are mixed, predominantly semidiumal type with a large diurnal inequality (Srivasthava and John, 1977). The ID'e an spring tidal influx extends from the mouth to the dosed end of the Gulf and it has a range of 2. 1 m to 6.2 m. A distinct Qorr'elation exists between the tidal r,a nge ,a nd the tidal current speed. The 'G ulf of Kachchh is elong,a ted in the east west direction and has an ,a ver,a,ge depth of 30 m. Its ,coastal configuration is very irregular with a number of islands, creeks and bays. BIOLOGICAL DIVERSITY OF CORALS At the phyletic level that more accurat,e ly talFes the diversity of evolved Ffe £.0 ms in ,a n ecosystem, 32 of the 34 described phyla are found on coral reefs. In contrast, only 9 are found freeliving in the tropical rain f.orest. Even if freshwater and parasitic forms are included in the ,count, the rain forest total rises to 17 phyla, approximately half of the phyletic diversity of ,coral reefs (porter and Tougas, 2001). Only tropical rainforests ･ｳｴｩｭ｡ｾ､＠ by some 't o be home to a staggering 30 million . sects, have a ｧｲｾ｡ｴ･＠ nu ber of species, a though due to the vast number of fish that' ab't them, reefs contain a larger number of vertebrates than rainforests. The diversity of coral reefs greatly ex:ceeds that 'of any other marine environment. Reefs are home to more species than any other ecosystem in the sea. The total number of reef species in the world is still unknown, but up to 3,000 species can be found together on a single reef in South East Asia and over 1,000 on a single Caribbean reef. Coral reefs harbor rich biodiversity. Of the roughly 1.86 million plant and animal species described, 2,74)000 are thou,g ht to be marine and more than half of these are ｾｯｰＧ＠ cal. At present, there are ,t hought to be 93,000 described species of coral reef plants and animals. Almost 66;000 of these are macroscopic invertebr,ates. At present, no fully comprehensive ｡ｬｉ ｾ ｴ｡ｸ＠ biodiversity inventory has been ,c onducted on a cora reef, but it is obvious that when this is done, the total biodiversity would be extremely high. SCLERACTINIAN CORALS {Hard Corals) The richest reefs, with the greatest diversity of plants and animals are in the region bound by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and southem Japan. Of the 793 or so reef corals that are known in the world, 600 are found in this re,gion; over 400 are found in the Philippines and Japan, and about 350 in Indonesia, there are probably many more to be discovered here. Up to 200 ,corals may occur on as' gle reef in South East As'a. This high ､Ｇｶ Ｌ ･ｲｳｾｴｹ＠ extends equally to othe' reef ｡ｳｯ｣ｾ｢＠ and is partly because of the greatest area of reefs found here and partly because of its geological history. When the sea level was lower, the region comprised of three separate basins, within each of which numerous species evolved. ｲｳｩｴｹＮ＠ Un ti 1998 ｾｴ＠ was thought that the The coral reefs of ndia exhib't extrao d' ary ｢ﾷ Ｌ ｯ､ｾｶ･ diversity of ,c orals includin,g hermatypic and ahermatypic ,c orals amounts to 245 only. The Government of India and UNDP GEF field mission (2001 diving studies) reported a total of 234 species of sderactinian coral from Andam<Ln group of Islands of which 111 are supposed to be new records to India (on verification with other studies only 94 species ,a re found to be new records and this also includes some non..sderactinian ,corals) (Turner et al., 2001). Also the underwater field mission revealed that the co al reefs of the Anda an Islands are globally significant in terms of coral reef diversity. The reefs around the islands were more diverse coral species than expect-ed and less impacted than the other reefs 'of Indian Ocean region. The diversity is also oomparable with numbers of coal reef species in the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua N,e w Guinea, which are areas considered to be the world centers of ,coral diversity. The Andaman Islands have around 80% of the global maximum for coral diversity, suggesting a final count ,c ould veach 4JOO species of coral. VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 9 Other major coral reefs in India such as moderately rich diverse Lakshadweep and high diverse Gulf of Mannar have 1100+ species each excepting Gulf of Kachchh where the diversity is minimum (49 species). CORAL BIOLOGY Corals are the most conspicuous inhabitants of reefs and provide the habitat amongst which fish and other reef animals exist. The term 'coral' has been used to describe a variety of different invertebrate animals from the Phylum Cnidaria including hard corals, soft ,corals, precious corals and hydrocorals. Most 'Often the word c,o ral refers to hiud corals from the Order Scleractinia. Scleractinian ,corals are divided into reef-building corals (hermatypic corals), which form the primary structure of coral reefs, and non-reef building corals (ahermatypic corals), which do not ,c ontribute significantly to reef formation. Hermatypic corals usually contain millions of tiny algal cells, called zooxanthellae, within their tissues. These algae are a primary energy source for the ｲ･ｦｾ｢ｵｩｬ､ｮｧ＠ activities of hermatypic corals,. The ability to recognize individual coral species is essential to decide on reef management and protection. However ther'e are a number of characteristics that Ic an make corals particularly ,e lusive (Lnd difficult to .dentify. Corals a-.re unique animals in that they have the ,abiF ty to change their growth form to suit the habitat in which they live. Dependin,g on the depth, light availability, temperature, water movement and quality, ,a single reef m..ay Ic ontain an array of habitat types. ence, the growth form of the sa, e species of co aI , Iay look different fro ' 0 e type of bab'tat to the next. I add' tio , corals have the ability to hybridize, can reproduce from fragments, se fertilize and change their colouration so variability in growth form is ,a bundant and can ,e ven occur w ' thin a single colony. Most ,coral spec'es have a colonial growth form. Each colony is composed of Dlany 'v' gpo yps that are interconnected t,o form various shapes, which are called as life form categories. Some coral species exist as solitary polyps. in Life from categories of different species of corals in India The structure of a coral is relativlely simple. There is an outer layer of living tissue that secretes a lower layer of hard limestone skeleton. As the colony gr'o ws, additional polyps and more layers of skeleton are added. Over time, individual colonies ot some ,corals such as Porites may grow to reach more than 10 m in diameter and may live for more than 1000 years. The living coral tissue has an outer epidermal layer, which secretes the skeleton, ,a nd an inner tissue layer termed the 'gastrodermis'. Betw'e en these tissues lies a thin, fibrous matrix termed the 'mesogloea'. The mesogloea is greatly expanded in other cnidarians, such as jellyfish, where it provides essential buoy.ancy and -supp-ort, whereas in ,corals the mesogloea is a relatively thin lay,e r because the hard skeleton provides support and protection f,or the tissue. The gastrodermal ,ceils of most reef 'corals 10 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL contain zooxanthellae, which use energy from sunlight for photosynthesis to produce complex ･ｮｲｧｹｾｫｨ＠ sugars, just as land plants do. Corals that ,c'o ntain zoox,a nthellae are termed ! zooxanthellate species'. The relationship between corals and zooxanthellae is ｴｾｲｭ･､＠ as mutualistic symbiotic association since this benefits both. Zooxanthellae gain protection, access to sunlight and a stable environment by living in the coral tissue, and they obtain vital nutrients from the waste products of the ,coral. In retum, the ,coral ,gains access to energy-rich compounds leaked from the zooxanthellae, and also the removal of wastes from its cells. The interacHon of coral tissues and zooxanthellae also enhances the rate ,a t which cor,als calcify and grow. In other wlords, the symbiosis of ,corals and algae is ultimately responsible for the development of coral rleefs. Huge numbers of zooxanthellae live inside the gastrodermal cells of zooxanthellate Icorals, ,a nd ,give these corals their distinctive brown colouration. Zooxanthellae are also found in some other cnidarians, giant dams and other molluscs. The coral polyp is a sac capped with an oral disc that is surrounded by a ring of tentacles. During day ight, the polyps ｡ｾ･＠ usually contracted within the protective coral skelet-on to avoid predation. At night the polyps expand and extend a network of tentacles containing stinging ｣･ｬｳｾ＠ which allows corals to capture and feed upon small plankton and other creatures in the water column. ｾ＠ Cor.als have a life cycle, which includes a ｦｲ･ living planktonic planula phase and a sessile polyp phase, and various asexual and sexual modes of rep oduction. s liv' ng polyps grow and enlarge, they ,e an divide to form new polyps through the process of budding. Other forms of asexual reproduction leading to the development of new colonies are the survival ,o f fragments broken in storms and the detachment polyps from the skeleton. Corals reproduce sexually through the fertilization of e,ggs by sperm, which leads to the development of planula larvae. Sexually mature adult corals develop eggs and sperm within the polyp mesenteries during a ＵｾＹ＠ mo t per" od each year. Sexual ｲ･ｰｯ､ｵ｣ｴｾ＠ on and larval recruitment are critical y important for the establishment and renewal of ooral communities. Sexual reproduction of scleractinian corals Vegetative growth 'o f branching corals VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA t 1 I; oly l uh n Vegetative and sexual life cycle of species of Fungiidae CORAL TAXONOMY ,aId corals aI'e belonging to the Order Scleractinia. There are 793 l'vin,g species of scleractinian corals worldwide (Veron, 2000). While identifying ,corals, it is necessary to look in detail at the morphology of the skeleton. The skeletal structure 'of a single polyp is called a "Gorallite'. This is a cyr _drical cup that is d'vided into segments called 'septa'. The first six septa are ,called 'p imary septa'; while later formed septa are called 'secondary septa', 'tertiary septa', et-c., and are often described as ,cycles of septa. First and second cycles consist of six septa each, the third cycle 12, the fourth 24, the fifth cycle 48, etc. The eaIlier formed septa are usually larger than the later ones. The septa surround the central structure called the 'columella', which is situat-ed below the mouth of the polyp. The inner parts of the septa may form acirde of vertical expansions around the columella, called the 'palHorm lobes', easily distinguishable from both structu es. In colonial corals, individual corallites ,a r'e joined together by skeletal elements termed 'coenosteum', which are secreted by coenoswc tissues between the polyps. The coenosteum forms a complex matrix, or grow as a fused plate, sometimes with elaborate structures. As colonies grow, the polyps expand until they reach a critical size; then the polyps and the associated corallites divide. Where the original polyp divides into two or more polyps, the process is known as 'intratentacular bu dding'. Where new polyps form on the outside of the parent polyp, the pr'Ocess is termed 'extratentacular' budding. This budding process produces a wide range of colony forms, which is the reason for the reef corals being ecologically adaptable and successful. The most common colony forms are plocoid where corallites hav'e separate walls and are united by coenosteum (Favia), ceriod where adjacent corallites share conunon walls (Favites), meandroid where a series of cor,allites form valleys (Platygyra), ,a nd phaceloid whe e 'co ｡ｬｾｴ･ｳ＠ have separate walls and form br.a tched cl ' ps (Dendrophyllia) . 12 CORAL IDENTIf ICA'flON MANUAL The ,g rowth form of the ,c olony can be encrusting where the ske1eton adher,es clos'e ly to the substratum Sidemstrea}, massive (P,ontes lutea)"coluInIl Ｈｇｯｮｩｰｾ｡ＩＬ＠ branching (Acropora, Stylophora), £oliaceous (Turbinaria reniformis) or plate-like (Turbinaria peUata). In some species, the growth form does not vary much among individuals in the population; whereas in most species, the growth form can change greatly depending upon the amount of light, w,a ve ,action, w ,a ter depth, sediment and other environmental factors. In most coral species, the ,corallit-es of each polyp ar'e nearly identical; however, in branching Acropora species, two distinct types of corallites are dev,e loped. Relatively large axial polyps are present at the tip of each growing branch, while the main structure of the br,a nch is formed by a series of smaller radial cor,allites. 'THE SCLERACI' NIAN FAUNA OF NDIA Pillai (1983) recorded a total of 199 species, Venkataraman et al (2003) described 208 species ,a nd Satyanarayana and Ramakrishna added one gener,a and a couple of species to Indan diversity. The table given below and the subsequent check list given is an amalgamation of all the studies carried out till today. This account includes both hermatypic and ahermatypic 'corals recorded from the fQUI major coral reefs of India. The ｦｯｬｷｩｮｾ＠ is the ,c omprehensive list of genera and species of corals of India: Area Lakshadweep Gulf of Kutch I 105 Ahermatypes 4 9 Total 46 114 Hermatypes 23 45 Ahermatypes 4 4 27 49 29 9 86 10 38 96 Hermatypes 59 265 Ahermatypes 12 35 71 300 66 21 301 87 345 Hermatypes Total Total The whole of India Species 42 Ahermatypes Andaman and Nicobar Islands I Hermatypes Total Southeast coast of India Genera Hermatypes Ahermatypes Total 44 The present account includes 18 families, 87 genera and 345 species of Scleractinia from four maJor reefs of India such as Gulf of Kachchh (49 species, 27 gener,a) Lakshadweep (114 species, 46 genera), 'G ulf of Mannar and Palk Bay (96 species 38 ,genera) Andaman and ic,o bar Islands (300 species, '71 genera). The total number of speci,e s of Gulf of Kachchh, Lakshad weep, Gulf of Mannar and Andaman and Nicobar Islands dealt in the present study is more than the previous report by Pillai (1996) due to discovery and inclusion ,o f more new records in the coral re,efs of India. The revision VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 3 of families and genera by the recent workers such as Hoeksema (1989) Carden Wallace (1999) and Veron (2000) has also made some of the earlier reported species as synonyms to the revised ones. Veron (2000) reported 18 families, 111 genera and 793 species of Scleractinia from the world in his three pictorial volumes on the "Corals of the World/, Carden Wallace (1999) reported 114 species of the genus Acropora in her book ,o n HStaghorn corals of the world of which 47 species are reported in this .account. Hoeksema (1989) in his book on the "Taxonomy., phy ogeny and biog€o.g raphy of Mushroom corals" revised 40 species of the family Fungiidae of which 22 are reported in this account. H From 1998 onwards, the coral reef studies in India gained a new direction due to many Training progr.ammes by some of the international agencies, One such training was on the taxonomy of Indian Ocean Coral gen·e ra by the Global Cor.al Reef Monitoring etwork (GCRMN) at Port Blair (December 1999), which yielded 13 new records of Scleractinian corals (unpublished) .also included in this present account. Gov,e mment of India and UNDP GEF field mission (Diving) in the Andaman Islands yielded 234 species of Scleractinian corals of which 197 ar·e alre.a dy reported and 111 are new record to Indian waters, Considerable number of deep water true corals (below 200 meters collected off Indian ·c oast were not included/described in this book due to their rarity. Co lection of Corals ection of co' als is' ,po tant for ,'dentification for ｢ｩｯ､ｾｶ･ｲｳｴｹ＠ ｳｴｵ､ｾ･＠ and for the museums. Hanuner, chisel and a sack ar·e necessary ,e quipments for ·coral collecting. Colour photo.g raphs should be taken before collecting or immediately before making the collection of the specimen, For shallow water ,collection, same procedure should be adopted. Underwater notes can be made on a slate, with surface scratched with fine flint paper, A soft pencil should be used. The pad may be cleaned with soap, water and a brush ,every time before going f.or collection. Small pieces of coral collection as well as the dead coral pieces found on the shore are not useful for identification pwposes (e ..g. Acropora), Collectin.g should be minimized for conservational reasons, and never be performed without proper authorization from the forest authorities since ail the sderactinian corals are protected under wildrfe Act. Dive number, locality, d,e pth, colour and des,c ription of the immed'ate surroundings should be written with a waterproof marker on a solid plastic label attached to the specimen with a soft nylon line. COl Cle.a.ning of the skeleton The labeled specimens should be rotted in fr·e sh wat-er for a week, and the wat-er changed a few times during the process, Then the specimens should be cleaned with a strong water jet and gelatinous epidermis i any, be emoved with a pa'r of forceps. The rotting procedure may be continued for another week, if necessary. The cleaned specimens should be dried in the sun for a fortnight. Rotting and bleaching with hypochlorite solution or bleaching powder should be avoided, as it maJ<es the corals crisp. Labe 'ng The cleaned specimens should be proper y labeled. The label should indicate the locality (name of the reef, name of the island, name of the district, station number, latitude and longitude and depth of the reef and collection) date of collection, name of the collector, name of the boat/ survey and the cruise no etc. The information on the label may be made with printed/photocopied on an overhead projection sheet (transparent plastic sheet with nylon twain) and information may be written using a glassmarking pen Underwater identification A r,e adymade spe.c ies list may be prepared on .an underwater paper with locality, station number, date, latitude, longitude, dive number, name of the person as [ ｾｅ＠ ｾ＠ I' :J -. ,.J ., TuJt: !' : .Low 14 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL shown in the figure below. Along with ,this species list, information on the different features of the coral colony may be noted on an underw,a ter slate or underwater paper. The information such as colour of the species, size of the colony, new recruits, other ,coral ,associates, fishes, topography drawing, bleaching, crown of thorn fish infestation can be noted before emerging from the water. It is always important to go to the field with a buddy and the name of the buddy should be written in the ｮｯｴｾｳＬ＠ the different pl'ie dive prepar,ations, list of precautions taken etc may also be included on the notes. The weather ,c ondition, season and the environmental conditions and sightings of anchor damage, ghost net etc will be valuable information about the ｲｾ･ｦＮ＠ -- LIST OF SCLERACT NIAN SPECIES RECORDED IN IND A FAMILY: CROPORIDAE 1. Montipor,a edwardsi Bernard, 1897 2. Montipota aequituberculata Bernard, 1897 3. Montipora angulata (Lamarck, 1816) 4. Montipora caliculata (Dana, 1846) 5. Montipora capitata Dana, 1846 6. Montipo1:a cocosensis Vaughan, 1918 7. Montipora digitata (D,ana, 1846) 8. Montipora explanata Brueggeman,1879 9. Montipota exserta Quelch, 1886 10. Montipora foUosa (pallas, 1766) 11. Montipora foveolata (Dana, 846) I 12. Montipor,a hispida (Dana, 18(6) 13. Mon.tipota informis Bernard, 1897 14. ｍｯｮｴｩｰｾ｡＠ jonesi Pillai, 1969 15. Montipota manauliensis Pillai, 1969 16. Montipota meandrina (Ehrenberg, 1834) 17. Montipora millepora Crossland, 1952 18. Montipor,a monasteriata (Forskal, 1775) 19. Montipor,a peltiformis Bernard, 1897 20. Montipota spongiosa (Ehrenber,g, 1834) 21. Montipota spumosa (Lamarck, 1816) 22. Montipota tuberculosa (Lamarck, 1816) 23. Montipota turgescens Bernard, 1897 24. Montipo1'<a venosa (Ehrenber,g, 1834) 25. Montipor,a verrilli V.aughan, 1907 26. Mon,tipota verrucosa (Lamarck, 1816) 27. Acropora ,abrotanoides (Lamarck, 1816) 28. Acropora anthocercis (BrQok, 1893) 29. Acropora aspera (Dana, 1846) 30. Acropora auste1'<a (Dana, 1846) VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 31. Acropora brueggemanni (Brook, 1893) 32. Acropora carduus (Dana, 1846) 33. Acropora caroliniana Nemenzo. . 1976 34. Acropora ｣ｾ･｡ｬｩｳ＠ (Dana, 1846) 35. Acropora chesterfieldensis Veron Wallace, 1984 36. Acropora clathr,ata (Brook, 1891) 37. Acropora cophodactyla (Brook, 1892) 38. Acropora cytherea (Dana, 1846) 39. Acropora digiti/era (Dana, 1846) 40. Acropora divaricata (Dana, 1846) 41. Acropora ,donei Veron Wall ace, 1984 42. Acropora echinata (Dana, 1846) 43. Acropora efftorescens (Dana, 1846) 44. Acropora florida (Dana, 1846) 45. Acropora ,gemmifera (Brook, 1892) 46. Acropora g,lauca (Brook.. 1893) 47. Acropora ,gLobiceps (Dana, 1846) 48. Acropora grandis (Brook, 1892) 49. Acropora granulosa(Milne Edwards '& Haime, 1860) 50. Acropora hemprichii (Eherenberg,1834) 51. Acropora humilis (Dana, 1846) 52. Acropora hyacinthus (Dana, 1846) 53. Acropora intermedia (Dana, 1846) 54. Acropora kosurini (Wallace, 1994) 55. Acropora latistella (Br'oQk, 1891) 56. Acropora longicyathus (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1860) 57. Acropora .loripes (Brook. . 1892) 58. Acropora lutkeni Cr.assland, 1952 59. Acropora mi,croclados (Ehrenberg, 1834) 60. Acropora microphthalma (Verrill, 1859) ,61 . Acropora millepora (Ehrenberg, 1834) 62. Acropora monticulosa (Bruggemann, 1879) ,63. Acropora mult-iacuta Nemenzo, 196'7 64. Acropora formosa (Linaeus, 1758) 65. Acropora nasuta (D,a na,1846) 66. Acrvpora palifera (Lamarck, 1816) 67. Acropora palrner:ae Wells, 1954 ,68. Acropora paniculata Verrill, 1902 15 16 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL 69. Acropora papillare Latypov, 1992 70. Acropora pinguis Wells, 1950 71. Acropora plana Nemenzo. . 1967 72. Acropora plantaginea (Lamarck, 1816) 73. Acropora polystoma (Brook, 1891) 74. Acropora proximalis Ve on, 2000 75. Acropora pulchra (Brook, 1891) 76. Acropora rambleri (Bassett-Smith, 1890) 77. Acropora robusta (Dana. . 1846) 78. Acropora rudis (Rehberg, 1892) 79. Acropora samoensis (Brook, 1891) 80. Acropora schmitti Wells, 1950 81. Acropora secale (Studer, 1878) 82. Acropora selago (Studer. . 1878) 83. Acropora solitaryensis Veron Wallace, 1984 84. Acropora ｳｰｩ｣ｦｾ｡＠ (Dana, 1846) 85. Acropora squarrosa (Ehrenberg, 1834) 86. Acropora subglabra (Brook, 1891) 87. Acropora tenuis (Dana, 1846) 88. Acropora teres (Verrill,1866) 89. Acropora valencienn,esi (Milne Edwards & Haime. . 1860) 90. Acropora valida (Dana, 1846) 91. Acropora vaughani Wells. . 1954 92. Acropora verweyi Veron W,a llace, 1984 93. Acropora yongei Veron and Wallace, 1984 94. Astreopora cucullata Lamberts, 1980 95. Astreopora gr:acilis Bernard, 1896 96. Astreopora .listeri Bernard, 1896 97. Astreopora myriophthalma (Lamarck, 1816) 98. Astreopora randalliamberts, 1'980 99. Astreopora ｳ｣｡｢ｾ＠ Lamberts. . 1982 FAMILY: AGARICIIDAE 100. Pavona bipartita emenzo, 1980 101. Pavona cactus (Fo skat 1'775) 102. Pavona danai Milne Edwards and Haime, 1860 103. Pavona clavus (Dana, 1846) 104. Pavona de,cussata (Dana, 1846) 105. Pavona duerdeni Vaughan. . 1907 VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 106. Pavona explanulata (Lamarck, 1816) Pavona maldivensis (Gardiner, 1'905) 108. Pav,cma minuta Wells, 954 107. 109. Pavcma varians Verrill, 1864 Pavona venosa (Ehrenberg, 1834) 111. Leptoseris explanata Yabe and Sugiyama, 1941 112. Leptoseris foliosa Dinesen, 1980 110. 113. Leptoseris gardineri Horst, 1921 Leptoseris hawaiiensis Vaughan, 1907 115. Lepfoseris incrustans (Quelch, 1886) 114. 116, Lepfoseris mycetoseroides Wells J 1954 Leptoseris papyracea (Dana, 1846) 118. Leptoseris ｳ｣｡ｾ＠ Vaughan, 1907 117. 119. Leptoseris yabei (Pillai and Scheer, 1976) 120. Coeloseris mayeri Vaughan, 1918 121. Gardineroseris planulata (Dana, 1846) 122. Pachysens gemmae Nemenzo, 1955 123, Pachyseris rugosa (Lamarck, 1801) 124. Pachyseris speciosa (Dana, 1846) FAMILY: ASTROCOENIIDAE Stylocoeniella armata (Eherenberg, 1834) 125. 126. Stylocoeniella guentheri Bassett-S ;·th,1890 127. Palauastrea ramosa Yabe and Sugiyama, 1941 128. ｍ｡､ｾ｣ｩｳ＠ kirbyi Veron & Pichon, 1'976 FAMILY: CAR OPHYLLI DAE 129. Caryophyllia arcuata (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848) 130. Caryophyllia gr,ayi Milne Edwards and Haime 131. Caryophyllia smithii Stokes .a nd Broderip, 1828 132. Deltocyathus .andamanicus Alcock, 1898 13.3. Deitocyathus magnificus Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 134. Heterocyathus aequicQstatus Moseley, 1876 135. Paracyathus indicus Duncan, 1889 Paracyathus profundus ｄＧｕｮ｣｡ｾ＠ 1889 137. Paracyathus stokesi (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848) 136. 138. Polycyathus andamanensis Alcock, 1893 139. Polycyathus verrilli Duncan, 1889 140. Stephanocyathus nobilis (Mosley, 1873) FAMILY: DENDROPHYLLIDAE 141. Turbinaria frondens (Dana, 1846) 17 18 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL 142. Turbinaria mesenterin.a (Lamarck, 1816) 143. Turbinariapatula (Dana, 1846) 144. Turbinaria peltata (Esper, 1794) 145. Turbinaria reniformis Bernard, 1896 146. Turbinaria stellulata (Lamarck, 1816) 147. Turbinaria undata Bernard 148. Balanophyllia affinis (Semper, 1872) 149. BalanophylUa imperiales Kent, 1871 150. Balanophyllia scabra Alcock, 1893 151. Dendrophyllia arbuscula van der Horst, 1922 152. Dendrophyllia coarctata Duncan, 1889 15.3. Dendrophyllia indica Pillai, 1969 154. DendrophylUa minuscula Bourne, 1905 155. EnaUopsammia amphelioides (Alcock) 156. Enallopsammia marenzelleri Zibrowius 157. EnaUopsammia philippinensis Milne Edwards ,a nd Haime, 1848 158. Heteropsammia cochlea (Spengler, 1781) 159. Tubastrea ,aurea (Quoy and Gaimard, 1833) 160. Tubastrea coccinea Lesson, 1829 161. ｔｵ｢｡ｳ 162. ｔｵ｢｡ｳｾ･＠ Ｌ ｾ･｡＠ diaphana (Dana, 1846) micranthus (Ehrenber,g ,1834) FAMILY: EUPHYLL DAE 163. Euphyllia ancora Veron and Pichon, 1'980 164. Euphyllia glabrescens (Chamisso and EysenhardtJ 1821) 165. Plerogyra sinuosa (Dana, 1846) 166. Physogyra lichtensteini Milne Edwards .and Hahne, 1851 FAMILY: FAVIIDAE 167. Caulastrea tumida Matthai, 1928 168. Favia fcwus (Forskal, 1775) 169. Favia helianthoides Wells, 1954 170. Favia .lacuna Veron, Turak, DeVantier, 2000 171. Favia ,lizardensis Veron and Pichon, 1977 172. Favia matthaii Vau,g han, 1918 17.3. Favia pallida (Dana, 1846) 174. Favia rotumana (Gard' er,1899) 175. Favia rotundata (Veron and Pichon, 1977) 176. Favia speciosa Dana, 1846 177. Favia stelliger:a (Dana, 1846) VIENKATARAMAN AND 19 S ATYANARAYANA 178. Barabattoia amicorum (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1850) 179. Favites abdita (Ellis and Solander, 1786) 180. Favites acuticollis (Ortmann, 1889) 181. Favites bestae Veron, 2000 182. Favites chinensis (Verrill, 1866) 183. Favites complanata (Eherenberg, 1834) 184. Favites flexuosa (Dana, 1846) 185. Favites halicora (Eherenberg, 1834) 186. Favites pentagona (Esper, 1794) 187. Goniastrea aspera Verill, 1905 188. Goniastrea australensis Ｈｍｾｬｮ･＠ Edwards and 189. Goniastrea edwardsi Chevalier, 1971 190. Goniast-rea minuta Veron, 2000 aime, 1857) 191. Goniastrea palauensis Yabe and Sugiyama, 1936 192, Goniastreapectinata (Eherenberg, 1834) 193. Goniastrea retiformis (Lamar-ck, 1816) 194. Platygyra acuta Veron, 2000 195. Platygyra ,daedalea (Ellis and Solander, 1786) 196. Platygyra ,lamellina (Eberenberg, 1834) 197. Platygyra pini Chevalier, 1975 198. Platygyra sinensis (Milne Edwards and Haime.. 1849) 199, Platygyra verweyi Wijsman-Best, 1976 200. OuLQphyllia crispa (Lamarck, 1816) 201. Ou,lophyllia levis (Nemenzo, 1959) 202. Leptoriaphrygia (Ellis and Solander, 1786) 203. Montastrea colemani (Milne Edw,a rds and Haime, 1849) 204. Montastrea curta Veron.. 2000 205. Montastrea magniste.llata (Dana, 1846) 206. Montastrea valenciennesi (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848) PLesiastrea versipora (Lamarck, 1816) 208. Ouz,astrea ,crispata (Lamarck, 1816) 207. Diploastrea heliopora (LaIllWck, 1816) 209. 210. ｌ･ｰｴ｡ｳｨｾ＠ bottae (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849) 211. Lep,tastrea purpurea (Dana, 1846) 2 . 2, Leptastr:ea transversa 213. Cyphastrea microphthalma(Larnarck, 1816) 214. Cyphastrea serailia (Forskal, 17'75) 215. Echinopora gemmacea Lamarck, 1816 I ｵｮｺｾ＠ ger, 879 20 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL 216. Echinopora hirsutissima Milne Edwards and Raime, 1849 217. Echinopora Iwrrida Dana, 1846 218. Echinopora lamellose (Esper, 1795) 219. Moseleya latistellata Quelch, 1884 FAMILY: FLABELLIDAE 220. Flabellum japonicum Moseley, 1881 221. Flabellum pavonium Lesson, 1831 222. Placotrochus laevis Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 FAMILY: FUNGllOAE 223. Cycloseris costulata (Ortmann, 1889) 224 Cycloseris cyclolites (Lamarek, 1801) 225. Cycloseris hexag10nalis Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 226. Cycloseris patelliformis (Boschma, 1923) 227. Cycloseris sinensis Milne Edwards and Haime, 1851 228. Cycloseris somervillei (Gardiner, 1909) 229. Dia$eris distorta (Michelin, 1843) 230. Fungia cancinna Verrill, 1864 231. Fungia carona Doderlein, 1901 232. Fungia danai Milne Edwards and Raime, 1851 233. Fungia jungites (Linnaeus, ＱｾＵＸＩ＠ 234. Fungia granulosa Klunzinger, 1879 235. Fungia horrida Dana, 1846 236. Fungia klunzingeri. 237. Fungia moluccensis Horst, 1919 238. Fungia paumotensis Stutchbury, 1833 ｄｯ､･ｲｬｾ＠ 1901 239. Fungia repanda Dana, 1846 240. Fungia scutaria Lamarck, 1801 241. Heliofungia actiniformis (Quoy & Gaimard 1833) 242. Ctenactis crassa Ｈｄ｡ｮｾ＠ 1846) 243. Ctenactis echinata (p,allas, 1766) 244. Herpolitha limax (Houttuyn, 1772) 245. Polyphy.llia talpina (Lamarck, 1801) 246. Sandalolitha dentata Quelch, 1884 ｾｯ｢ｵｳｴ｡＠ 247. Sandtdolitha 248. Zoopilus echinatus Dana,1846 (Quelch, 1886) 249. Halcrmitra pileus (Linuaeus, 1758) 250. LithophyUon undulatum Rehberg, 1892 251. Podabacia crustac,ea (pallas, 1766) VIENKATARAMAN AND 21 S ATYANARAYANA FAMILY: MERULINIDAE 252. Hydnophora exesa (Pallas, 1766) 253. Hydnophora grandis Gardiner, 1904 254. Hydnophora microconos (Lamarck, 1816) 255. Hydnophora pilosa Veron, 1985 256. Hydnophora rigida (Dana, 1846) 257. Paraclavarina triangularis (Veron and Pichon, 1980) 258. Merulina ampliata (Ellis and 'S olander, 1'786) 259. Merulina scabricula Dana, 1846 260. Scapophyllia cylindrica Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 FAMILY: MUSSIDAE 261. Blastomussa mer.leti Wells, 1961 262. Acanthast-rea echinata (Dana, 1846) 263. Acanthastrea hemprichii Ｈｅｨ･ｲｮ｢ｾ＠ 1834) 264. Acanthastre,a hillae Wells, 1955 265. Acanthastrea ｩｳｨｾｧ｡ｫ･ｮ＠ Veron, 1990 266. Lobophyllia corymbosa (Fo:tskal, 1775) 267. Lobophyllia diminuta Veron, 1985 268. LobophylUa hempnchii (Eherenberg, 1834) 269. LobophylUa hataii Yabe and Sugiyama, 1936 270. Symphyllia agaricia Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849 271. Symphyllia radians Miln e Edwards and 272. I a'me, 1849 SymphylUa recta (Dana, 1846) 273. Scolymia vitiensisBruggem ann, 877 274, Australomussa row.leyensis Veron, 1985 275. Cynarina lacrymalis (Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848) FAMILY: ,OCULINIDAE 276. Galaxea acrhelia Veron, 2000 277. Galaxea astreata (Lamarck, 1816) 278. Galaxea fascicu.laris (Linnaeus, 1767) FAMILY: PECfINIIDAE 279, Echinophyllia aspera (Ellis and Solander, 1'788) 280. Echinophy.llia echinata (Saville-Kent, 1871) 281. Echinophyllia echinoporoides Ver10 n and Pich on, 1980 282. Echinophyllia patula ( odgson and Ross, 1981) 28B. Oxypora crassispinosa Nemenzo, 1979 284. Oxypora lacera (VerriIll, 1864) 285. Mycedium elephantotus (Pallas, 1766) 22 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL 286. Pectinia lalcicomis (Saville--Kent, 1871) 287. Pectinia lactuca (Pallas, 1766) 288, PecUnia paeonia (Dana, 1846) 289. Pectinia ,teres Nemenzo and Montedl1o, 1981 FAMILY: POCILLOPORIDAE 290. Pocillopora ankeli Scheer and PiUai, 1974 291. Pocillopora damioomis (Linnaeus, 1758) 292. Pocillopora eydouxi Milne Edwards and Haime, 1860 293. Pocillopora ligulata Dana, 1846 294. Pocillopora meandrin"a Dana, 1846 295. Pocillopora verrucosa (Ellis and Solander, 1786) 296. Seriatopora ,caliendrum Ehrenberg, 1834 297. Seriatopora crassa Quelch, 1886 298. Seriatopora hys,trix Dana, 18-46 299. Seriatopora stellata Quelch, 1886 300. Stylophora pistillata Esper, 1797 FAMILY: PORITIDAE 301. Porites (synaraea) convexa (VerillI1864) 302. Porites andrewsi Vaughan 1918 303, Porites annae Crossland, 1952 304. Pori ties compressa D,a na, 1846 305. Porites cylindrica Dana, 1846 306. Porites eridani Umb,gr{)ve, 1940 307. Porites evermanni Vaughan, 1907 308 Porites exserta Pilla' 309. Porites .lichen Dana, 1846 310. Porites lobata Dana, 1846 311. Porites ,lutea Milne Edwards and Haime, 1851 312. Porites mannafiensis Pillai 1969 313. Porites minicoensfs Pillai 1969 314. Porites monticulosa Dana, 1846 315. Porites murrayensisVau,ghan, 1918 316. Porites nigrescens Dana, 1846 317, Porites rus (Forskal, 1775) 318. Porites solida (Forskal, 1775) 319. Porites vaughani Crossland, 1952 320, Stylaraea punctata (Linneaus, 1758) VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 23 321. Goniopora columna Dana, 1846 322. Goniopora djiboutiensis Vaughan, 1907 323. GoniQPora minor Crossland.. 1952 324. Goniopora planulata (Eherenber,g ,l834) 325. Goniopora stokesi Milne Edw,a rds and Haime, 1851 326. Goniopora s,tutchburyi Wells, 1955 327. Goniopora tenuidens (Quelch, 1886) 328. Alveopora daedalea (Forskal, 1775) 329. Alveopora superficialis (Pillai & Scheer, 1976) 330. Alv,eopora verrilliana Dana.. 1846 F MILY: I ZANGIIDAE 331. Astrangia sp. Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 332. Cladangia exusta Lutken, 1873 333. Culicia rubeola (Quoy and G,a imard.. 1833) FAMILY: SIDERASTREIDAE 334. ｐｳ･ｵ､ｯｩｲ｡ｾ＠ tayami Yabe and Sugiyama, 1935 335, ｓｩ､･ｾ｡ｳｴｲ＠ savignyana Milne Edwards and Haime, 1850 336. Psammocora contigua (Esper, 1797) 337. Psammocora digitata Milne Edwards ,a nd Haime, 1851 338. Psammooora explanulata Horst, 1922 339. Psammocora haimeana Milne Edwards and Haime, 1851 340. Psammooora projundacella Gardiner, 1898 341. Psammooora superficialis Gardiner.. 1898 342. Coscinaraea columna (Dana, 1846) 343. Coscinaraea cr.assa Veron and Pkhon, 1980 344. Coscinaraea monile (Forskal, 1775) FAMILY: TRACHYPHYLLIIDAE 345. Tr.achyphyllia ge,offroyi (AudoWn, 1826) IDENTIFYIN'G A HARD CORAL Identification of a hard c.oral underwater is effected by visual observati.on and touch. The crystalline and hard skeleton underneath its body tissue helps us in identifying it as hard coral and counting of the tentacles which are multiples of six helps us distinguishing it from its ,c.ounterparts h.orny and soft ,corals. Corals are ,a t present being identified upto species level with the help .of its skeletal morphology. Hard coral species mostly spawn at once and there is always a chance foOr exchange ,of genetic material and interbreeding, making life miserable for the identification of a coral. This is one reason for selecting skeletal morphology for the identification of corals. Coral ,c olour cannot be considered solely for identification, since the ,c olour to the coral is mostly provided by symbiotic aig,ae which live in their body tissues which change their colour and provide different hues within the same species in a genus, in the same locality. Coral colour is used for quick and temp ora y ｾ ､･＠ tific.ation of corals underwate ｳｾｮ｣･＠ the colour of a coral is affected by the 24 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL pigmentation in combination with the co1our provided by the symbiotic algae, which is making the colour of a ,coral sometimes characteristic to a species. Cor,al skeleton is plastic in nature and change its shape size and structure depending on the environmental ,c onditions especially, depth and light availability. Inspire of this, identification of a hard coral using its skeletal morphology is more effective and reliable. It is not possible for a taxonomist to observe all the species in living condition, that too in its actual locality. Since the skeletogenesis takes place very quickly in corals skeletal morphology is taken as the yardstick in identifying juv,enile ,corals also. Identification of a coral using genetic material is a growing science and is proving to be challenging. l l &s e Skeletal characters used for the Identification of a rumt coral Corallum Skeleton of a whole colony. Cora rte Skeletal structure of a single polyp. Ca ic'e Skeletal structure surrounded by corallite wall. Wall Outer boundary. Septa Rad' al skeletal ele ents P' oject inwards from the corallo te w,al . Costae Rad' al skeletal elements outside the corallite wall. Paliform lobe: Inne most dentation of septum (formed differently from palus) sometimes may form a cvown. Pali is the pleural. Columella Skeletal structure ,a t the centre of the corallite composed of single or multiple elements. Coenosteum : The surface of the Ic orallum in between the corallites. Learning some technical terms related to the Coral skeleton is a preI'lequisite, as the ,coral taxonomy is based on the morphology of the skelet-on. The skeletal structure of an individual polyp is Icalled a corallite. The skeletal structure of the corallite surrounded by a corallite w,all is called a calice and the same is Icalled as ,a center if there is no wall formed. Wall is the outer boundary of the corallite. Radial skeletal elements projecting VIENKATARAMAN AND 25 S ATYANARAYANA inwards from the corallite wall ar,e called as septa and those projecting outwards from the coraUit,€ wall ,a re called as costae. When these two radial structures are united continuous they are called as septo-costae. The wall and the radial structures (septa and coastae) are the supporting structures for the tentacles of the polyp. Septa are formed in between mesenteries. The innermost dentation of a septum is ,called as a paliform lobe. Paliform lobes sometimes forms a crown around columella, which is the skeletal structure located at the centre of the cor,allite. Columella is ,c omposed of single or multiple elements. Columella supports the oral disc and mouth of the polyp. and The skeleton of a ,coral as a whole is called the corallum and the surface of the corallum in between the corallites is ,c alled the coenosteum. GROWTH FORM CATEGORIES The coralla of hard corals are {oUlld in different growth forms and are used in the identif cation and description of corals. The following ar,e the photo,g raphs and definition of some of the major growth forms found among Indian ,corals : 1. Massive = colonies which are solid and are typically hemispherical or otherwise have approximately similar dimensions in all directions. 2. Sub massiv'e = Colonjes whjch tend to form sma oolum..ns, knobs or wedg'es. 3. Branching = a descriptive term for a branch with compact radial ｳｵ｢ ｾ ｢ｲ｡ｮ｣ｨ･ｳＮ＠ 4. Fol'ose = Coral colonies attached at one or more points, leaf-like, or plate-like in ｡ｰ･ｲｮｾＮ＠ s. Encrusting;; Coral colonies which form a thin layer or crust over underlying substratum and 6. Solitary =corals ,composed of single individuals. Plates and Tables a1ethe growth forms of Acropora . 26 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL CORALLITE ARRANGEMENT AND FORMATIIQ N The arrangement or alignment of corallit-es in a corallum is a major character in the identification of a cor,al. The following are the photographs and definition of some of the coraUite arran,g ement patterns found among India-.n corals : = adjacent corallites share the same wall. 1. Cerloid 2. Plocoid ;;; 'each ,eorallite has its own separate wall. 3. Pha'c eioid= cora[s that have cora11ites of unjform height adjoined towaIds their base. 4. ｍ･｡ｮｾｯｩ､＠ = massive colonies that have corallite mouths aligned in valleys such that there are no individual polyps. 5. Hydnophor,o id ;; septa fusing to form monticules 01' mould like structures VIENKATARAMAN AND 27 S ATYANARAYANA TYPES OF SEPTAL ARRANGEMENT Septa are the major identifying characters formed aft-er the settlement of the planula larvae of corals. They are the radial invagmations in the basal ,calcareous plate Qf young polyp. They are usually in multiples of six. The first :s ix septa formed a.re called primary septa and aIe termed as the first eye e. The second ,cycle of septa which forms next to primary cycle also consists of 6 septa and these septa are called as secondary septa. Secondary septa are placed betw'een the primary septa and are smaller in size when compa ed to primary septa. T,e rtiary septa wh· ch a e further small in size are 2 in number and form the third eye e. They are placed equidistantly between primary and seoondary septa. This pattern of number and septal size CQntmues resulting in fourth cycle of 24, fifth cycle of 48 ,a nd so on. 1 Proto septa; 2. '& 3 Substitute entoseptai 4 ･ｾｯｳｰｴ｡＠ constituting fourth cycle great,e r dev'e lopment and curvature of fourth cycle ex,o septa is characteristic of the Pourtales plan P'o wtales plan in OendrophyUid 'C orals Patterns of fusion of the triplet in Porites a) Triplet with free lat-eral :s epta and three pall; b) Triplet with lateral &; ventral dir'ective fused &; one palus 28 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL If the ,cycles of septa are clearly equal in thickness and height, they are called equal. They are called as subequal when the differences ,are slight and unequal when the differences are striking. The general pattern of septation is not found in genus Porites ,a nd dendrophyllid corals. In the case of Porites there is an inclination for fusion among three septa (two lateral septa ｷ ｩｾｨ＠ one ventral directive). This pattern of fusion is ,called as triplet. There are three kinds of triplet formation which play a major role in differ-entiatin,g porites species. In the case of Dendrophyllid ,corals the quarternary or the fourth cycle septa grows above and loop ov'e r the tertiary septa. This pattern of fusion of the two quarternary septa ,a round the tertiary septa, which is characteristic of dendrophyllid corals, is called as Pourtales p an. CATEG'O RISATION IN SEPTATION Exsed septum Ins'e rt .septum Septal Margin (dentate) Septal margin (smooth) Septal side (smooth) Septal side ﾫ､･ｮｴ｡ｾＩ＠ PorOQS septum - Fenestrate plate Solid septum - Solid plate Vertical spines, Horizontal spines &: AbseDt VIENKATARAMAN AND 29 S ATYANARAYANA Septa are of many kinds. A septum may form a solid plate or a porous (fenestrate) plate,. In some species it may be reduced to rows of v'ertical spines ,or horizontal ,s pines or may be ,absent. When a septum is well above the corallit-e wall it is called as an exsert septum and termed as insert septum when it is otherwise. Septal margin may be dentate or smooth and septal side is also termed smooth or dentate depending on its roughness. COLUMELLA ｃｾｔｅｇｏｒｉｓａｎ＠ Columella, the ax'al struchwe which is situated below the stomadaeum of the polyp may be broadly classified into the following categories based on its built: A spongy or trabecular columella is formed by the intermingling irregularly twisted expansions from the inner septal margins and basal plate. the expansions from the septa are vertical rods or ribbons, then it is called a papi lose ,columella. When the papillose structures fuse to form a single rod it is called as solid or styliform columella, Lamellar ,c olumella is a plate like columella, usually arranged in a longitudinal series alon,g the axis of elongated ,calices. It is recorded as absent when there ar,e no projections at the corallite's base. DIFFlcmTIES IN CORAL IDENTIFICATION (Notes for would be 'Taxonomists) The corals constitute a chaotic collection of individuals ,and the uncertainty ,as to what may be considered a species is the first problem that mus,t confront anyone who happens to study corats" is the quotation pronoujiced by W'o od Jones in 1907 and it is even to some extent true due to the difficulty Cnidanans pose difficulties to systematics due to their diverse form and simple morphology. H Befor,e the advent of SCUBA diving coral taxonomists believed a coral with diff,erent morphology as a new species and many thousands of species w,ere described. This is checked considerably after 30 CORAL IDENTrfICA'flON MANUAL the increase in move diving taxonomists" Even today due to the problems in the identification of corals only the taxonomists in corals are few but conflicting identifications and difference of taxonomic opinion between the scientists are many. Majority of the Coral researchers face problems in identifying corals primarily due to the followi,ng reasons: Geographical var'ation: 'Geographic variation is very much pronounced in corals due to the variation in the climatic conditions and also due to g"@1letic variations. Coral colonies in high latitudes are markedly different from their counterparts living in the tropical reefs. Calcification rates also vary. Coral species in Indonesia ,are ,comparatively small in size ,a nd appearanc,e when compared to their counter parts in Australia. Environmental Variation: Ecomorphs are Intraspecific variants, environmentally and/ or genotypically determined in response to specific ecological conditions. The Morphological variations within a colony are both structural ,a nd colour based. Branching forms show lot of variaHon in their oolony structure depending on the depth in which they dw,ell. Pocillopor,a damicornis is a great example for this variaHon ' structure and even colour. Variation of colour in the same species may be attributed t,o the symbiotic algae living in the tissues of the corals. The variation in the colour is very much pronounced in Favia favus and Hydnophora exesa as far as the Kutch corals are concerned. In general ,corals ,exhibit colour variation depending on their exposure to sun which is only temporary. The first ,c hallenge ,a novice in ,c oral taxonomy faces is because of tbe variation within a sing e colony. This is in general more striking in the cor,allites of Porites. L'e ptastrea purpurea, Platygyra pini exhibit this difference in Kutch reefs. Some times ,a single colony exhibits the characters of two genera (especially bet ween favia, favites ,a nd goniastrea) which surely might have driven many from takin,g up this grQup for study. Some res,e archers a ttribut,e d this variation to intraspecific breeding mig It have resulted due to the synchronized spawning habit of corals. uLdentifying a cor:al by taking into ,account all these variations is really a p,leas,an t and satisfying ,experience". Skeletal and 'colour v,a riation in P,oci,llopora damicomis due to their occW'rence in ,d ifferent habitats and depths VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA Skeleta vu'ation' a s'ngle eptastrea spec'men 31 32 CORAL IDENTrfICA'flON MANUAL CLEANING, LABELING AND PRESERVATION OF HARD CORALS Specimen tied with waterproof label should be kept in fresh water until it gets rottened (1-5 days). Clean the rottened specimen with a strong jet of freshwater,. Remove gelatinous epidermis which is present in some corals with forceps. ｾ･ｰ＠ the specimen away f 0 , dust and dry in sunlight. Avoid bleaching solutions like hypochlorite. Especially for corals possessing minute ,characters I 'ke Porites. Note: For quick results in ,the field, mild washing detergents can be used for Ｎ｣ｮｾ｡ｬ＠ cleaning. In some cases hypochlorite can ,also be used. Permanent labels with all the required information should be tied firmly to the coral. (OHP sheets written with permanent marker pens make good labels tor dry ,collections). Always fix ,a water proof refer'ence label (atleast with the registration No.) to the ,coral with waterproof r,e sins for ready reference. It will be very useful in the ev,e nt of permanent label detaclunent. Plaster of parrys written with Indian ink is also a ,good alternative in finished specimens. ALWAYS KEEP THE SPECIMENS AWAY FROM DUST AND MOISTURE Note: Moisture ,attracts fungus and insects. These infestations not only spoil the specimen but also strictly avoided by foreign countries for transport due to fear .of undesirable alien species dispersal. Never pack the specimens with cotton or ,a ny fibrous or sticky material. Specimens with dust cotton strands are not good for photographing and identification. Keep the specimen-.S in plastic trays in the case ,of dust free 'envir-orunents I&e Air Conditioned rooms, otherwise keep them in dosed plastic or hardboard boxes. ｾｮ､＠ A specimen lost is equal to lot of effort and money in addition to valua,ble information. Laberng Labeling is equally important as preservation. The main objective of collection is to know the exact locality of collection and the other particulars will help in reckoning the disbibution, abundance and finally the status of the specimen collected in the conservation point .of view. The whole effort of collection and preservation will go wast-e if the samples are not properly labeled. The labels attached to the unidentified specimens should contain the following: Locality (site) Date and Time of Collection Area.of collection (country or r,egion) 'G rid reference or latitude ,a nd longitude Depth of collection Collector Type of geajj method used Habitat details like substratum type Reef zone: reef flat, edg,e, slopej exposed, sheltered etc. Tide position Growth form - size Remarks with the notes about the activity around the site of collection will help in making some decision relat-ed to the actual location or state of the sample collected. A number must be given t-o the identified or unidentified specimens with an entry on the label and ,all the details entered along with that register number in separate register will be of inunense use in locating the particulars about the specimen in case of mutilated or lost labels. The number glued to the specimen with permanent water pr'oof glue, especially in the 'case of dried specimens will help in preparing a duplicate label in the case of snapped or lost labels. VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 33 In the field, labels can be written temporarily with pencil on a thick tracking paper" Tracing paper avoids absorption of water and stays stiff to preserve the data entered on them. Specimens where the identification is based on the hard skeletal parts (hard corals & Gorgonids), until the specimens are prepared for proper identification small acrylic sheets can be tied to the specimens with ｮｯｾ＠ corrosive metal wires with the collection details scripted with pencil. The labels for the samples to be stored in alcohol must be written with Indian ink on paper suitable for alcohol storage. A field note book with all the details written on the label must be maintained to retrieve data lost during transportation or such activity. In t e case of Ｇ､･ｮｴｾ ［＠ ｾ･､＠ samples atte pt must be made to identify up to species evel and taxonomic details starting from Phylum to species along with the author' ty must be ,e ntered. Determiner's name and the date determined also must be added. The date of identification helps in updating the taxonomy of the specimens as and when needed. Dry samp es like hard corals, dried gor,g'onids etc., permanent labels made of non-degradable materials like transparent plastic sheets like OL P sheets written with permanent marking pens and tied with transparent nylon will last long and minimise the chances of missing data. Particulars like the ambiguity in identification.. tips / hints / doubts or similar notes must be attached with the label for accurate identification. All the labels induding the temporary field labels must be retained with the specimen either laminated or put in small dosed plastic ,covers. Conversion of data to electronic form is always recommended for better data preservation and retrieval. Tools usefu for col ectio : Hammer, Chisel, Sack, and inflatable rubber bag. TAXONOMIC ｎｆｏｒｍｾｔｬ＠ OF SC ERACTINIAN CORALS There aIe about 25 families of sderactinian ,corals comprising of ,a bout 1511 species (1490 species + 21 intraspecific species) in the world, of which 18 families, ,87 ,genera and 345 species are recorded from India so far. The following is a capsuled information of scleractinian corals ,of India from family to species level, ｴ｡ｾｬｯｲ＠ made for training purposes and easy identification. Order SCLERACTINIA Bourne, 1900 Within the Order Scleractinia, variation in the fundamental structure of the colony, corallite basis for the classification. arrangement. Position, size and variation in septa forms the ｰｲｩｾ｣｡ｬ＠ The growth forms of corals 34 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL VIENKATARAMAN AND 35 S ATYANARAYANA FAMILY ACROPORIDAE Verrill, 1902 Species of the family Acroporidae ar'e colonial, hermatypic and are mostly living. Colonies have all growth forms known for hermatypic corals,. Corallites (except Astreopora) are small with septa in two cycles or less, columellae ,a re poorly developed. Acroporidae is related to families Pocilloporidae and Astrocoeniidae. Ther,e are about 5 genera included under this family. They are Montipora, Acropora, ａｳｴｲ･｡ｰｯｾ＠ Enigmopora and Anacropora, among which Enigmopora and ａｮ｡｣ｲｰｯｾ＠ are not recorded so far from dian wate s. The total number of species reco ded in the world are 242 and out of which only 99 species ,are reported from India. Axial ｃ［ｯｬｾ｡ｩｌｴ･ｳ＠ Sub genus: Acro ora Subgenus : lsopora Acropora valida Acropora palijera Montipora tuberculata Acropora hyadnthus Montipora spumos,a Montiporaand ａｃｾｑｐｯｲ｡＠ are the two largest scleractinian genera, Anacropora and ａｳｾ･ｯｰｲ｡＠ have substantially fewer species. Montipora, Anacropora and AC7iDpora have similarly structured corallites primarily characterised by lack of columellae ,a nd dissepiments, small size, synapticulotheca (corallite £ewer characters walls are porous), simple septa which do not fuse, spinulose coenosteum. ａｳｾ･ｯｰｲＬ｡＠ in common: corallites fairly large, septa fairly well developed ,a nd may form ,a 'co umella tangle, superficially resemble corallites of Turbinaria. GENUS MontipQra de Blainville, 1830 Characters : Colonies are sub-massive, laminar, encrusting, branching or foliaceous. Corallites ,a re very small Septa are in two cycles with ｩｮｷ｡ｲ､ ｾ ｰｲｯｩＧ･｣ｴｮＬｧ＠ teeth. Colume lae are absent. Co a lite walls and the 'c oenosteum are porous and may be highly eloborate. Polyps are usually extended only at night. Montipora is often confused with Porites. 36 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Montipora foliosa ｍｯｮｴｩｰｾ｡＠ Montipora verrucosa hispida Montipora monasteriata Montipora digttata Some ;.mportant definitions Tubel'lculae (elaborations in the coenosteum whjch are larger than the cor,allites) and papillae (elaborations in the coenosteum which are smaller than the corallites) are homolo,gous structures differing in size only. Coenosteum reticulum is glabrous or papillae/ tubercu1ae. Reticulu doesn't' ,dude papillaejtuberculae. Montipora species described below are arr,a nged based on their growth form and the kind .of coenosteal structures they have,. VIENKATARAMAN AND 37 S ATYANARAYANA MASSIVE/fHICK PLATES/ENCRUSTING Tubercu ae and Papillae M. monasteriata Massive or thick plates. Tuber-culae and papillae can fuse on flat surfaces into ridges perpendkular to the ,colony margin. The reticulum is ,ooarse and uniformly ,c overed with papillaeJtuberculae. M. tubercul,osa has smaller cor,allites and smaller tuberculae and papillae which are fused into thecal tubes. The tuberculae of M. undata are mor,e fused than M ,. tuberculosa. Papillae M. tuberculosa Submassive, encrusting or plate-like. The surface is usually raised into irregular mounds, Tuberculae and papillae we of a similar size. The thecal papillae surroundin,g some corallites fuse as tubes. Corallites evenly distributed. Similar to M. undata but it is much finer, submassive, encrusting or ｰｬ｡ｴ･ ｾ ｬｩｫ･Ｎ＠ Also I1esembles M ,. corbettensis however its papillae are more compacted, uniform in shape and size do not fuse around the corallites, and are not diffef'entiated into thecal and reticulum papillae. Tuberculae M. millepora Massive with flattened encrusting margins or encrusting. Tubercula,e ar,e low encrusting and cov,e r the entir,e colony surface,. Corallites are evenly distribut-ed between and on the sides of tuberculae, but usually absent from tips of tuberculae. M. millepora has the smallest corallites of Montiporas. No Puberculae or Papillae M. foveolata Massive or thick plates with foveolate corallites (adjacent corallites share a common reticulum wall). Corallites are funnel-shaped. The funnel is formed of tuberculae which are fused to form a continuous or sub-continuous rim of reticulae, funnel not obvious if corallites are growing in ､ｩｦｾ･ｲｮｴ＠ directions or if funnels are reduced and corallit€s separated by less than a calice diameter. Resembles M. inexassata, M. venosa, M. caliculata if furmels not well developed. M. incrassata has smaller coraJIites which do not share a common reticulum wall. M. venosa has similar corallites but only slightly foveolate, the veticulum wall is slightly coarser. M. caliculata has smaller cJ.'lowded corallites. M. venosa Massive or submassive. COl all'tes sl'ghtly foveo ate, immersed. The devle opment of funnels 's v.ariable ｾ＠ can be tubular or ･ｬｾｳｨ｡ｰ､＠ with or without common reticulum walls. The funnel is only slightly wider than the calioe diameter. I Corallites with and w ithout funnels are intergraded and usually intermixed. Similar to M. caliculata but it has smaller corallites. 38 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL M. capitata Encrusting bases with contorted well defined branches. Verrucae present. Irregularly spaced Verrucae gener,ally get fused at branch tips. Similar to M. verrucosa which does not form branched ,colonies, M. meandrina Colon'es sub , ass've. Verrucae present. V,e rrucae are large, contorted and irregular in shape, Corallites are small. Similar to M. danae which have less irregularly fused verrucae, M. caliculata Colonies are massive or ｳｵ｢ ｾ ｭ｡ｳｩｶ･Ｎ＠ Corallites are slightly foveolate and immersed, tubular. Similar to M. venosa, M. incrassata, M. foveolata. MASSIVF/fHICK PLATES/ENCRUSTING WITH COLUMNSjNODULES Papillae M. infonnis Massive, plate-like or encrusting often over worm tubes, coral skeletons, etc. Reticulum ,a re ｭ･､ｩｵ ｾ ｦｩｮ･＠ and uniformly cov'e red with elong,a ted papillae of uniform size. Papillae are never grouped around corallites therefore are no conspicuous thecal papillae. Plates are with or w'thout nodules or ,co umns. Similar to M. efflorescens and M. c-orbettensis. No Tuberculae or Pap·llae M. angulata Extensive encrusting bases with v,ery irregular, contorted branches. Branches usually flattened in the plane of division and divide at irregular ,angles. Similar to M. digitata which is arborescent with smaller superficial ,corallites. M. spumosa Encrusting with or without irr,e gular upward plate-like (convoluted, bifacial or with epitheca or both) or ,c olumnar (often hollow with open or closed ends and usually with irre,g ularly fused ridges), encrustin,g colonies usually have rootlets. Frequently overgrows other corals and assumes their shape, The reticulum is very coarse ,a nd uniform, spinules are alw,a ys highly elaborated. Tuberculae of irregular shapes may be formed but intergrade with larger mounds and ridges. Similar to M. verruc-osa and P. rus in situ. Papillae M·foliosa Encrusting with horizontal laminae around margins, may be several metres diameter, may be tiered and fonn whorls, rarely parts of colony may be submassive or develop columns. Unifacial or bifacial but epitheca usually cov,e rs most of the undersurface overgrowing the minute and ｷｩ､･ｬｹｾｳｰ｡｣＠ corallites. VIENKATARAMAN AND 39 S ATYANARAYANA Corallit-es are strongly inclined t-owards the c.olony perimet-er on laminat-e corals. The upper wall may be w'ell developed and lower wall ,a bsent or partly developed (walls consist partly of papillae). Similar to M. aequituberculata but ,corallites ,a re not inclined as strongly .outwards, and the reticulum ridges are poorly devel,oped. M. aequituberculata One of the most polymorphic and widespre,a d ｍｯｮｴｩｰｾ｡Ｎ＠ FoUose thin, expanding, flat t1() ,contorted laminae, usually with a side attachment, often arranged l in oblique overlapping whorls. Epitheca inconspicuous or ,absent, undersurface glabrous ,except for widely spaced tuberculae I ute 'corallites, which may contain single I , • The thecal papillae which surround corallites are highly fused and frequently form long fine ridges perpendicular to the margins of thin laminae, ridges are onen absent from thicker larItinae. The r'dges frequently form hoods over peripheral corallites which are strongly .outwardly inclined. Similar toO M . crassituberculata, which has larger corallites ,a nd moOre papillae. Corallites also resemble M. peltifonnis. BRANCHING No Tubuerculae or Papil ae M. digitata Colonies branchin,g Branches tubular and twig like. Branches mostly straight Frond-like or spatulate tips. Papillae M. edwa,.,dsi Ramose. Primary septa conspicuous,secondary ,cycle of septa spiny. Lower down the branches the surface coenenchyme is mostly glabrous. Papillae are well formed at the top of corallum. M . confusa appears to be not far away from M. edwar,dsi. RANGE OF GROWTH FORMS: MASSIVFjPLATES, WIlH OR WIlHOUT NODULES/COLUMNS Papillae M . peltiformis Sub-massive or flat explanate plat-es with or without nodular upward growths. Nodules usually irregular in size and shape but do not form ,columns. Bifacial with small widely spaced corallites or extensive epitheca almoOst to the colony margin. Thecal and reticulum papillae are slightly different especially on nodules where the thecal papillae form distinct circles (cf M. ,turllensis and M. hispida). Similar to M. mollis but it has no thecal papillae. M. verrilli Thin 'e ncrusting colonies. Papillae present. 40 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Corallit-e papillae regularly placed. Small corallites mostly submerged in the coenos't eum. M. hispida exposed to wave Massive, submassive and colul1U\ar (usually well illuminated ･ｮｶｾｲｯｵｴｳ＠ action), digitate and subarborescent (more prot-ected envts), horizontal plates (turbid or deep water envts) or various combinations of these forms, wide range of growth forms may also oocur in one environment with form influenced by space availability eg plates until space restricted and then develop branches. All growth forms have thecal papillae which ,a re dearly larger than reticulum pap"lIae (cf. M. turtlensis, M . peUiformis, M. efflor;escens and M. ,grisea). Thecal papillae 4...8 surround coralHt-es and may be ,e onnected by synapticular ,connections. Reticulum papillae obvious, smaller and ｭｯｾ･＠ widely spaced. Distinguished from M. efflorescens, M. nodosa ,a nd M. grisea by growth form. Also the papillae of M. efftor.escensare almost uniform in size. Tuberculae M. verrucosa Sub-massive or plate-like. Poorly developed ,e pitheca in plate-like colonies. Verrucae cover the colony surface" they have a uniform distribution, size and shape. Small verrucae along ,eolony periphery join to form short ridges perpendicular to margin. Corallit-es are uniformly interspersed in flat reticulum between but never on the verrucae. Similar to M. danae but it has a wider ang,e of growth forms; more ;' regular verrucae, and saller corallites. No Tuberculae Or Papillae M. cococensis Encrusting, submassive or columnar colonies. Crowded, immersed and bigger corallites. Coarse coenosteum. Septa prominent. Similar to M. spumosa which has a distinctive growthform. M. turgescens Massive; plate-like or columnar. May have subcir,c ular surface mounds 3-12 nun diameter" absence or degree of dev,elopment varies greatly even in a single ,colony! mounds may be small enough to form the walls of single coraUites. Corallites uniformly distributed 'o n and between mounds. Coenosteum is uniform and resembles M. nodosa and M. australiensis. M. mollis has a diff-erent growth form ,a nd smaller cor,allites. Other Species M. explanata Corallum explanate , encrusting and with small gibbosites on the surface. VIENKATARAMAN AND 41 S ATYANARAYANA Calices less than 1 mm in diameter. Irregular in outline and crowded. Primary septa well develped. Second cycle usually not seen. M. exserta Corallum explanate, less than 15 mm thick, surface with gibbosites. Calices less than 1 mm in diameter ｷｾｴｨ＠ a thecal wall. Septa in two cycles. Pr'mary septa arge and meet at the ,centr-e. Second ,cycle almost ,c omplete. Plate like spinules with secondary serr,ations on the surface. Montipora jonesi Colonies composed of several tiers of inverted cones with a cylinderical peduncle. The top of the 'cones 4 to 5 cm in spread with 1 to 1.5 thjck peduncles. Primary septa Iarg,e r than the secondaries. Directiv,es often exsert. Second ,cycle generally incomplete. Two to three papillae often to focus low ridge enclosing calic,es. Highly POl'lOUS reticulum. Montipora manauliensis Corallum hillocky with small «0.6 mm) corallites Foveolate ,coenchyme. Montipor:a spongiosa Corallum with ramose" coalescent branches. Calices ,conspicuous. Septa ar-e well developed . Papillae are dev,eloped at the underside of the corallites, dried coral yellow in colour. GENUS Acropor.a Oken, 1815 Acropora is the largest genus of reef-building corals with about 170 species recorded around the world. Acropora hav'e a much wider range of growth-forms useful to taxQnomy than other ,characters. Colonies are usually ramose to arborscent, bushy or plat-e-like, rarely encrusting or submassive Corallites ,are two types, axial and radial. The radial corallites forms various shapes, which ru:e of taxonomic ｾ＠ mportance. Septa ,are usual y in two eyc l es. Columella are absent. CorallO te wa 1s and the coenosit eum ,are porous. Polyps are usually extended only at night. Acropora species are arranged into different groups named after a prominent species based on their identification characters. The kind of growth form, r,adial corallie structure and the structure if 'coenosteal structur-es also playa major role in their naming and identification. The figures with captions provided beLow are self explanatory ,a nd useful for identification of Acropora corals. 42 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON M ANUAL Different Colo, y sh,a pes of Acropora Digitate Corymbose Caespitose IC aespito - corymbose Arborescent Table Hisp·dose Cuneiform V IBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 43 Categories of radial corallites used to describe the species of Acropora Tubular, round opening Tubular, nariform opening Tubular, oblique opening Rounded tubular Labellate, rounded lip Appressed tubular Immersed Appressed Tubular Nariform, elongate opening Tubular, dimidiate opening Nariform, round opening Labellate, straight lip Cochleariform Conical Sub immersed 44 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Acropor,a formosa Acropora monticulosa Acropora rudis Acropora florida A,cropora longicyathus VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 45 Examp,les of coenoste.al structu,.,e (AJ 8) costae; (CeF) ·eostaeJ with increasing degree of spinule development; (G) reticulate (H-I) simple ;spinules; (K) forked sPinulesi (L..Q) increasingly ,elaborate spinules; (R) me android elaborate spinules. 46 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL RUDIS GROUP Usually sturdy heavy structured species, irregular ,arborescent Axial corallites large Radial 'corallites tubular A. rudis Sturdy, irregular arborescent Large, thick walled axial and radial coralHtes Dense coenosteum This species is not easily confused with any other A. austera Untidy branching Radial cor.allites are large, cr,o wded tubes with thick walled and ,calices have a distinctive shape Most easily confused with: A. verweyi, A. hemprichii A. hemprl,chii Untidy branchin,g Radial corallites are large, crowded tubes with thick w,alls Most easily confused with: A. ｡ｵｳｴ･ｾＬ＠ A. variolosa HUMILlS GROUP Sturdy heavy structured species, digitate to corymbose colonies with thick br,anches Axial corallite large and forms much of the branch Radial corallites short tubular and thick walled A. humilis Branches terete Radial corallites ar,e one size Most easily confused with : A. gemmifera, A. monticulosa, A. samoensis, A. digiti/era A. globiceps Branches terete Axial corallit-es have a lar,ge calice and radial corallites are one size Most easily confused with: A. humilis, A. samoensis A. gemmifera Branches taper Two sizes of radial corallites Most easily confused with: A.humilis, A ,. monticulosQ, A. digitifera A. monncul,osa Branches very ,corneal Radial corallites and opening of axial corallite are similar in siZie, r,a dial ,corallites tubular with rounded to nariform openings Most easily confused with: A. gemmifera VIENKATARAMAN AND 47 S ATYANARAYANA A. ,samoensis More branching than any of the other species in this species group Radial corallites quite widely spaced Most easily confused with: A. humilis A. digiti/era Branches thinner compared with other species in this species group Inner wall of radial corallites is absent or barely developed, outer wall rounded and may form a flaring lip Live colonies are ,a lways cream or pal,e brown with or without blue tips Most easily confused with: A . humilis, A. gemmifer.a A. multiacuta Small colonies with simple branching Axial ,corallites lon,g al1d obvious Radial coroIlites barely developed This species is distinctive Acr.opora cophodactyla Digitate bushy type colonies. with ramose, coalescent branches. Corallit-es are of mixed sizes and irregularly distributed. Similar to A. humilis which has larger axial coralr tes and easily separable radial corall"es. Acropora schmitti Colonies branching. Branches are uJ:leguiar in shape. Axial ,corallites intergrade with radial corallites. Radial corallites ,a re crowded. Similar to A. digitifera . It appears like A. chesterfieldensis also. NASUTA GROUP Corymbose colonies, becoming more sturdy in the order that the species are list'€d: A. kimbeensis, A . cerealis, A . nasuta, A . valida, A. arabensis, A. secale, A. lutkeni Radial corallites are narnorm, appressed tubular with oval openings. A. nasuta Radial corallites nariform, crowded and evenly ,a rranged Most easily confused with: A. cerealis, A. valida A. cereaUs Some anastomosis of branches, Radial corallites are nariform with elongate openings, outer edge of radial ,corallites may curve upwards. Most easily confused with: A. nasuta, A. divaricata A. valida Gorymbose colonies or large tables. Radial cor,allites are tubular appressed with slightly oval ,openings. Mosteasily confused with: A. nasu ta, A. secale 48 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL A. secale Radial corallites are thick w,alled, a mixture of long tubular 'corallites (often arranged in rows) with nariform corallites between them. Most easily confused with: A. valida, A. lutkeni A. ,l utkeni Colonies may be irregularly ,corymbose. Radial ,corallites are thick walled, tubular appressed with round or oval openings, may be variable in shape and size with some long tubular corallites,. A. plantiginea Colonies small bushes, caespitose or corymbose. Axial ,corallites dome shaped. Radial corallites thick walled and some on the sides are elongated. Similar to A. secale whic 'l .s more robust in structure, appears like A. squarrosa DIVARICATA GROUP Colonies form tables with ,a nastomosing branches. Radial corallites are large appressed tubular with nariform openings. A. div,aricata Colonies have a distinctive open pattern of branching with some branches anastomosing, Live col'o nies are usually brown with blue branch tips, Most easily confused with: A. cerealis, A. soli taryensis A. solitary,ensis This species is similar to A. divarica.ta, differing in that the basal branches of the colony anastomose sometimes extensively to form a solid plate. Live colonies may be brown with or without blue branch tips 'o r green. Most easily confused with: A. divarica,ta A. k,osuriui Colonies corymbose with evenly arranged and sized branches. Radial corallites neat appearance. Most easily confused with: A. ｣･ｾ｡ｬｩｳ＠ A. clathrata Tables with a djstinctive pattern of br.anching: regularly anastomosing horizontal branching with I • tHe 'o r no vertical branching. Radial corallites are tubular, openings are directed upwards and are v.ariously shaped. Most easily confused with: this species is not easily confused with any other. LOVELLI GROUP All uncommon except in v,e ry specific habitats of particular reefs. Radial corallites large round openings, appressed tubular, equal shapes and sizes. A. glauca Corymbose plates. Radial corallites naIiform with obvious openings. Most easily confused with: A. solitaryensis VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 49 VERWEYI GROUP Only one species in this group. A. ver:weyi Small bushy colonies with thin branches. Radial corallites thickened walls with obvious openings. Most easily confused with: A. auster,a, A. latistella FORMOSA GROUP Open arborescent branching mode (no other distinctive features: this is probably not a monophyletic group). A·formosa Radial corallites crowded, tubular with small, usually oval shaped openin,gs. Most easily confused with: A. intennedia, A. grandis, A. microphthalma A. grandis Sprawlin.g colonies. Radial ,corallites tubular, widely spaced, directed outwards, vary in size and have round openings. Most easily confused with: A. intermedia, A. formosa A. valenciennesi Large open arborescent table with upward curvin,g branches. Most easily confused w·th: A. acuminata, A. hoeksemai A. ｴ･ｾｳ＠ Colonies br.anching composed of twisted plain branches which divide irregularly. Axial and Radial corallites are small. Radial corallites with circular openings. Coenosteum is ,coarse. Similar to A. formosa which has larger mor,e exsert radial and axial ｣ｯｲ｡ｬｩｴｾｳＮ＠ abrolhosensis They appear like A. ROBUSTA GROUP Radial corallites and coenosteum is very similar in all species in this group, main differences are in growth fQrm Radial coralHtes dimorphic: long tubular corallites with dirnidiate openings interspersed with subimmersed corallites Coenosteum structure dimorphic: costate on radials, veticuiate between radials A. robusta Colonies arborescent tables, with digitate central br,anches and upwardly curving peripheral branches Most easily confused with,: A. ｡｢ｾｯｴｮｩ､･ｳ＠ A. a brotan 0 ides Colonies have thlck main branching units which proliferate distally Most easily confused with: A. robusta 50 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL A palmerae Encrusting growth form, sometimes with irregular branching. Most easily confused with: A. robusta A. intermedia Arborescent with straight branches. Most easily confused with: A. grandis, A. formosa A. polystoma Thick plates or corymbose colonies. Most easily confused with: A. abrotanoides, A listen A. pinguis Colonies with short thick tapering branches. Calices ,conspicuous. Septa are well developed. Similar to A. robusta SELAGO GROUP Radial corallites have variations of a c,o chleariform shape ie upper wall is short and weakly developed and the lower w,all forms a flaring lip. A. selago Corymbose ,colonies, some anastomosing of branches. Radial corallites appressed and cochleariform with "point-ed" lips. Most easily confused with: A. tenuis A. tenuis Corymbose ,colonies, well developed cochleariJorm coraJIites, lips of radial corallites rounded. Most easily confused with: A. selago A. donei Large arborescent table. Radial corallites cochleariform with a reduced rp. Most easily confused with: A. yongei A. yongei Arborescent Radial corallites cochleariform. Most easily confused with: A. oonei ASPERA GROUP All species have labellate radial corallites ie bottom/outer wall present and upper w,all absent or v,ery reduced A. aspera Arboresce IJ Larger rounded lipped r,adial cor,allites with smaller radial coraJIites between. Most easi y confused with: A. pulchra VIENKATARAMAN AND 51 S ATYANARAYANA Arborescent. Radial corallites have pointed (not rounded) lips and are a mixture of sizes. Most easily confused with: A. aspera A. millepora Corymbose ,oolonies with thin to medium sized branches. Radial corallites are all of a similar size, evenly arranged with large rounded lips giving branches. scaJy" appeaIance. a ､ ｩ ｳｴｩｾ｣ｶ･＠ IF Most easily confused with: A. spathulata A. spicifera Tables or corymbose colonies with thin branches. Radial corallites are all of a similar size, evenly ｡ｲｾｧ･､＠ with rounded lips. Most easily confused with: A, millepora A. papi,llay,e Sub-arborescent colonies with sturdy branches. Radial corallites mostly one size with rounded, labellate lower walls. Most easi y confused w' til.: A. aspera, A.robusta FLORIDA GROUP Sturdy hlspidose branches ie short evenly sized and shaped secondary branches. Radial corallites approach a labellate shape. A·florida Colonies may be quite large, br.anches are sturdy, hispidose with regularly spaced small branchlets. Axial corallites are of similar siZJe to the radial corallites. Live colonies hav,e a distinctiv,e colouring: greenish brown, yellow or brown. Most easily confused with: This species is quite distinct. HYACINTHUS GROUP Colonies are tables or plates. ｒ｡､ｩｬ｣ｯｲｴｾｳ＠ labellat-e ie bottomJ out-er wall present and upper wall absent or v,e ry reduced. A. hyacinthus Radial corallites have neat rounded lips formin g a H osette" around the axial ,corallite. Most easily confused with: A. cytherea A. antho,cercis Thick plates or corymbose. Axial oorallites large, radial corallites labellate with thick walls. Most eas' l y confused with- A.hyacinthus A. cytherea Branchlets have groups of 2-3 .axial corallites. Radial corallites hav'e .e lon.g ate v,e rtical lips. Most easily confused w ith: A. hyacinthus 52 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL A. microclados Corymbose coLonies. R.adial corallites nariform to labellate. Most easily confused with: A.cerealisl A.selago A. paniculata Tables often with fairly widely spaced branches. Radial corallites nariform to labellate. Most easily confused with: A.cytherea Acropora plana Tables formed by irregularly fused upright branches. Axial corallites are tubular. Radial corallites are appressed. Simialr to A. cytherea which has smaller and even branches. L.ATISTELLA GROUP Corymbose colonies with slender branches. Radial corallites are small, appr-essed tubular with round openings. A. latistella Radial corallites are fairly closely arranged, septa obvious in skeletal samples. Most easily confused with: A.,aculeus HORRID A GROUP Growth form of all species in this group range fr-om open ,arborescent to hispidose to irregular caespitose. Radial corallites are tubular with round openings. A. vaughani Radial corallites are widely spaced, tubular, have thickened w,alls and are often directed outwards. Most easily confused with: A.horrida, A.variolosa A. microphthalma Branches slender. Radial corallites tubular and very neatly arranged. Live colonjes axe whjte, ,c ream or gery. Most easily confused with: AjormQsa Appressed tubular Ｈｰｯ｣ｫ･ｴＭ ｬｩ ｾ･Ｉ＠ L'ORIPES GROUP corallites with very thick walls. Coenosteum is a very dense ｡ｲｾｧ･ｭｮｴ＠ of elaborated spines on and betw'e en radial corallites giving branches and walls of coran'tes a smooth appe.arance. A. loripes Colonies form thick hispoidose branches, corymbose. Radial corallites are large, thick walled with rounded openin,gs, upper sides of branches may be devoid of radial corallites. Most easily confused with: A.longicyathus, A. granulose, A. squarrosa. VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 53 A. squa",osa Colonies are Qorymbose to cespito--corymbose. Radial corallites appressed tubular to immersed with round openings, widely spaced. Most easily confused with: A. loripes A. chestetfieldensis Colonies corymbose to caespito-<:orymbose. Radial corallites appressed tubular with neat appearanoe. Most easily confused with: A. loripes A. granulosa Small, thick plates with a large proportion of axial compared with radial ,cor,allites, branches terete. Radial corallites are simple appressed pockets. A. caroliniana Small, thick plates, sturdy branchlets may ,a pproach a hlspidose form. Branchlets are composed of Long tubular radial corallites or incipient axial corallites which often cW'Ve upwards, other radial corallites are simple tubular appressed or appressed pockets. Most easily confused with: A. granulosa ECHINATA GROUP All species have a hJspidose or bottlebrush growth form. Radial corallites ｡ｾ･＠ few relative to ,axial corallites. AU species have tubular or tubulaI appressed (pocket-like) radial corallites with round openings. Dimension of branches and degree of calcification incr,eases in the order the species are listed. A. ,echinata Can dev1elop long spraw j ng branches Axial corallites .of branchlets have round, open calices Goenosteum on walls of corallites is costate Live colonies are usually whi te purple or blue branch tips Most easily confused with: A. subglabra A. subglabra Axial ,c1ol allites 'of b anchlets have rOWld and slightly contracted calices Coenosteum orms lines .of sp' nules on w,alls of corallites Most easily confused w·th: A. ,echinata, A. ,carduus A. longicyathus Radial corallites ar'e crowded, large with fairly thick walls Coenosteum is reticulate with elaborate spinules Most easily confused with: A. eIseyif A. carduus, A. loripesf A. awi 54 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL A. carduus Colonies are bottlebrush like. Colonies form bushes with vertical or horizontal main branches. Branches are evenly spaced. Corallites are small and exsert. Subgenus Isopora Colonies can have more than I axial corallite per branch. V,ery dense coenosteum and very elaborate spinules of similar appearance in all 3 species in this group. A. pa lifiera Branches and coralHtes have a swollen appearance. Radial corallites tubular appressed with dimidiate openin,gs. Most easily confused with: A. cuneata, A. brueggemanni A. brueggemanni Branches usually have one axial corallite, Radial ,corallites appressed. Most easily confused with: A. palifer,a Other Species A. effiQrescens Corallum are flat plates. Axial and radial coralHtes have sharp tips and are not only distin,guishable. Septa are "" ,ell developed. A. proxima lis Colonies with irr,egular branches forming thickets. Branches may be upright or prostrate. Corallites on the undersurface are mostly missing. Small Axial cor,allites. Elongat-ed and strongly appressed radial ,corallit-es. Papillae are developed at the underside of the corallites, dried coral yellow in colour. A. rambleri Tables with horizontal and open branches. Axial Qorallit-es are long and tubular. Radial corallites with nariform openings and are incipient on main branches. VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 55 GENUS Astreopora de Blainville, 1830 Charact-ers: ａｳｾ･ｯｰ｡＠ is a well-defined genus. Colonies may be massive.. laminar, encrusting or folia,oeolls. Corallit-es are immersed or conical with short, numerous, neatly spaced short septa. Columellae are deeply set and compact. Coallite walls are sl" ghtly porous and the coe' osteum and walls have few elaborations. ,a re extended at' Astreopora lister:i Astr.eopora micropthalma Astreopor.a cucullata A. myri,o phthalma Massive, hemispherical or flattened colonies. The colony surface is usually ev'en. Corallites are slightly conical with smaller immersed corallites between. Coenosteum is made of short spinules with elaborated tips. Similar to A. listen which is distinguished by its smooth coenostem and immez;sed ,corallites. A. listen Massive, hemispherical or flattened colonies. Corallites immersed. Coenosteum covered with closely feathery spinules, giving a spiny appearanoe. Similar to A. myri.ophthalma which has the same growth form but different corallites and coenosteum. 56 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL A. gracilis Sub-massive. Corallites of irregular sizes, some exsert corallites inclined in diffevent directtons. Coenosteum is smooth and composed of compacted spinules. Similar to A. myriophthalma but its 'corallites are arranged in an orderly fashion. A. cucullata Thick, sub-massive to encrusting plat-es with a well developed epitheca and sometimes short , ootlets. Corallites inclined on the corallum surface. Coenosteum made up of elaborated spinules giving calice rims ,a feathery appear.ance. Similar to A. Ｕ｣｡ｾ＠ . A. randalli Colonies a..re encrusting or massive. Immersed corallites with round openings. Fine coenosteum papillae mostly form rows down the corallites giving a feathery appearance to the oorallHes. - A. scabra Colonies massive. Corallites are conical and conspicuous. Septa are w,ell developed. Coenosteum is ,coarse with thick covering of papillae. Coenosteum papil ae are inclined. Family AGARICIIDAE Gray, 184'7 Characters: Mostly ,colonial, hermatypic ,corals. Colonies are massive, laminar or foliaceous. Corallites are immersed with poorly defined walls formed by thickening of the septo-costae. Septa seldom fuse and al'le continuous between adjacent corallite centres. They have smooth or finely serrated margins and are closely packed. Cor.als of the Family Agarididae are most similar to those of the Family Siderastreidae. P,avona clavus Pavona cactus VIENKATARAMAN AND 57 S ATYANARAYANA Leptoseris papyracea Coeloseris mayeri Pachyseris speciosa There are about 7 genera included under this family out of which only 5 are reported from India. The total number of species reco[lded in the world are 47 ,a nd out of which 25 species are reported fro ndia. GENUS Pavona Lamar,ck, 1801 Charadets: Colonies are massive, laminar or foliaceous, the latter usually being bifacial. Corallites have poorly defined walls. They are small shallow depressions, usually with a ,c entral columella, sometimes separ,a ted by ridges. Cor,allites are intercormected by exsert ｳ･ｰｴｯ ｾ ｣ｯｳｴ｡･Ｎ＠ Most Pavona species extend their polyps only at night. Pavona cactus Thin, ,c ontorted upright frond. Coralh tes v,e ry small, Corallites aligned in irr,e gulaI rows. Small size of corallites resemble P. decu$sata Pavona explanulata Usually ,e ncrusting or laminar, larger colonies massive to ,colunmar. Corallites fairly small (larger in this species than other Pavona species), ,c ompact ,a nd lack any form of a corallite wall. Corallit-es widely spaced and circular. Generic affinity uncertain as this species is very similar to Leptoseris 58 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Pavona clavus Larger colonies mostly columnar, columns to 10 cm thick Corallites very small, 2.5-3.5 mm diameter-irregularly aligned or in short valleys Columellae rudimentary or absent Corallite wall may be v'e ry thick or variable Pavona venosa Massive to encrusting Corallit-es in short valleys with acute walls (collines) 3 orders of speta Lack of columella dev,e lopment Usually septa ,a re more ｷｾ､･＠ y spaced ,a nd ess ,e ve in height Similar to P. varians which has less developed collines and usally 2 .orders of septa P,ovona varians Submassive, plate-like or encrusting. Corallites in short irregular valleys between ridges, perpendicular to margLns Septa in two (sometimes indistinct) alternate orders. Pavona maldivensis Laminar, encrusting &/ or branching Corallites dtlcular and irregularly sized with distinct thecas P,a v,ona ,decussata Thick, interconnecting upright plates. Irregular deeply set cor.alFtes, sometimes aligned par,a! e l to margins. Similar to P. danae and P. frQndifer.a Pavona duerdeni Ｈｰｲｾｶｩｯｵｳｬｹ＠ ca ed P. minuata in Schee and Pi1lai, 1974) Massive or divided into irregular ridg'es, Dense skeleton Small corallit-es giving colony a smooth appearance Strongly alternating septo-costae Corallites resemble P. clavus but are smaller with more exsert primary ｳ･ｰｴｯ ｾ ｣ｯｳｴ｡･Ｎ＠ Pavona minuta (P. xarifae by Scheer and P'llai (1'974), synonomysed in Veron, 2000) Submassive or encrusting with thin mar,gins, Smooth surface due to the small, widely spaced corallites (2-3 nun diameter) Corallit-es walls thick (because of wedge shaped septa) p, minuta has more regular c,a lkes with fewer, more ｲｾｧｵｬ｡ columellae than P. clavus. Ｎ ｊ＠ more exsert septa and well formed Pavona bipartita Submassive or encrusting c,olomes. Corallites uniformly distributed but coUines are uneven in height and may form slightly raised ridges. VIENKATARAMAN AND 59 S ATYANARAYANA Septo costae are in two slightly alt-ernating orders Similar to P. ､ｵ･ｾｮｩ＠ P,avona ,danai Colonies short, mostly leafy with short and laminar twisted fronds. Corallites ,a re aligned v'ertically in short shallow valleys. GENUS Leptoseris Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849 Characters: Colonies are foliaceous and have a delicate leafy appearance. On occasstons, colonies may be laminar or encrusting. They ｦｾ･ｱｵｮｴｬｹ＠ have a distinctive ,c entral corallite. Cora lites have poorly defined walls. There are small shallow depr,essions with a central ,c-olumella, usually separated by ridges and interconnected by fine septo<ostae. Leptoseris is similar to Pavona. Ev,e n though they are widespread, most species show ,considerable geographic - as w,ell as environmental variations. L. papyr,acea Delicate, irregularly dividin-.g fronds. Each frond has only a few corallites Similar to L. gardineri which is larger and coarser and hasfronds containing many ,corallites. L. gardineri Colonies are horizontal, unifacial with subdividing fronds. Corallites are aligned near the centre of fronds. May form dense thickets. Fronds are larger and ,c oarser than L. papyracea. L. exp,lanata Laminar plates which may be horizontal with entire or lobed margins and contorted branches. Calices ,e longate to circular, <6 mm max dimension, usually inclined toward margins. Septo-costae very ｵｾ･ｱ｡ｬＭ ｦ ｩｲｳｴ＠ order larger, thjcker, more exsert Similar to L gardineri but L. explanulata has larger corallites which are more prominent, wider branches, more septa and markedly unequal septo-costae. L. scabra Laminar, encrusting, may be highly contorted forming hollow columns, tubes, fronds Corallites large, sometimes indistinct in highly 'contorted ,colonies Coral1ites may be move spaced towards the colony perimeter and outw,a rdly inclined. 2 ,cycles of septa alternate strongly Thecae usually thick Similar to L. hawaiiensis which has deep, rounded corallites and a smooth 'c oenosteum. Aslo resembles L. solida and L. striata but they do not have strongly inclined corallites. L. mycetoseroides Primarily encrusting with free laminar maIgins, up to 2m diameter .and sometimes sev,e ral tiers Plates hav'e short irregular folds on the surface Corallites are crowded between folds except to wards the periphery where they are aligned in rows parallel to the margins. 60 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL CoraUites outwaIdly inclined, thecae not well defined ｓ･ｰｴｯ ｾ ｣ｯｳｴ｡･＠ usually in 2 alternating orders Similar to L. tenuis which has identical septcrcostae L. yabei Laminar vertical to horizontal & or overlapping tiers frequently with upturned margins, unifacial unless fronds fuse, sometimes fluted tubes. Corallites in rectangular pockets formed between radiating ridges. Calices frequently inclined to colony margin Septo..costae 2 alternating orders, undersurface of colonies are finely costate ,a nd folded, folds correspond to collines. L. incrustans Primarily encrusting, also ｰｬ｡ｴ･ＭｩｾＮ＠ Plate often have radiating ridges. Corallites are small and closely compacted. The coenosteum has numerous hydnophorotd projections. Similar to L hamaiiensis which has larger corallites and no hydnophora-like projections. L. ｭｹ｣･ｴｯｳｾｩ､＠ is similar also but is has more well developed radiating ridges. L. foliosa (L. tenuis in AIMS Monograph) Encrusting, submassive or unifadallaminae with free margins. Radiating folds may be present. Outwardly inclined, small and shallow corallit-es in irregular rows parallel to colony margin, Little or no dev,e lopment of thecae. Costae fine, equal or slightly alternate, closely spaced and heavily granulated giving colonies a smooth appearance. Similar to L. yabei but lacks radiating ridges and the alternate wider spaced septal Resembles L. explan"ata but lacks alternating septo-costae. Leptoseries hawaiiensis Colonies aIe encrusti-.ng laminae. CorallUes are deep and rounded, irregularly d istributed and sightly inclined towards the perimeter. Septo-costae ,a re very 'e ven, giving the coenosteum a smooth appearance. Brown or green in ,c olour, usually mottled. GENUS Coelo,s,eris Vaughan, 1918 Characters: Monospecific and well defined genus. Colon'es are massive either r,o unded or hjllocky. CoraUa are cerioid with ,c olonies formed by monostomodaeal budding. Columellae are absent and the axial space is open. It has Pavona - like, neatly arranged septo-costae, which join, at the top .of the walls. Polyps ar,e extended only at night. Superficially it looks like a faviid, and it is closely related to P,avona, VIENKATARAMAN AND 61 S ATYANARAYANA Coeloserismayeri Colonies massive or rounded. Corallites are ceriod without ,c olumellae and neatly arr,a nged ｓ･ｰｴｯ ｾ ｣ｯｳｴ｡･＠ ｳ･ｰｴｯ ｾ ｣ｯｳｴ｡･Ｎ＠ join at the top of the walls. GENUS Gal'dineros,eris Scheer and Pillai, 1974 Characters! It is a monospecific genus, colonies are massive to encrusting, sometimes with laminar margins. Corallites have poorly defined walls but are separated by acute ridges so that each corallite septo-costae aIle fine and even. is at the bottom of a neat excavation. Columellae are present ｾｮ､＠ Polyps are ext-ended only at night. Gal'dineros,eris planulata Massive or encrusting, sometimes with laminar margins. Corallites have poorly defined walls but are separated by acute ridges. Columellae present, septa-costae are fine and ,even. May resemble Pavona varians and Pavoana vensoa. GENUS P,achyseris Milne Edwards and Haime, 1849 Characters: Colonies are laminar (upright fronds) and unifacial, to branchin,g and bifaciaL usually highly contorted. The surface is a series of concentric ddges paranel with the Branches ｡ｾ･＠ margins. Corallite centres are not discernible. VaUeys are concentric and parallel to the corallum ed,ge. Columellae are wall-like with lobed upper margins or absent. Septo-costae are fine, even and tightly compact,ed. P.gemmae Colonies have both horizontal and uprl,g ht irregularly folded fronds. Valleys are parallel to frond mar,g ins ex,c ept towards the base of fronds where they become irregular. Colines are wavy. Columellae are ｷ｡ｬＭｩｾ･＠ and dearly fused with septo-costae. May resemble tiered forms of Pachyseris speciosa P. speciosa Colonies a.re unifaciallaminae-usually horizontat but may have upright ridges or ,c olumns. Columella absent or rudimentary. More than one row of corallites may occur between ridges Similar to P. gemmae P. rugosa ｷｾ＠ de range of growth forms with irre,g ular vertical plates, ridges, columns which branch and anastomose. Columella always well formed, continuous or discontinuous plates. Similar to Pachyseris gemmae 62 CORAL IDENTrfICA'flON MANUAL Pavona decussata Coeloseris mayerl Pachyseris rugosa Ga,rdineroseris p,lanulata Pa'Vona cactus VIBNKATARAMAN AND 63 S ATYANARAYANA FAMILY: ASTROCOENIIDAE Koby, 1890 There ,a re about 6 genera included in the world out of which three ｧ･ｮｲ Ｌ ｾ＠ StyZocoeniella, Palauastrea and Madracis are reported from I , _dia. All the gen-era have dose affinities w'th Pocil1opor·dae. Stylelike columellae and neatly arranged solid septa are important characters to this family. Palauast-rea and Madracis, previously placed in family Pocilloporidae, have been moved to the Astrocoeniidae. A total of 6 species are reported and out of which 4 are reported from Ind' a. Stylocoeniella guentheri Madracis ｫｩｾ｢ｹ＠ GENUS Stylocoeniella Yabe and Sugiyama, 1935 ｃｨ｡ｲ｣ｴ･ｾｳＺ＠ Colonies ar,e massive, columnar or encrusting. Corallites are immersed, cir,c ular, with two unequal cycles of septa and a ｳｴｹｬ･ ｾ ｬｩｫ･＠ columella (like a pencil). The 'c oenosteum is oovered ｷｾｴｨ＠ f e spinules ,and also by arger pointed styles, which are almost as nu ef10US ,as the cor,al ites. Stylocoeniella resembles Pocllioporidae and P.ori,tes sp.rn underwat-er. Both ar,e distinguished by their lack of 'c oenosteum styles. Sfylocoeniella gtlentheri Small calices, Septa in two very unequal cycles. Corallit-es w idely spaced Septa of adjacent corallites join in some specimens Calices ,a nd septa m ay be difficult to distinguish in encrustm,g forms. Styloc.oeniella armata Larger ,corallites and more prominent styles than guentheri Encrusting Corallit-es w idely spaced Secondary cycle of septa appear longer than guentheri GENUS P,a lauastrea Milne Edwards ,a nd Haime, 1849 Chara'c ters: Colonies are branch ing, encrustin,g or submassive Cor,a llites are ploco' d ,o r plococerioid. Septa 8 or more frequently 10 larger septa present in co allites, higher :septal cycles reduced to spines. Columellae styliform and promi _ent. The growth form and 'c oenosteum are variable but the structure of the corallites and especially the non-hexameral septa are conspicuous and typical of this genus 64 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Palauastrea ramosa Star-like corallites Blunt-ended branches Corallites immersed, round, and not touching (resemble Pocilliporid) Small blunt ｳｴｹｬ･ｾｩｫ＠ columella GENUS Madracis Milne Edwards and Hahne, 1849 Characte s: Madrads is primarily an azooxanthellate genus. Colonies are massive, encrusting or columnar. Corallites ,a re large and angular and there are no coenosteum styl,es. Corallites are dosely packed and touching. Madracis kirbyi Encrusting, nodular or columnar (clubshaped) Corallites ar,e subceroid, closely compact-ed and angular. 10 septa fused with the columellae Solid conical columellae Coenosteum is covered by fine spmules. Madracis kir,b yi FAMILY: CARYOPHYLLIIDAE Gray, 1847 This is the biggest of all the scleractinian families comprising of 301 species (including 6 infr,aspecific species) belonging to 43 genera out of which only 12 species belonging to 6 genera are reported from India. Most of the species belonging to this family are azooxantbellate and found in deeper waters. Heterocyathus aequicostatus which is found in abundance all ,along the coasts and is ,a zooxanthellate species .s described here upto species level along with few commonly occurring species, all others are ,g iven only upto genus and also in the form of lists since their availability .tself is in question. GENUS Caryophyllia Lamarck, 1801 Solitary, attached or free-living, mostly cylindrical .or horn-shaped. Septa are thin ,a nd straight with smooth margins. Pali and ,columella are present. Caryophyllia smithii Gorallum solitary, subcylindrical and with a broad attachment base. Calyx elliptical. Septa ,exsert, with granulate surfac,e arranged in four or five ,cycles. Pali f,o rms a series of atleast 1'7 'o pposite septa of 3 rd cycle. Columella a series of twisted ribbons. Once described as Caryophyllia clavus in Indian waters and elsewhere.. VIENKATARAMAN AND 65 S ATYANARAYANA Caryophyllia arcuata Gorallum solitary, comuate. Calice slightly ellipticaL Septa in four cycles. Edges of septa entire, sides granular. Columella a series of twisted ribbon like trabeculae Pali poorly developed and scarcely distinct. Now it is considered as ,a fossil species in Indian waters and elsewhere. Caryophyllia grayi Corallum solitary, cornuate. Calice broadly elliptical ,c up shaped. Thin epitheca present. Septa in four complete cycles. Co umel a not deep seated, a umber of large curled ｬ ･｡ｦｾｲｫ＠ processes. GENUS D,eltocyathus Milne Edwards and Solitary, ｦｲ･ ｾ ｬｩｶｮｧ＠ and ､ｩｳ｣ ｾ ｳｨ｡ｰ･､ aime, 1848 Ｎ＠ Pali forms deltas. Deltocyathus andamanicus Corallum discoid, free living. Septa and Pali are granulat,e d. Septa with four complete cycles. Septa 'of the first 'cycle large and exsert and with pali, where as the last cycle Columella spon,gy and papil1ose. D,eltocyathus magnificus Moseley, 1876 is another valid species r,e ported from India. GENUS Para,cyathus Edwards and aime, 1848 Solitary, attached, and tapering to a pointed base. Pali merges with the ,columella. Paracyathus profundus Solitary with a broad attachment base. No epitheca, septa ranges from 60 to 80 in adult calices. The first three ,cycles of septa equally exsert and reach the Icolumella. The fourth and fifth cycles of septa unite to the third. Edges of septa entirle sides granular. Pali prominent, costs extend to the base of corallit-e. Living ,coral with a dark or purple calyx. Young ,corallites whitle, outer wall dull white. 66 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Paracyathus indicus Solitary with a expanded attachment base. Calice elliptical, deep, margin curved upwards with a slight downward curve at the ends. Septa ,exsert, numerous and unequal in five cycles. Pali small and resemble pinnacles of the columella. Columella deep, elon,g ate concave and C.onsists .of papillose structures. Edges of septa are spinulose. P,al'acyathus stokesi Azooxanthellate. Solitary and taperin,g t-o a pointed base. Without epitheca 5 to 11mm in height. l Ca 'ce ､ｾ｡ｭ･ｴｲ＠ v,a ries with t e size of the ,c ora lum, usally 5-11mm. Septa ,exsert, entire with gr.anular sides. Padi prominent and merges with the columella. GENUS Po,lycyathus Duncan, 1876 Solitary, attached, forming small co10nies by budding from the sides of parent polyps. Polycyathus verrilli Colonial, corallites formed of 'e xtratentaculaI budding. An epitheca present which may reach upto the thecal tip. Septa 30 to 36, all septa exsert, primaries the maximum, ,e xsert parts vertical, edg'es entire, side granular, First two cycles of septa reach the columella. Pali in front of the first three cycles of the septa, total Pali upto 20. Columella with 10 to 12 vertical papillae standing below the level of the pali, concave. Costae recognisable at the distal part of the corallites with a row of granules. Polycyathus andamanensis Alcock is another species reported from India. GENUS ｈ･ｴｾｯ｣ｹ｡ｨｵｳ＠ Milne Edw,a rds and Haime, 1848 Solitary, young stage attached to a small gastropod shell, which later is completely covered by the base of the coral, except an aboral hole and small lateral respirat,o ry openings which leads to a spiraling tube inhabited by a ,c ommensal sipunculid. Reterocyathus aequicostatus Mile Edwards and Haime 1848 is the only species recorded in India. Heterocyathus aequicostatus Corals ar,e solitary, fr,ee-Hving, and have a flat base. They have a commensal relationship with a spiunculid worm. The spiunculid mov'es the coral about on soft substrates and prev,e nts it from becoming buried. Polyps are ext-ended only at night. Polyp larvae settle initially ,o n dead miCl"o-molluscs which become embedded in the corallum. VIENKATARAMAN AND 67 S ATYANARAYANA Living oolonies are pale brown, often with a greenish oral disc. Costae are prominent. Similar to Hateropsammia. Hderopsammia lacks the prominent costae of Hetrocyathus. GENUS StephanQcyathus Seguenza, 1864 Solitary, patellate, free, with strong coastae. Pali is opposite one or two cycles or absent. Columella is trabecular and papillose on surface. Stephanocyathu5 nobilis (Moseley) is recorded in Lakshadweep. Caryophyllia Deltocy,a thus Paracyathus stokesi Polycyathus verilli Heterocyathus aequicostatus 68 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL FAMILY: DENDROPHYLLIIDAE Gray, 1847 Character'S! Solitary or colonial, mostly ahermatypic. Corallite walls are porous, usually composed of coenosteum. Septa are fused in a distinctive pattern (Pourtales Plan =' er margins of big er order septa curve to adjacent septa and fuse), atleast in immature corallites. Not relat-ed to any other family. This family contains only three hermatypic genera, Turbinaria, Duncanopsammia and Heteropsammia. Superficially they are completely different. Tur&inaria and HeterQPsammia are r'e ported wom India. More than eight genera are ahermatypic. Balanophyllia, Endopsammia, Tubastrea, Dendraphyllia, Enallapsammia are the ahermatypic genera recorded in India. There ar,e about 20 genera included under this family out of which 6 g,enera ar,e report-ed from India. The total number of species recorded in the world are a woofing 169 and out of which only 22 species are reported from India. GENUS Turbinaria Oken, 1815 Characters: Colonies are massive, columnar, laminar or foliaceous with laminae frequently contorted. Corallites are round, immersed to tubular and have porous walls with the same structure as the surrounding coenosteum. Septa are short and neat, ,oolumellae are broad and compact. Polyps, genus, except f,or those of T. peitata, al"e usually extended only at night. Turbinaria is a ｷ･ｬｾ､ｦｩｮ＠ which does not resembles any other except occasionally Astre"POra. l Turbinaria peltRtR Turbinaria mesenterinR T.peltata With or without stalks, encrusting or tabular, thickened, unifacial or ridges with budding margins bifacial fronds 'or cylindrical ,columns. Corallit-es crowded or Widely spaced, flush or protrude 2.5 cm. Colony margins mostly composed of closely packed, outward projecting corallites; with subsequent growth corallites become less inclined toward margins and more upw,a rd prQjecting and increasingly immersed and decrease in ｣ｯｲ｡ｬｩｴｾ＠ density towards centre. Calices circular, 3-5 mm diameter. T. mesenterina Fronds more vertical than horizontal, amount of folding varies greatly, can form a dense mass of folds and tubes, less convoluted (and ,corallites mOl"e-tubular than conical) in deeper water/ less light. Corallites 2.5 - 3.5 mtn, tubular or conical, ,calices 1.3 - 2 mm, usually protuberant and strongly inclined Le., vertical, older corallites deeply embedded to smooth. Similar to T. reniformis but T. mesenterina has thinner more tubular coralHtes. VIENKATARAMAN AND 69 S ATYANARAYANA T. renifonnis Growth form similar to T. mesen terina but not usually as convolut-ed, plates horizontal at bottom becoming inclined and folded at top. Corallites vary variable, ,c rowded to almost touching, most conical, thick walls and small calioes. Similar to T. steUulata if growth form overlaps.. T. reniformis has thicker walls.. conical corallit-es with broad base and fairly narrow apertures. T. patu,la Plates stalked.. plate ,e dges upturned, irregularly folded sub-vertical fronds. Corallit-es strongly inclined, conical to tubular, 4..6 mm diameter at rim, protrude to 1.8 cm. Elliptical calices 3.5 mm max. diameter. Similar to T. peUata which has lar,ger, less tubular coralF tes. T. frondens has smaller corallites and T. heronensis has very elongate corallites. T. frondens Usually crateriform or regular fronds, also other ,growth forms ego bare with no cor,allites. Corallites with circular ,a pertures 1.5 - 2.5 mm, regularly sp.aced and inclined, regularly protuber,ant. Similar to T. mesenterina which has smaller corallites and more highly anastomosed fronds. T. stellulata Massiv,e, dome..like oolonies formed by repeated overgrowths of plat,e,.,like or subspherical expansions. Mature Icorallites well defined thec.ae, conical, protrude to 2 em, 3 4 mID diameter, calices wide approx. 2nun giving corallites an open appear,ance. Similar to T. radicalis which is also encrusting but has rootlets and has smaller usually less protuberant corallites. T. undata Colony surfaces are unifacial.. bifaciat ,o r form fused tubes or columns with cor,allites on the outer surface. Corallit-es are round, range from immersed to tubular, usually widely spaced. Development of septa following Pourtales plan only evident in inunatur,e Icorallit-es. Paliform lobes and costae aIe absent. GENUS Tubastrea Lesson, 1829 Cha-.racters: Colonies form small dumps. Corallites plocoid. Septa thin, following PourtaJes plan only in early stages. Columellae small. CorallUe walls ar,e thin, Qoenosteum as described for this family. Tubastrea aurea Corallum with an encrusting base sending up plocoid corallites. Septa in tlu'ee ICycles with few of the fouxth cycle. Primary septa broadest, but little exsert. Septa deeply descending of uniform width throughout the length, Twelve septa reach the columella, others unite to the lower cycles in a dendrophylliid pattern. 70 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL Columella rudimentary. Costae sinuous reach the base of the corallites, united by transverse connections. It resembles T. ooccinea. Tubastrea micranthus Colonies ar'e dendroid and arborescent,. Several branchlets radiate in all directions. Branchlets flattened or rounded. Corallit-es 6 t-o 8 mIn in diameter. Corallites are usually broader at the top than at the basal part. Septa in three cycles, the third very narrow and often obsolete. Primary cycles of septa unite. Corallite wall thin and porous. The following species belonging to this genus are also report-ed from the Indian waters and fall under ,azooxanthellate group ,of cor,als. Tt4bastrea coccinea Colonies spherical to mound shaped upto 13 ,e m in diameter. Corallites cylindrical. Septa in four cycles. Columella small ,a nd spongy. T. diaphana is another species reported from Indian waters. GENUS Dendrophyllia (Blainville, 1830) Azooxanthellate and col,o nial cor,a ls. Colonies may be sm,a ll and bushy or dendroid with sympodial branchin,g. Branching is extratentacular. Septa develop according to Pourtales plan. Columella prominent: spon,gy or papillose. Corallit-e walls are thin. Dendrophyllia resembles ｔｵ｢｡ｳｾ･＠ and ,c an be distinguished by the latter's mature corallites not having septa dearly arranged according to ' Pourtales Plan ',. Dendl'Ophyllia arbus,c ula Colonies dendroid with branches radiating froOm ,a ,c entr,al stem. Larger corallites have two to four smaller buds. Adult calices 6 t-o 8 nun in diameter and 4 to 5 mm in deep. Septa in four cycles with ,a few of the ｦｩｾｨＮ＠ The primaries are the broadest. It is a little discovered species. DendrophyUia co,a rctata Colonies dendroid ,a nd branching. Corallites 10 to 15 nun in diameter and 10 nun deep. Septa in fou-.r full cycles with a few of the fifth. The first two cycles are larger than others. Septa not exsert. VIENKATARAMAN AND 71 S ATYANARAYANA Costae ,c orrespond to septa, extend to the base of the ,corallite, connected by transverse ridges, wall porous Columella spongy, convex, circular or elongated in 'outline. It resembles Lobophy.llia robusta. D,endrophylUa indica Corallum branching. Corallites ,a rrange all around the main stem and the b anches. Calices 1'Iounded, generally 10 mm in diameter. Septa' fou complete cycles. The first three cydes ,a lways reach the ,columella; distinction between primaries ,a nd secondaries clear. Columella formed of loose trabeculae. Costate w,avy. Spinulations on the costae small, rounded ,a nd scattered. D,endrophyllia minuscu.l,a Bourne, 1905 Colonies are branchlets and slender. Coralhtes ,are upto 8 mm long. The ,costae ,o f the cora lites and branchlets are irregular. Calices ｡ｲｾ＠ slightly oval. Septa taper from the wall to the columella and first three cycles are complete, the fourth and fifth ,cycles are incomplete. GENUS Balanophyllia W,ood, 1844 Characters: Common only on the roofs of ,caves. This genus is solitary or forms small attached dumps, solitaI}' colonies taper towa-.rds their base. Corallites are elliptical in cross-section. Septa develop according to Pourtales plan. Columellae well developed, spongy. Corallite walls are thick, costae are developed. The following species belonging to thjs genus are reported from the Indian waters .and fall under azooxanthellare group of cor,als. 1. Balanophyllia imperialis Kent; 2. Balanophyllia scabra Alcock 3. Balanophyllia affinis (Semper, 1872) GENUS End,o psammia Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 Cha-.racters: Solitary, free-living or attached and cylindncaL Septa are thin and ,columellae are weakly developed. No similar genus. Endopsammia philippinensis Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 is the only reported species in India. Endopsammia philippinensis Solitary and ｦｩ ｾ･､＠ ,coralla. Epitheca present. Calices dr,c ular or oval, shalLow. Septal edges entire, sides granular. 72 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Costae with single row of granules. Columella well developed. Two to three papilliform projections from columella. Wall porous, GENUS Heteropsammia Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 Heteropsammia is well adapted on soft substrates. It always has worms and thus appears to be dependent on them, Nine nominal species are reported from the world. One species is recorded from India. Solitary or colonial with up to 7 calices resulting from mono or distomodaeal intratentacular budding, fvee, base enclosing tube of ,c onune sal sipunculid. Wa 1thick and spongy; costae reduced to multiple rows of crispatce granulations becomin,g labyrinthine over base. Septa following I PourtaLes plan', lower ,cycles thick and spongy. Columella well developed. Heteropsammia and Heterocyathus are structural and ecological equiv,al,e ntsi Psammoseris is at least a structural equivalent. l eterpsammia cochlea (Spengler, 1781) is the ,o nly species recorded in India. Heteropsammia cochlea Corals are solitary. Contains ,a hole at the bottom harbouring commensal sipunculid worm, which helps the coral to move. Corallum hourglass shaped with one or two coraUites some even more. Well developed septa with pourtales plan. Porous coenosteum. Columellae pr,esent. Heteropsammia resembles caryophyllid Heterocyathus GENUS Enallopsammia Micheloti, 1871 Characters: Dendroid colonies formed by extra-tentacular budding, the calices generally on <one side of branches which tend to anastomose in one plane. Septa followin,g Po-urtales plan only in early stages and the columella are weakly developed. The following species belongLng to this genus aIe reported from the India,n waters and their validity is at stake. 1. Enallopsammia amphelioides (Alcock) 2. Enallopsammia marenzelleri Zibrowius TubllStrea aurea Dendr-ophyllia indica B/danophyllia affinis VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 73 FAMILY: EUPHYLLIDAE V,eron, 2000 Species of this family are commonly called as bubble ,c orals. The shape of the ,e xtended tentacles . underwater is used to identify the species. The museum specimens are d' ficult to identify. There are fiv,e reported genera from the world of which three are r,ecorded in India. The Family Euphyllidae was recently (Ver<on, 2000) erected by moving fiv'e gener.a viz., Euphyllia Catalaphyllia, Nemansophyllia Pleurogyra and Physogyra from the Family Ca yophyUiidae due to the presence or ,absence of J J zooxantheUae" Characters: Colonies ,are phaceloid, meandroid or flabello-meandroid, with large, solid and widely spaced septo-costae, which have little or no ornamentation. Corallite walls have a similar structure. All species are zooxanthellate. Physogyra lichtensteini Plerogyra sinuosa EuphyUia g.labrescens GENUS Euphyllia Dana, 1846 For two centuries, corals hav,e been identified entirely by their skeletons, but only in Euphyllia the appearance of living polyp is bein,g used to identify different species. ｾ ｰｨ ｡｣･ｬｯｩ､Ｌ＠ the latte usually domeCharacters: Colonies are abello· d, phaceloid or ｭ･｡ｮ､ｲｯ shaped. Walls are thin and imperforate. Columellae are mostly absent. Septa are prominent, smoothed,g ed and imperforate. Polyps are ,extended day and night, are large and fleshy and have tentacles, which vary in shape or each species. Euphyllia and Plerogyra coralla may be similar, but living polyps are completely different. Euphyllia ancora Colonies flabello meandroid. Polyps with distinctive ｡ｮ｣ｨｯｲ ｾ ｳｨ｡ｰ･､＠ tentacle ,ends. Tentacles may sometimes have branchlets. Rarely seen in Indian waters, Euphyllia glabrescens Colonies are phaceloid. Corallit-es are usually separated by 0.5-1 corallit-e diamet-ers. Septa aIe lot strongly exert. Polyps hav,e tubular tentacles. Usually grey-blue to grey-green w·th cream, green or white tips to the tentacles in colour. GENUS Plerogyra Mi e Edwards and I aime, 1848 Plerogyra is one 'of the few corals sufficiently well ,a rmed to be able to sting a human. 74 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Characters: Colonies are phaceloid to flabello-meandroid with valleys mor'e or less connected by a light blistery coenosteum. Septa are large, imperforate, ｳｭｯｴｨ ｾ ･､ｧＬ＠ very exsert and widely spaced. Columellae are absent. Polyps are ext-ended only at night. During the day, polyps ext-end cluster;s of grey vesicles, the size and shape of large grapes. Plerogyra sinuosa Colonies are flabello-meandroid. Septa are larg,e, imperforate, ｳｭｯｴｨ ｾ ･､ｧＬ＠ very ,exsert Walls ,a re imperforate. Columella are absent. These r-etract slowly, if at all, when distributed. Usually bluish-gr,e y in colour. GENUS Phys,ogyra Quelch, 1884 Like ｐｬｾｯｧｹｲ｡Ｌ＠ Physogyra is capable of stin,g ing humans. It is ,a monospecific genus. Physogyra lichtensteini Colonies are meandrotd with short, widely separated Yalleys and massive . Valleys interconnected with blistery 'c oenosteum. Septa are larg,e, imperforate, smootb..edged, exsert and widely spaced. Walls ,a re imperforate. Columellae are absent Plerogyra sinuosa Euphyllia glabrescens PhysogyrQ lichtensteini VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 75 FAMILY: FAVIIDAE Greg.ory, 1900 The Faviidae is one of the most important f,amities 'Of scleractinian corals. It is the biggest in terms of number ,of ,genera. All extant ｳｰ･｣ｾ＠ es are ｨ･ｲｭ｡ｴｹｰｾ Ｌ ｣＠ and colonial. Septa, paliform lobes, co umellae and wall structures, when present, all appear to be structurally similar. Septal structures are simple, columellae are a simple tangle of elongate septal te,e th, walls are composed of thickened septa and cross-rnkages. Families Merulinida,e and Trachyphyllidae and Mussidae are related to familily Faviidae. Family Faviidae is composed of the 26 genera; (Dip loria, CaZpophyllia, Manicinia, Solenastrea, Cladocora, Astreosmilia, Erythrastrea, Caulastrea, Favia, Barabattoia, Favites, Goniastr,ea, Platygyra, Australogyra, Leptoria, Oulophyllia, Oulastrea, Montastrea, Plesiastr.ea, Diploastrea, Leptastrea, Cyphastrea, Echinopora and Mose,leya) composed of 126 species out of which 53 species belonging to 126 species are rep.orted from India. The majority of faviid genera are easily rec.ognised because they ,a re composed of a small number of species all of which hav,e a number .of distinctive characters in common. However, four genera, Favia, Barabattoia, Favites and Monastrea, may be confused. Favia favus Diploastrea heUopOf'a Goniastrea r-etiformis Echinopora lamellosa Leptona phrygia Oulophyllia crispa GENUS Caulastrea Dana, 1846 Characters: Colonies phaceloid with divergent branching. Septa finely dentate. Costae have fine c,o stal spines. Edge zone developed Caulastrea tumida Branches sho t, thick C.orallites small (10-12 mm diameter) and circular .or large (12-15 mm diameter) and oval to triangular, corallite walls thick ie. 1.5-2 nun Septa slightly exsert to 2 mm, markedly thickened close to wall, dentations well developed especially on inner half of septal margin, ,c olumella trabecular and well developed Edge zone ＱＰｾＳＵ＠ nun, max length unknown because ,all specimens (only four) in monograph series have short br,a nches C.ostae more developed toward branch extremities, smooth .or finely dentate Similar to Caulastre,a cannata. 76 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL GENUS Favia Oken, 1815 Charact-ers: Colonies are usually massive, either flat or dome-shaped. Corallites are monocentric and plocoid, each corallites projects slightly above the colony surface and have their own wall. Intratentacular divis'on forms daughter cora lites. Po yps ,are extended only at night ,a nd have a simple circle of tapering tentacles, often with ,a pigmented tip. Favia is similar to Favites but the latter has cerioid corallites. This distinction is sometimes arbitrary, because corallites of Fav'ia are further characterised by subdividing equally, whereas, corallites of Favites usually subdivide unequally, producing daughter ,corallites of different sizes. Species with :s mall Corallites '( averaging less than ,8 mm diameter) Favia stelligera Colonies massive, colunmar, hillocky or flat. Corallit-es plocoid, v,e ry small (2.5-3.5 nun diameter), evenly distributed with thick walls. Septa moderately exsel'1t. Paliform lobes large. Theca usually thick, coenosteum SInooth and frequently blistered ｂｵ､ｾ＠ g is predominantly ,extratentacular, at least . colonies from exposed biotopes. I Growth form makes this species distinctive. Resembles Montastrea species but they have larger corallites. Species with middle sized Coral ites (averaging ,8-12 mm diameter) Favia pallida Colonies massive and rounded Corallites plocoid or ploco-cerioid, 6-10 mm diameter, usually less than or equal to 2 nun exsert, Calices ,circular, irr,e gularly squashed together or elliptical. Corallites closely compacted in shallow w,ater, more widely spaced in deeper water. Septa are widely spaced, thickened over thecae and tapered towards centre, descend abruptly into corallite centre. Paliform lobes range from being inoonspicuous or absent to formin,g a crown. Septa have short dentations. Costae -w hen present are regularly dentate and usually ,equal. Coenosteum is smooth or slightly blistered. Ploco-cerioid ,colonies usually have thin walls and thin septa. Similar to F. favus and F. matthai. Favia spe,ciosa Colonies massive. Corallites circular and closely compacted in shallow water, more widely spaced in deeper water. Calices crowded with fine, numerous and regular septa. Paliform lobes are oft-en underdeveloped. Similar to F. pallidtl but it has drcular or ,elliptical calices which are less crowded and shallower. Favia matthai Colonies are massive and rounded, occaSionally flat or encrusting. Gorallites are crowded, plocoid, circular, Ｙ ｾ ＱＵ＠ mm diameter, shallow ,o pen calices. VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 77 Septa are thickened and exsert with large teeth near the wall. A w,ell developed paliform crown is present. Sometimes 3 cycles 'of septa appear as a series of crowns in concentric circles. Costa@ beaded and not usually joined with costa@ of adjacent corallites Coenosteum usually blistered Budding is entirely intratentacular Similar to F. pallida but F. matthai has shallower, more open ,calices with more exs@rt septa ,a nd a more prominent paliform crown or series of crowns, concentric ,circles ,of eLongated ｳ･ｰｴｯ ｾ ｣ｯｳｴ｡ｬ＠ dentations are readily recognisable underwater. F. favus has markedly larger, more protruding corallites than F. matthai and substantially different calicular structures. Favia helianthoides Submassive. Corallit@s plocoid and uniform in shape. Project 1-2 mm, 1.5-2 mm apart, calices 3-3.5 mm dia eter. Paliform lobes are well developed. Septa neatly arranged and thickened over the walls. Costae even and those of adjacent corallites join. Intra and extratentacular budding is present. Similar to F. ,laxa which has smaller mor-e widely spaced corallites. F. speciosa has less conical corallites. Dipioas,trea heliopor.a is also similar but it has larg,e r corallites with much thicker septo-costa@. Favia lacuna Colonies massive or submsassive. Subplocoid cor,allies crowded and irregular in shape. Septa thin, subequal and regular in he' ght. Subequal and thin ,costae. Costa@ of adjacent corallites ral'l@ly meet. Me,andro· d ,a ppearance with valleys. Indistinct paliform lobes and Columellae are small and compact. Species with ｬｾｧ･＠ Coral ites '( averaging more than 12 mm diameter) Favia favus Colonies are massive and rounded, sometimes flattened Corallites plocoid, 12-20 mm diameter, up to 5 mm exsert with broad bases, ie ,conical corallites w hich are quite protruding. Corallites ,a re usually circular but may be irregular in shape, endotheca almost always ,cylindricat calices deep (in ,corallites where the theca is not exsert) or shallow. Septa not usually in distinct orders, usually regularly 'exsert. Septal dentations present ,a nd slope inwards. Palifiorm lobes usually present but vary worn barely I1ecognisable to forming a distinct crown. Costae ,a re equal and frequently aligned between adjacent corallites. Coenosteum usually blistered. 78 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL This is one of the most ,a bundant and variable Favia species. It closely resembles the F. amicorum complex which has smaller more exsert ,corallites with thirmer thecae. Similar to F. pallida however the corallites of this ,coral are plocoid to ploco-cerioid, 6-10 mm to 2 nun ,exsert, septa descend abruptly, and it has short d@ntations. Favia rotumana Colonies are massive and usually rounded. Corallites crowded and fairly large. Cerioid to short valleys with up to 3 centres. ｳｵ｢ｾｰｬｯ｣ｩ､Ｌ＠ ｩｲｾｧｵｬ｡＠ shape sometimes forming Septa thin, and irregularly exsert, all descend steeply into corallite ,centre. Paliform lobes are poorly developed. Dentations prominent and irregular giving a ra,g ged appearance. Septa not usually joined with adjacent corallites. ｃｯ･ｮｳｴｾｵｭ＠ oft-en blistered. Favia rotundata Colonies dome shaped or flat. Corallites ,are thick walled ,a nd circular tending to be cerioid (9-22 nun in diameter). Larger septa which reach the ,columella develop paliform lobes. Septa and costae have regular dentations, equally exsert except septa of the third order which are reduced, septo-costae of adjacent corallites regularly adjoined although delineation between corallites is distinct. Similar to F. maxima and F. veroni which have corallites of a similar size, but are generally more exsert. Probably included in F. flexuosa by previous authors. F. rotundata differs because it has r'o unded, sub-plocoid ,corallites. Favia lizar,d,ensis Colonies are mass've usually with a rounded BU face. Corallites plocoid, cwcular or oval, 10-13 mm diameter and regularly spaced. All septa thin, fine, evenly exsect, usually thickened above thecae. Paliform 10bes w,eakly developed. Small dentations present ,a long septa. Costae even, conspicuous. Endothecae usually thin,walls of calices near vertical, coenosteum usually blistered. Buddin,g is intratentacular, mono- to tristomodaeal Similar to F. favus but F. lizardensis has more regular, shallower corallites with thinner septa and usually much thinner thecae. Also resembles F. pallida as both species ca-.n have thjn walls, but F. lizardensis has larger cor,allites ,a nd septa which ,a re more ,exsert and which have more elongated dentations. GENUS Barab,a ttoia Yabe ,a nd Sugiyama, 1941 Characters: Colonies submassive or encrusting. Corallites plocoid, exsert to very exsert, sometimes ramose and anastomosing (probably over depositing sediment). Columella small, paliform lobes absent 0 feebly dev,e ioped. Costae prom'nent, equat stro Igly dentate or beaded. Budd'ng intratentacular, daughter corallites at a sharp angle. VIENKATARAMAN AND 79 S ATYANARAYANA Barabattoia amicorum Colonies are submassive or encrusting Corallites plocoid, exsert, sometimes ramose and anastomosing (probably over depositing sediment) Columella small, paliform lobes vary from absent to forming a paliform crown Costae ,always prominent, ,equal, strongly dentate ,or beaded Buddin,g ｾ＠ intratentacular, IDono- to tristomodaeal buddLng, daughter 'corallites at a sharp aI\g_e Patchy d ' stribution, usually in turbid env' rorunents Similar to F. favus but F. amicorum has more exsert corallites with smaller and thinner walls GENUS Favites Link, 1807 Charactets: Colonies are usually massive, either flat or dome-shaped. Corallites ,are monocentric and ｣ｾｲｩｯ､Ｌ＠ occasionally subplocold. Corallites are usually reported with 6 ｾ＠ 14 mm in size. Adjacent corallites mostly share common walls. Paliform lobes are often poorly developed. Polyps are extended only at night and have a single circle of tapering tentacles like Favia. Favites is similar to Ravia and also to Goniastrea. Goniastrea may be cerioid like Favites, inwhich case it is distinguished by the presence of prominent paliform lobes, and by having a very regular pattern of septa with relatively fine teeth. Species with :s mall Corallites (6-l0 mm diameter) Favites pentagona Submassive to encrusting colonies sometimes forming irregular columns. Corallites cerioid, less than 6 mm - thin walled and angular. Septa usually two cycles septa dentate, septa reaching columella have well developed paliform lobes forming a distinctive crown. l Septa variably exsert over thecae, frequently adjoined with those of adjacent corallites. Budding intratentacu1ar and extratentacular. The paliform ,c rown makes this species ｇｯｮｩ｡ｳｾ･ Resembles F. micropentagona but ,corallites ｡ｲｾ＠ Ｍ ｬｩｫ･＠ larger. Faf)'ites bestae Colonies submassive to encrusting. Corallites are thick walled and rounded, becoming subplocoid. Few septa, uniform in height and usually in two alternating orders. Paliform lobes and c,olumellae ave w,ell dev'eloped. Similar to F. pentagona which has an,gular corallites and irre,g ular septa. Also similar to F. chinensis which has no paliform lobes. N,ew species in Veron, 2000. Favites acuticolUs Colonies submassive to encrusting. Corallites are deep with v,e ry thin angular w,alls. Corallites ,are usually less than '7 mm in diameter. 80 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Few widely spaced septa. No paliform lobes. Similar to F. pentagona which has thicker walls, slightly larger ,c orallitesand well developed paliform lobes. Favites chinensis Massive, rounded ,colonies Corallites ＱＰｾＳ＠ mm diameter, angula,.r or irregular shape, sometimes ploc()..cerioid. Septa usually spaced irregular y and w'dely, aligned with septa of adjacent 'co alrtes. Characteristically 'elongated septal dentations. Thecae thin and angular, sometimes deep intercalicular groove in ploco..cerioid ,colonies Similar to F" abdita - but F. chinensis has larger corallites, usually angular, few,e r septa and (less reliably) fewer but more elongated dentations. Species with middle sized Corallites (10-13 mm ､ｩ｡ｭ･ｴｾｲＩ＠ F. abdita Massive, rounded, flattened, hillocky Corallites cerioid, 7-12 rom, rounded rather than angular becoming are thin/ calices are larger. Septa usually unifonn in thickness" regular ｳｰ｡｣ｩｮｾ＠ ｭｯｲｾ＠ angu lar when walls teeth aIon,g septa. No paliform lobes. Thecae variable within a single colony: thin and irregular on hillocky parts and broad ,o n flat sides where ca .ces are shallow. Buddin,g always intratentacular and usually very unequal Most widespread species of Favites, found in all biotopes of hermatypic corals. Similar to F. halicot:a and F. jlexuosa. F. halicol'a Massive, rounded or hillocky. Corallites cerioid becoming ｳｵ｢ｾｰｬｯ｣ｩ､＠ with thick walls, calices approx 1 cm diameter. Septa usually equal, sometimes two alternating ,cycles, fine, dentate, dentations larger atcalice centre forming 1 or more paliform lobes and a distinct GQniastrea-like palif,o rm ,crown. Thecae ,c har,acteristically thick, septa do not f.orm ridges over thecae. Buddin,g mostly intratentacular, some extratentacular Similar to F. abdita - F. hlllicora has more rounded corallites, thicker thecae, paliform crown F. complanata Usually massive with an uneven surface. Corallites approx 12 nun diameter, cerioidor slightly sub-plocoid, usually slightly angular in outline. Septa in two alternating cycles. First cycle septa thick, ,especially near thecae, 4 or 5 prominent dentations and a distinct paliform lobe, Secondary septa very ｾ･､ｵ｣Ｎ＠ Septa of adjacent cor.a1lites usually adjoined, sometimes an intercorallite groove present. VIENKATARAMAN AND 81 S ATYANARAYANA Columellae usually large and compact. Similar to F.abdita which has more angular corallUes. Species with large Corallites (over 14 mm diameter) F·flexuosa Massive or encrusting, usually flat or spherical ie surface mostly even/Not hillocky. Corallites alw,a ys cerioid, usually angular, 1.5-2 cm diameter. Septa usually two alternating ,o rders, primary septa strongly dentate, espec'ally towards centre where dentations form one or more irregular paliform lobes, secondary septa ,a re usually much reduced;t much thinner ,a nd usually slightly less exsert. All septa usually regularly adjoined above thecae. Budding intratentacular Similar to F. ,abdita which has smaller and less ,a ngular corallites. Also similar to Acanthastrea echinata which has larger septal teeth and thick fleshy polyps. GENUS Goniastrea Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 It is one of the toughest of all corals and can tolerate several hours of ,e xposure to the tropical sun du-.ring the low tide a-.nd also muddy or low salinity conditions. Character,s: Colonies al'\e massive, usually spherical or ･ｬｯｮｾ｡ｴＮ＠ Corallites are monocentric ,a nd cerioid to polycentric and meandroid. Paliform lobes are well developed. Meandroid colonies have well-defined oolumella centres. Polyps are extended only at night. ｇｯｮｩ｡ｳ Ｌ ｾ･｡＠ has similaraties with F:avites, Leptoria and also Platygyra. Platygyra, like Goniastrea can be cereoid or meandroid but has no paliform lobes and columella centres and is seldom d istinguishable. Monocentric species with Corallite d·ameter most y ess than 5 nun Goniastr.ea ren/ormis Colonies usually massive tending tow,a rds spherical or columnar, common in interndal zones. Corallites have a neat cellular appearance, cerioid, 4--6 sided, uniform in size (3..5 nun diameter). Long and short septa alternate and septa plunge steeply to columella. Paliform lobes are large and form a distinct crown. Columellae are small. Septa ,a re not continuous over thecae. Similar to ｇｯｮｩ｡ｳｴｾ･＠ edwardsi which has thicker walls and septa and more irre,g ular 'c'orallites. Goniastrea edw,ardsi Colonies usually massive tending tow,a rds spherical or columnar, common in intertidal zones. Corallites are 2.5-7 mm diameter, slightly angular with thick rounded walls. Septa plunge steeply inside thecae then project inwards formin,g large paliform lobes. Columellae are small. Septa of adjacent corallit-es al'\e often separated by a thin ridg,e along the top of the relatively thick thecae Similar to G. renfonnis. G. aspeta has larger corallites . 82 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Goniastrea minuta Colonies usually encrusting, becomin,g submassive corallites are angular, ceroid with a uniform appe,arance. Corallite walls are thin. Long and short septa alternate. Paliform lobes well deveLoped forming a ,c rown. Similar to G.retiformis the corallites of this species are larger. Very similar to Rarities. New species described in V,erson, 2000. Predominantly Monocentric species with a ｃｯｲ｡ｬｩｴｾ＠ diameter over 5 mm Goniastrea paZauensis Massive colonies sometimes flattened or hillocky. Corallires monocentr' c, usually 3-6 straight and thick walls, cerioid or (rar,ely) sub-plocoid, calices usually 6-15 mm diameter Columellae are small and surrounded by a crown of tall paliform lobes. Septa axe straight and neat in appearance and fI1equently adjoined over the theca. Thickness of the thecae is the most variable character of this species, from 2-8 mm in cerioid colonies, ｳｵ｢ ｾ ｰｬｯ｣ｩ､＠ colonies have weakly dev,e loped costae. Similar to G. ｡ｳｰ･ｾ＠ and G. peresi which have smaller corallites. Goniastrea aspera Colonies rounded, mass've or encrusting. Corallites cellular in appearance, cerioid, deep with straight sided walls, 7-10 mm diameter. Septa ,e venly spaced, descend abruptly, paliform crowns usually very ,c onspicuous. Columellae small Thecae usually thin Budding usually monostomodaeal but may be tristomodaeal in areas of rapid diviston Probably r-estricted to shallow water inside barrier reefs Similar t-o G. edwardsi which has similar skeletal structures but is much smaller. Also G. favulus. Predominantly Meandroid species 'Goniastrea australensis Massive, submassiv,e or encrusting Meandro'd or submeandroid with valleys of 1, 2 or 3 centres, or ,c ombinations of both Corallite 'c entres usually distinct with large, conspicuous columellae linked by trabecular-like septal processes. Septa r-egularly spaeed, usually equal and evenly exsert, usually have paliform lobes. V,alleys of most colonies are deep and steep sided, septa adjoined over theca with septa of adjacent valleys. Thecae may show great variation in thickn@ss, valleys in coloni@s with v,e ry wide thecae may be separated by a groove and may become sub-plocoid. ｾ＠ Similar to Platygyra lameltina but this species has no paliform lobes. Colonies of G. ,australensis with ｳｵ｢ｾｭ･｡ｮ＼ｨｯｩ､＠ ,o r monocentric corallites have valleys of more regular width and more regularly spaced septa than G. pectinata. VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 83 Goniasuea pectinata Colonies mostly submassive or encrusting Corallites monocentric or submeandroid with seldom more than three centres Septa have well developed palUorm lobes Thecae are variable in thickness but do not show the extremes of variation found in G. austt:aliensis Similar to G. edwardsi, which has smaller corallites. G. ,australiensis has valleys of a similar width but is usually fully meandroid. Also resembles Merulina scheeri. GENUS Platygyra Ehrenberg, 1834 Characters: Colonies are massive, either flat or ､ｏｄｬ･ ｾ ｳｨ｡ｰ･､Ｎ＠ Corallites are rarely ,c erioid, commonly meandroid. Paliform lobes are not developed; columellae seldom form centres and are continuous tangle of species. Polyps are extended only at night. PlatygyY<a .s similar to Goniastrea and Leptoria. Lep,toria is more meandroid than Platygyra, has distinctive wall-like columellae and has uniformly spaced septa of equal si:ze. All species of Platygyra shows similar skeletal modific.ations along environmental gradients and some, especially P. ,daedalea and P. lamellina, may sometimes be difficult to distinguish unless they occur together. Species which ,are Monocentric ,o r form only short valleys P latygyra pini Massive and rounded 'o r flat, sometimes encrusting Valleys short, usually w' th one or two r,eco,gnisable centres Walls are usually fairly thick, but this is variable. Septa are usually thin but may be very thick if walls also very thick, septa dentate Septa f,o rm d' stinctive paliform lobes Columellae tr,a becular, usually well dev,e loped with oentres tending to form at the ,e nds of valleys Resembles P. sinensis because of short v,alleys, however P. pini has thick walls, paliform lobes and much greater development of the ,columella. Platygyra venueyi Colonies massive Valleys short forming subc'e rioid to submeandroid with thin acute walls, sometimes walls perforated. .at the top, valleys or calices deep. Goniastrea - like neat skelet.al structure, septa a..re thin, uniformly spaced and not exsert, septal cycles not distinguishable, columellae are weakly developed or absent. Similar P. sinensis which is more meandroid with shallower ,calices. P. pini has more widely spaced.. more irregular septa. . Species which De primarily Meandroid Platygyra sinensis Massive and rounded, occaSionally flat Valleys usually very short, mostly monocentric but some colonies do have long meandering valleys Septa thin, only slightly exsert, evenly spaced, dentate Columella are narrow and largely composed of loosely centres. Similar to P. ryukyuensis. ｩｮｴｾｲｷ･､＠ trabeculae. No ,c olumellae 8-4 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Platygyra daedalea Polymorphic species Massive, either rounded or flattened, or sometimes encrusting Valleys usually long, but sometimes short or mixtures of both, walls usually narrow and often perforated Septa very exsert, usually with pointed or ragged tips and frequently adjoined by fine trabecular linkages above the waJI. Columellae of various widths but are usually conspicuous, spongy, trabecular, centres not formed or only formed where v,alleys join Colour variable, oft-en brightly ,c oloured, frequently with brown walls and green valleys, darker colours on shaded sides of colony. Platygyra lamellina Massive and rounded, .occasionally flat Valleys usually elongated except on concave surfaces where they may become short or monoc,e tric Walls are characteristic.ally thick ie Ｑ ｾ ＱＮＵ＠ times the valley width. Septa are continuous across walls, only slightly exsert, evenly spaced, dentate. Columellae are usually narrow and not significantly different from P. daedalea, little tendency to form a recognisable centre Similar to P. daedalea which is much more common, but P. lamellina has a much thicker wall and more rounded, less ,e xsert septa. Colomes oOf P. sinensis with short v.al eys rese ble P. lameUina but this spec"es has a much thicker wall and different septal structures. Similar toO P. pini but P. lamelUna has no paliform lobes and a different columella structure. P latygyra acuta Massive and meandroid with walls forming an acute or sharp edge. Septa are uniformly ,e xsert and hav,e r,a gged margins. Columella are well dev1e loped but do not form centfes. Similar to P. daedalea which has weakly dev,e loped columellae but does not have walls with acute edges. Also resembles P. sinensis but this species has more meandroid valleys and walls of uniform thickness. GENUS Oulophyllia Milne Edw,a rds and Haime, 1848 Characters: Colonies ar'e massive, monocentric to meandroid, composed of large valleys with widely spaced, r,a gged septa and acute thin walls. Palif,o rm lobes are usua ly present. Polyps are extended only at night. This genus is similar to Platygyra. Oulophyllia crispa Valleys are usuaJIy fairly short, sometimes monocentric. Valleys are 9 20 mm wide Septa usually compact! in 2 to 3 orders and are continuous between valleys. Paliform lobes may be deveLoped. Thecae are variable in width, acute angle of valley walls is emphasised by slope of septa. VIENKATARAMAN AND 85 S ATYANARAYANA Oulophy llia levis Colonies dome shaped. Meandroid appearance with valleys. Valleys are perpendicular at the margins and sinuous in the center of the ,colony. Valleys with atleast three ,centers, shal10w and V shaped and with sharp upper margins. Columellae weakly developed,. Similar to 0 ,. crispa which is with deep and large valleys. GENUS Leptoria M'ine Edwards and aime, 1848 ｃｨ｡ｲ｣ｴｾｳＺ＠ Colonies are assive w ith an ,e ven swfac.e and dense skeleto . Cora ;.tes valleys are highly me android and uniform. Septa are uniformly spaced and are of ,e qual size. Columellae ar'e wall-like with a lobed upper margin and do not form centres. Paliform lobes are absent. Polyps are extended only at night. -Leptoria is similar t-o Platygy'ra and Goniastrea. Goniastrea is less meandroid than Leptoria, has columella formin,g distinct centres and well-deveLoped paliform lobes. Leptoria phrygia Massive colonies can b@ submassive or ridges with an even surface and dense skeleton. Corallites meandroid with valleys of indefinite length, valleys have a very neat appearance being of constant w idth, thecae are always thick and dense. Septa are all even in size and spacing and regularly adjoined w ith those of the ,a djacent valley, columellae are a series of vertical plates. GENUS Montastrea Blainville, 1830 Characters: Colonies are massive, 'e ither flat or dome...shaped. Corallites ｡ｲｾ＠ mono centric and plocoid. Daughter corallit@s ar,e predominantly formed by extratentacular budding, which is, budding from the wall of parent cor,allites. Some intr,at-entacular budding may also occur. This genus can be separated readily from the other massive f,a viid genera with extratentacular budding Ｈｐｬ･ｳｩ｡ Ｌ ｾ･｡＠ ｄｩｰｬｯ｡ｳｾ･Ｌ＠ Leptastrea, Cyphastrea) because each ,of these has well defined characters. Species with small Corallites (less than 17 mm diameter) and no groove and tubecule formation Montastrea curta Colonies massive to Ｌ ･ ｮ ｣ｲｵｳｴｩｾｧ＠ with round or flat surfaces. Corallites moderately exsert, usually circular or sometimes squeezed into irr,e gular shapes, calices 2.5 - 7.5 mm diameter. Septa descend vertically just inside theca then ,c urve inwards deep within the calice Paliform crown deep within the calice Costae not adjoined with those of adjacent ,coraliites, beaded forming concentric ,circles with beads on adjacent costae Buddin,g ｾ＠ s always extratentacular. Species with middle sized Corallites and groov,e ,a nd tubercle formations Montastrea colem.ani Colonies encrusting ,a nd bec'omes submassive. ROWld and compact plocoid coral ites. Groove and tubercle (barnacle) formations distinctive. 86 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Two cycles of prominent alternating septa. Paliform lobes well developed. Similar to M. valendennesi, and are distinguished with larger and more angular corallites. Species with arge Corallites (over 9 mm diameter) M. 'V,alenciennesi Colonies are massive with rounded or flattened surfaces, sometimes encrusting Co allites distinctly pOIygonal, usual y hexagona, 8-15 , " d'amete Septal dentations present along the upper margins of septa Paliform lobes £orm a distinct crown Gostae are prominently beaded This species is usually characterised by the presence of groove and tubercle' ｳｴｲｵ｣ｾ＠ intersperse betw,e en most calices. These structures 'consist of very thin walled tubes up to 0.5 mm diameter which have ,c ircular or elon,g at,e d openings at irregular intervals on their upper surfaces. They have calcareous walls identical to, and c'o ntinuouswith the epitheca (a fine skeletal layer) whkh is normally visible as a fine lamina-.r the periphery of most colonies. Polychaetes live within these tubes. I ExtratentacuIar and intr,a tentacular budding, with extratentacular being dominant. M. magnistellata Colonies ｡ｲｾ＠ massive or encrusting with flattened 'o r irr,e gular shapes Corallites usually slightly exsert, cwcular, 7-15 mm diameter Septa in 2 alternate orders, sloping gradually or sharply to calice centre, septal dentations present along the upper margin of septa. Paliform lobes can usually be distinguished. Costae are usually unequal, not adjoined with those of ,a djacent corallites and may be separated by a small ridge Similar to M. valenciennesi which has less compact, irregular septa, GENUS Plesiastrea Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 Characters: Co omes are massive, rounded or flattened. Coralla are sub-cerioid to plocoid with round corallites produced by ･ｸｴｲ｡Ｍｾｮ｣ｵｬ＠ budding. Like Montastrea, but corallites ar,e smaller, with a well developed paliform crown composed of true PalL Polyps are usually extended only at night. Plesiastrea ｾ＠ s close to Mcmtastrea but has smaller corallites with well-developed pali£orm lobes. P l,esiastrea v ,ersipora Massive or encrusting Co allites ,a ve age 3 mIn ､ｾ＠ amete" ange fr'o m ＲＮＵｾ＠ , d' amete . Pali form a defined paliform crown varying from thick wedg,es to fine pinnacles, Columella ｡ｾ･＠ small, usually consisting only of a few pinnacles. First order costae are always present and those of other orders may be equal or absent Coenosteum smooth, blistered or ornamented with granules. Sometimes confused with other faviids with corallites of a similar size notably Favia stelligera and some Montas,trea and Cyphastrea species. VIENKATARAMAN AND 87 S ATYANARAYANA GENUS Oulastrea Milne Edwards and Haime, 18-48 Characters: Colonies are encrusting and grow to only a few centimeters in diameter. Corallites are like a small Montastrea. The skeleton remains black with septa when dries. Well defined genus. Oulastrea crispata Co omes are encrusting and grow to 0 y a few cenf meters aC oss. I Corallites ,a re like a small Mcmtastrea species, aIe of uniform size and are closely compact. Lo g and sort septa are alternate. I Paliform lobes are well developed. Tentacles are sometimes extended during the day. GENUS Diploastrea Matthai, 1914 Characters: Colonies are dome-shaped with a very even surface and may be up to 2 m high and 7 m in diameter. The skeleton is very dense. Corallites are plocoid. Columellae are large. Septa are equal and a.re thj ck at the wall and thin where they join the columellae. Polyps are extended only at night. Well defined genus. This is one of the most easily recognised of all ,corals. Diploastrea heliopo'ra Colonies large, dome shaped with a very unnorm sUIface Skeleton is dense Corallites form low cones with small openings and very thick walls. Columellae are large Septa ,are equal and ,are thick at the wall and thin where joinin,g the columellae. GENUS Leptastrea Milne Edwards and _ aime, 1848 Characters: Colonies ,a re massive, usually flat or ､ｯｭ･ ｾ ｳｨ｡ｰ･､Ｎ＠ Corallites CUle subcerioid to plocoid. Costae are poorly developed or absent. Columellae consist of vertical pinnules. Septa have inward-proj,e cting teeth. Polyps are extended only at night. Leptastrea is a well-defined genus closest to Cyphllstrea, whlch is plocoid with widely separated ,corallites. - Leptastr.ea bottae Massive to encrusting Corallites are cylindrical, separated only by a fine groove. Septa are in 3 ,cycles, the longest being distinctive and exsert Groove and tuberde formulations are sometimes well developed. S'milar to Leptastrea inaequalis which has Icorallites ,of a similar size, but these are barre -shaped, more exsert, usually have extensive groove and tubercle formations and have £ew, if any, third cycle septa. Leptastr.ea purpurea Colonies are irrle gular, encrusting or massive ,a nd to 1 metre diameter. Sub-cerioid, polygonal and characteristically variable in size (2-11 mm calices in depressions ,o r around worm or gastropod holes etc. ､ｩ｡ｭ･ｾｲＩ＠ with smaller 88 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Smaller septa may fuse with larger septa Septal dentations around the ,c olumella may form palif-orm lobes Septa usually slope gently towards the columellae Columellae consist of one 'o r a few pinnules, larger calices frequently have prominent columellae of many pinnacles Costae are usually poorly developed Coenosteum between adjacent c'orallites is usually a narrow, smooth strip Thickness of thecae are very variab e All budding is extratentacular. Similar to L. b:ansversa which has characteristically deeply plunging septa. Leptatrea transversa Massive or encrusting Calices or polygonal, 2-9 mm diameter and show much less size variation Septa are characteristically deeply plunging, usually they extend inwards approx 2/3 of the calice radius before descending vertically or near vertically. PaUform dentations become vertical towards the calice centre where they fuse with each other to torm a series of papillae e columel l ae sometimes hav'e ,a spongy, trabecular natuf1e Intracalicular groove may be ,a bsent in some colonies or parts of colonies, in such ,cases septa ｡ｾ･＠ adjoined or alternate. Resembles L purpurea in that the w,all, peritheca, c'o stae and intercalkular groove are mostly similar in both species, septa usually slope ,g ently towards the columellae in L. ｰｵｲｾ･｡＠ All budding is extratentacu ar. GENUS Cyphastrea Milne Edwards and HaLme, 1848 Characters: Species are massive to columnar with a smooth or hillocky as in the case of C. serailia and massive or encrusting as in the ,case of C. microphthalma. CorallUes ,a re plocoid, with calices less than 3 mm in diameter. Costae are generally restricted to the corallite wall; the coenost-eum is granulated. Polyps ,a re extended only ,a t night. Cyphastrea is a w,e ll-defined ,genus. It resembles Echinopora and Plesiastrea versipora1 which is distinguished by having larger corallites with welldeveloped paliform lobes and by havin,g costae of ,a djacent corallites in contact, with no coenosteum granules. It also rese I bles some Montastrea with small ,corallites. Cyphastrea serailia Massive to columnar 'o r ,e ncrusting Corallites round, variably exsert from sub-cerioid to .....3 nun, ,calices 1.5 - 2.8 mm diameter Septa 2 very unequal orders of 12 septa 'each, second order is usually less than half the calice radius. Columellae usually inconspicuous. Costae are equal or subequal, frequently poorly developed, heavily ornamented with granulated perithecal spines. Costae don't alternate strongly Thecae very greatly in hei,g ht and thickness, they may be abruptly delineated from the coenosteum or be ,c ompletely confluent, coenost-eum often blister,e d and is always covered with granulated exothecal spines VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 89 1his is the most abundant species in this genus -therefore the greatest diversity of growth forms and range of ,ealicular structures. -Similar to Cyphastrea chalcidicumwhkh has well developed ,a lternating costae. Cyphastrea micy,ophthalma has 10 primary septa. Cyphasuea microphthalma Usually encrusting, sometimes mass;'ve, co onies are often infested with bOilers esp. Litlwphaga and polychaetes Usually plocoid with a tendency to bec,ome ｣･ｲｩｯｾ､＠ granulated in many specimens, calicular structuI'les very Calices 1-2 mm diameter, 2 orders of septa, primarily characterised by 10 (sometimes 11) frest order septa, first order septa exsert, second order septa are less exsert and never reach the COlumellae Columellae consist 'o f a few twisted trabeculae Costae usually equal and support elongated, granulated perithecal spines which extend across the coenosteum, giving an elaborate ornamentation Colonies usually pale and uniform in colour, except in turbid or shaded habitats where colonies are usually dark brown or dark green. GENUS Echinopora Lamar,ck, 1816 Characters: Co10nies ar,e massiv,e, arborescent or foliaceous or mixtures of these forms. Corallites are p10coid with calices up to 5 mm in diameter. Septa are ,e xsert and irregular. Columellae are usually prominent. Costae ｡ｾ･＠ usually restricted to the corallite wall. The 'c oenosteum is gr.anulated. Polyps are extended only at night. Echinopora is a ｷ･ｬ ｾ ､･ｦｩｮ＠ genus. It is closer to Cyphastr.ea, which is distinguished by its massive, or encrusting growth form. The corallites of these genera are similar; those of -Echinopora are usually larger, with thIcker walls and more prominent columellae and septa. Echinopor.a lamellosa LaminaI sometimes with hollow tubes to 30 em high developing from the central part of some colonies Cor,allites 2.5-4 mm diameter, circular, cylindrical or markedly 'conical, equal or subequal in height Septa of the first and sometimes second cycle are ,e xsert A ring of paliform lobes is usually present and may be as tall as the septal spines Spines on and between e'o rallites are uniformly distributed and quite ,d ose together ｾ＠ this is characteristic of this species, giving colonies of this species a "furry" rather than spiky appearance Similar to E. ｡ｳｨｭｯｾ･ｮｩＬ＠ E. pacificus ,a nd E. gemmacea . Echinopora horrida Alw,a ys branching, branches vary in extent of anastomosis, sometimes with a flat expanded laminar base, branches upto 40 mm diamet'€r (growth form overlap with E. mammiformis) Corallites to 4 mm in diameter, circular, cylindrical or with the shape of a truncated coOne, superficial or protuberant. . Primary septa exsert and thick at the peripbery ,of the ealicewith tall prominent spines Paliform dentations present Costae increase in size towards the base 'of the cor,allites, costae on ,and between corallites bear well developed! irregularly spaced spines often hav'e ,an inflated base Septal and costal spines giv,e colonies a spiky appearance Similar to EchinopQra gemmacea which does not form ,extensive branches. 90 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL ｅ｣ｨｩｮｯｰｾ｡＠ gemmacea Laminar, rarely thick or encrusting, sometimes with solid (not hollow) irr'e gular proliferations (never the characteristic dendroid ,g rowth form of E. horrida) Corallites upto 5 mm diameter, circular or slightly elong,a ted cylindrical ,a nd superficial or conical and protruding, conical ,corallites af'e sometimes inclined, marginal corallites slightly smaller and inclined towards periphery. l Prominent upper lobe or spines on first cycle septa Par 0 m lobes not well developed C ,c ontrast with E. lamellosa). Costae on and between corallites ,a re well developed and bear well developed, irregularly spaced spines Septal and costal spines give colonies ,a spiky appearance Echinopora hirrutissima Colonies laminar explanate or ,c ontorted in vertically rising, hollow projections without apertures at the top Corallit-es superficial/ sli,g htly protruding, sometimes inclined Septa larger septa are fairly thlck very exsert, hirsute reach the columellae, have two or three very prominent lobes, outer septal lobe ,o ften flattened or divided sometimes ,a ppearing to replace the first costal spine l l Costae well developed, equal or subequal have numerous tall spines well developed .ornamented with abundant granulations and echinulations. Similar to E. horrida and E. gemmacea whjch have less corallites. ｣ｯ｡ｾｳ･＠ corallite StructuI,e s and smaller GENUS Moseleya Quelch, 1884 Charact-ers: Monospecific genus. Colonies ,a lways small (maximum colony size approx 25 cm). Large central calice often present, calices are angular and cerioid. Septa are numerous, differ,e nt cycles are evident, small dentations are present along the length of the septa, paliform 10bes developed. This species has only been recorded in areas which are turbid or with muddy substrates. Corallites produced by extratentacular budding at the colony perimeter. Mose,leya latistel.lata This species occurs as very small colonies, with a maximum colony size of app ox 25 cm. Large ,c entr,al calke often present, calices are angular and ,c erioid Corallites produced by extra tentacular ｢ｵ､ｾ＠ g at the colony perimeter Septa are n umerous, different cycles ae evident, small dentati.ons are present along the len,g th of the septa, paliform lobes are developed. This species has only been recorded in areas which are turbid or with muddy substrates May resemble Acanthastrea species which can have the same colony and corallite shapes FAMILY: FLABELUDAE Bourne, 1905 This family ,consists of about 104 species (including 5 infraspecific species) belonging to 10 genera, which are all azooxanthellate, out of which .only 3 species belonging to 2 genra are report1e d from India, living l.ot of scope for research. They are found in deeper waters (usually bel10w 25 meter depths). corals with Solitary, ｦｲ･ｾｬｩｶｮｧ＠ composed of epitheca. ｮ ｯｮ ｾ ･ｸｳｲｴ＠ septa, no paliform lobes and thin walls primarily V IBNKATARAMAN AN D S ATYANARAYANA 9 Favia favus Favites fleuxuosa Favites halicOTa Goniastrea edwaTdsii Platygyra lamellina Platygyra daedalea 92 C ORAL IDENTWICA'flON M ANUAL Leptoria p,hyrgia OulophyUia crispa Cyphastrea micropthalma Echinophora lamellosil Barabattoia amicorum VIENKATARAMAN AND 93 S ATYANARAYANA GENUS Flabellum Lesson, 1831 Solitary, free-living corals that are purse-shaped with or without rootlets. Septa are very fine and numerous. Columellae are absent or nearly so. Polyps are extended day and night and are large, like Tubastrea. In India it is r,e corded only in Lakshadweep. Flabellum pavonium Lesson, 1831 is the only species reported in India. Flabellum japonicum Solitary, free ling. Calice 24 -26mm long by 26 -28 nun high. V,ery ow arch to calicular margin, fairly compressed slight wings ,o n lower pa t, rather constricted just below calicular opening, Septal edges are pleated and sides spiny. Septa in five cycles, four complete and the fifth inC'omplete. Flabellum pavonium Solitary, free ling. Corallum wedge-shaped. Externally have 12 marked r· dges. Septa in four cycles. Septal edges are toothed, especially in the region of ,conjunction with columella. Plac.otrochus Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 Solitary, free--living ,a nd purse"'\shaped. A thin, ｰｬ｡ｴｾＭｩ･＠ columella is present. PlaootrQchus laevis Mill1e Edwards and Haime, 1848 is the only species reported from India. Flabellum pav,o nium 94 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL FAMILY: FUNGIIDAE Dana, 1846 Characters: Solitary or ,colonial, ｦｲ･ｾｬｩｶｮ Ｌ ｧ＠ or attached, mostly hermatypic and 'e xtant. Colomal genera are derived from solitary genera and each has septo-costal structures correspond' g to those of a solitary genus, These septo-costae radiate from the mouth on the upper surface as septa and from the centre of the undersurface as costae. I Anthocaulus - the early attached stage of deve10pment Anthocyathus - the later free-living stage of development The e are about 14 ,genera ;' CI uded der this family out of which 12 g,e ne a a, e eported from India. The total number of species r,e corded in the world are 51 and out of which only 29 species are reported from Ind'a. Cycloseris cyclolites Halomitra pileus Fungiapaumoten.sis Podabacia crustacea GENUS Cycloseris Milne Ed'wards and Haime, 1849 Characters: Solitary, ｦｲ･ｾｬｩｶｮｧＬ＠ flat or ､ｯｭ･ｾｳｨ｡ｰＬ＠ drcular or slightly oval in outline, with ,a central mouth. Septa have fine teeth; ,costae ar'e fine, without undersurface pits. Polyps are usually extended onIy at night. Fine tentacles cover the upper surface of the disc. Cycloseris is close to Fungia and l'Iesembles Diaseris. Fungia grows larger than Cycloseris, may be ,e longate, and has septa with larger teeth and ,costae ,c omposed of rows of spines. Diaseris is composed of wedg-e-shaped segments giving ,a n irregular shape; septa are thick with blunt teeth. - VIENKATARAMAN AND 95 S ATYANARAYANA Cyclosens cycl,o lites Ci, cular or sFghtly ,o va domes up to 40 mm w'de with a concave ,de surface. Septa are straight and symmetrical. Primary septa thick and exsert around the mouth. Similar to C. curvata Cycloseris sinensis Polyps flat, circular or irregular in outline, Little or no central dome. Central fossa is deep. Oral disc is smooth due to thick, tightly packed and even septa. Costae ,are fine and developed near colony perimeter. Cycloseris hexagonalis Polyps flat, with a slight centr.al dome around the mouth. Septa ,are not thickened or exsert around the mouth. Juvenile corals have an angular outline. Costae are fine ,and developed near the ,colony perimeter. Cycloseris costulata Polyps circular, helmet-shaped with a concave undersurface. Primary septa are thick ,a nd exserl around the mouth. Similar to C.cyclolites which is mor,e dome-shaped and septa around the mouth less exsert. Cycloseris patelliformis Polyps drcula-.r to slightly ov,al, with a large central dome and flat undersurface, Costae and septa do not alternate at colony margin. Cycloseris somervillei Polyps are oval and flat, with an arched central dome and a flat undersurface. ｅｬｯｮ Ｌ ｧ｡ｴｾ＠ axial furrow. Primary septa exert on the central dome. Similar to C.patelliformis which is not distinctly oval. GENUS Diaseris Edwards and Haime, 1849 Characters: Corals are flat, solitary, ｦｲ･ ｾｬｩ ｶｩｮｧ＠ polyps, which are composed of sever,a! fan-shaped segments with a mouth situated at the point ,o f ､ｩｶ･ｲｧＭｮ｣ｾ＠ of the segments. Septa are thick with blunt teeth resembling rows of ,g ranules. Corals are commonly inflated with wat-er. The increased surf.ace ｡ｮｾ＠ may help to prevent burial in soft substrates and may also fac'litate movement across the substrate. Diaseris distorta Polyps cons'st of fan-shaped segments up to 40 mm w·de. Thick beaded septa of unequal height. Polyps can inflate with water to several times their size. D. fragilis is larger with thinner margins and has septa of uniform height. 96 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL GENUS Fungia Lamar,ck, 1801 Characters: Corals are solitary, ｦｲ･ｾｬｩｶｮｧ＠ (except for juveniles), flat or dome--shaped, circular or elongat-e in outline, with a ,central mouth. Septa have large or small, rounded or pointed teeth; costae between the costae on the lower surface. consist mostly of r'o ws of spines. The disc often has ｰｾｴｳ＠ Fungia is distinguished from Cycloseris by growing much larger, frequently being elongate, often having septa with larger teeth and costae with large spines and sometimes having pits on the lower surface. 1. Species with large septal teeth F. corona Polyps have an irregular outline, flat t-o strongly convex, light polyps. and have large pointed teeth. Septa ,are of different ｳｾ･＠ Costae are widely spaced with simple spines. The undersurface has pits between costae. Similar to F. danai and F. scruposa F. danai Polyps circular, arched around the mouth and lightly calcified. Septa are straight w'th arge teeth and a pro . e t tentacula lobe. Costae are compact with large branching spines. The undersurface has pits between costae. Similar to F. horrida which does not have prominent tentacular lobes. F. corona does not have a strong central aI1ch and has a thinner, more irregular polyp disc with many perforations. F.horrida Polyps drcu a and thick. Strong y aI'lched around the mouth. Septa are strai,ght with very lar,ge irregular teeth. Tentacular lobes are weakly developed. Costae unequal with very long spines. No pits between costae. Similar to F. danai and F. Ｌ ｣ｯｾｮ｡＠ which does not have a central arch and has simple costal spines. F. klunzingeri Circular polyps, flat or with a central ar1ch. Septa of different sizes with large triangular septal teeth which have a central rib ,a nd form a regular pattern. Tentacular lobes are usually not developed. Costae ,aIe widely spaced and have s· mple spines. The u-.ndersurface has pits between costae. Similar to F. horrida which does not have regular triangular septal teeth. 2. Species with Saw-like teeth and usually a ,c entral rib F·fungites Polyps ,circular. Septa triangular, pointed and usually have a well defined central rib. Costal spines tall, conical and smooth. Similar to F. repanda which has finer septal teeth. VIENKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 97 3. Species with middle sized, rounded teeth F. concinna Circular, flat. Septa densely packed. Septa are smooth due to small septal t-eeth and costal spines. No pits on the undersurface. Similar to F. repanda which has c-oarser septal teeth, pits between the costae and is usually more arched. F. repanda Circular polyp - thick and arched or flat Septa are almost equal at the polyp perimeter. Fine septal teeth. Pits between costae. Costal spines granular. Similar to F. scabra which has finer septal teeth. F. granulosa Polyps circular and flat or with a central arch. Thick wavy septa with finely granulated margins. Wavy shape caused by wide tentacular lobes (where septa commence). Costae fine with pits between. Similar to F. scaur-a. 4. Species with distinctly ｎｯｮｾ｣ｩｲｵＱ｡＠ polyps F. scuta ria Oval, thick and heavy up to 1'7 cm long. Primary septa commense with a tall tentacular lobe. Lobes distributed at regular intervals from the mouth to perimeter. Similar to Fungia seychellensis. F. paum.otensis ｅｬｯｮ Ｌ ｧ｡ｴｾ＠ polyps up to 25 ,em long with almost parallel sides. Strong central arch. Straight and uniform costae. Most primary septa reach from mouth to the perimeter. Similar to F. moluccensis. F. mo,luccensis Polyps attach or encrust to the substr,ate. Central arch - shape of polyp often contorted. Secondary mouth sometimes present. Irregular costae. Attachment scar is usually prominent. Similar to F. paumotensis which is heavier, less irregular and has thicker septa and costae which are straight and uniform. 98 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL GENUS Ctenactis Verrill, 1864 ｃｨ｡ｲ｣ｴｾｳＺ＠ Polyps are elongated with a prominent ,central furrow, which may have one to several mouths. Adults are free-living and ,either mono- ,or poly stomatous. Septa are neatly spaced and have arge triangular evenly spaced teeth. Septal dentations ,a re coarse and either angular 0 ｯｵｮ､･ｾ＠ lobate. The coastal spines are velatively large and echinose. It is similar to Fun,gia and Herpolitha. I Ctenactis echinata Elongate polyp - single mouth. Well developed septal dentations and costal spines. Similar to Cfenacns crassa which has a series of mouths. Ctenactis crassa Elongat-e polyp, axial furrow extends almost to the polyp ends - several mouths. Similar to Ctenactis ,echinata which only has a single mouth. GENUS Heliofungia Wells, 1966 Characters; Monospecific genus,. COlalia solitary, circular to slightly oval, flat to slightly a:oched around the central mouth, free-living, skelet-ons usually ｩｭｰ･ｲｦｯ｡ｴｾ＠ (some pits may be seen at the margins). Septa are solid, vertical plates radiating in straight lines, unequal in size with larger septa forming thick, exsert plates. Septal dentations lage (compared w'th Fungia), lobulate, rounded to triangular. Costae numerous, all of similar thickness, virtually continuous from the centre to the corallum margin. Costae are not elaborate, possessing only microscopic costal spines. Polyp large with long, continually extended tentacles Heliofungia actiniformis Polyps solitary, free-living and flat with a central mouth up to 30 mm wide Septa have lar,ge lobed teeth Polyps very larg€ Long tentacles extend during the day and night GENUS Herpo.litha Eschscholtz, 1825 Characters: Adults are free-living, elongate, with an axial furrow that may extend to the corallum ends. Seve al centres, correspondmg with mouths, are ,a rranged along the furrow ,a nd sec'o ndary centres are distribut,e d over the rest of the upper surface. The corallum wall is perforated and not covered by gr,anulaitons. The granulations on the septal sides are arranged in rows perpendicular to the septal margins. Septa are similar in structure to those of Fungia (Pleuractis). Polyps are extended only at night. Tentacles are short and widely spaced, like Fungia. Secondary ,centres hav,e single tentacles. Herpalitha has similar shape to Fungia (CfenactisJ. It also has similarities with Polyphy,llia, although the latter has very distinct septa and more numerous centres. Herpolitha limax Polyps can hav'e many shapes, usually elongate with rounded ends but may be X or Y shaped. Mouths occur within the axial furrow which can extend most of the length of the colony. Secondary mouths outside the axial furrow are numerous. Similar to Herpolitha weberi. VIENKATARAMAN AND 99 S ATYANARAYANA GENUS Polyphyllia Quoy and Gaimard, 1833 Characters: Cor-alIa are polystomatous, mostly elliptical or elongate in outline. Colony formation is by linear polystomodeal budding in early stages, followed by abundant circumoral budding. Seco I dary centres are umerous ,and. equa to nearly equal in size to those of the axial furrow, which may become ,obscure. Septal and costal characters ,are those of Fungia (Pleurae tis) paumofensis and Herpolitha. Corallum wall is perforated. It is not covered by granulations. The ,coralla v,a ry from flat to arched. The septal dentations are fine, they ar'e covered by irregular rows of granulations perpendicular to the septal margins. Herpolitha and Podabada are similar to this genus. Polyphyllia talpina Free-living and elongate colonies. Axial furrow may be indistinct. High arch underneath. Colonies may be X, Y or T shaped. Primary septa are pe-taloid. GENUS Sandalolitha (Quelch, 1884) Characters : Adult animals are free-Hving. Colonies are with heavy construction and without an axial furrow. Corallites are exsert, outward facing and numerous. The polyps become polystomatous by circumstomadaeal budding. The ,cor,a llum wall is perforate. The septal and coastal .ornamentations are coOarse. The granulations on the septal sides are irregularly dispersed. Polyps are ･ｸｴｾｮ､＠ only at night. S,andalolitha robusta Large, dome-shaped and heavy colonies. No axial furrow. Corallites are compact. Septa ,aA'e even in height. Similar to Sandalolitha dentata which is irregular in shape ,a nd less domed, with widely spaced corallites. Sandalolitha dentata Flat and irregular in shape. Gorallites mostly clustered in centre of colony. Septa have variable heights. GENUS Halomitra Dana, 1846 Colomes are thin walled and delicate, with outward ｦ｡､ｾｧ＠ Characters: Adults a e ｦｲ･ｾｬｩｶｮｧＮ＠ corallites. Coralla are polycentric, free, subcircular, gently convex or strongly ar,c hed (bell-shaped), without, an axial furrow. The corallum wall is perforated and its lower surface is granulated. The septal and coastal ornamentations are Icoarse. The granulations on the septal sides ,are either arranged in rows or in ridges perpendicular to the septal margin. Colony formation is by clr,cumoral, polycyclic polystomodeal budding. ｓ･ｰｴｯｾ｣Ｎｳ｡ｬ＠ characters are those of Fungia (Fungia) jungites. Halomitra is similar to Sandalolitha. The latter is of much heavier construction, corallites are closer t-ogether, and septo-costae are mor,e prominent and have the ,characters of Fungia (Verrillofungia) and Podabacia. l 100 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Halomitra pileus Large, free-livin,g delicate, circular, dome or bell-shaped colonies. No axial furrow. Corallites are widely spaced and increase in size as the colony grows. Strong demar,cation where groups of septa meet. Saw-like teeth. GENUS Zoopilus D,ana, 1846 Colonial, free-Hving, rounded or slightly elongate and strongly domed in shape, light in weight. the day. Central calice with few irregularly placed lateral centers. 'Tentacles are not extended ､ｵｲｩｮｾ＠ Septa ,a re neatly arranged in a distinctive pattern on the coral. Zoopilus echinatus Colonies large, dome shaped and free living. Septocostae ar,e mostly perpendicular to the ,colony margin. Prominent and tall septal teeth. Distinctive line of demarcation can be noticed in the places where groups of septa meet. Not so common in occurrence. GENUS Lithophyllon Rehberg, 1892 ｃｨ｡ｲ｣ｴ･ｾｳ＠ : The animals remain in anthocaulus stage (they do not become detached). The polyps are polystomatous by circumst-omadeal budding. The ,corallum wall is solid and does not form fragmentation clefts. The septal dentations ar-e ravel..shaped. Coralla are polycentric, explanate, tol.aceous, unifacia and remain ,a ttached to the substratum in the adult stage. Colony formation ｾ＠ s by marginal budding. Septo--costae structures are those of Cycloseri.s. Polyps ,are usually extended only ,a t night. LithQphyllon is most similar to Podabacia. Lithophylion undulatum Encrusting or may form flat laminae with lobed mar,gins . Usually no central corallite. Septo-costae thin and exsert. GENUS Podabacia Milne Edwards and aime, 1849 Charact-ers: The animals are free-livin,g. The corals are either ICUP shaped or foliaoeous. Coralla are polycentric, explanate or foliaceous, remaining attached to the substratum in the adult stage. Cor,a l l • tes are weI def I_ed, usually inclined towards the plate ma gi _so The corallum wall is perforated and ,c overed by granulations. The septal dentations are fine and lobate with granulations irregularly distributed over their sides. The coastal spines are small and slightly echinose. Podab,acia crustacea Colonies attached, ,e ncrusting or laminar. Central corallite sometimes distinguishable. Peripheral corallites ,a re exsert and inclined towards the colony margin. Similar to a I ightfy ca cif ed Sandalo.litha robusta but this ｳｰ･｣ｾ＠ es .s not attached. V IENKATARAMAN AND S ATYAN ARAYANA Cycloserls cyclolites Fungia 10 Diaseris distorta ､｡ｮｾｩ＠ HerpQlitha limax Halomitra piletls Podabacia ,crtlstacea 102 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Polyphyllia talpina Lithophyllon undulatum FAMILY: MERULINIDAE VerrillI 1846 It is composed of 12 species belonging to five genera, Hydnophora, Merulina, ｐ｡ｾ｣ｬｶｲｩｮＬ＠ Scapophyllia and Boninastrea out of which 9 species belonging to 4 genra are reported from India. l All genera are extant, hermatypic and ,colonial. Skeletal structures are favtid-like but are highly fused, without palifonn lobes. V alleys are superficial or may become obscured because of fanwise spreading or contortions. Faviidae and TrachyphylHdae are related to Merulinidae GENUS Hydnophora Fisher de Waldheim 1807 l Character,s: Colonies ave m..assive encrustLng, or ,arborescent. The ge us is chaIacterized by the presence of hydnophores formed where sections of common wall between corallites intersect and dle velop into conical mounds. Hydnophores cover the colony surface and make this ,genus ｩｭ･､ｾ＠ ately r'eco ｾ＠ sable. Short tentac es surround the base of each hydnop love, 0 e tentacle between each pair of septa. I l Hydnophora rigida Colonies composed or irregular, flattened branches with or without 'e ncrusting bases. Monticules ,are usually fused into ridges down the sides of branches. Hydnophora exes,a Colonies ,c ommonly havle encrusting bases and an upper surface of irregular branches. Hydnophores are 5-8 mm in diameter - ,give the ,colony a rough appearance. Similar to H. microconos which is massive, rounded with smaller monticuJes. Hydnophora microconos Massive and rounded colonies. Small uniform monticules 2-3 mm in diameter. Hydnophora grandis Co onies of irregu ar branches circular in section - rarely with e crusting bases. l Little fusion of monticules. Similar to Hydnophora rigida which has finer and flattened branches with fused monticules. Hydnophora pilosa Small ,colonies with encrusting, laminar or submassiv'e bases with short branches. Branches may be flattened. Monticules (short sections of wall) are low and rounded. Similar to Hydnophora exesa which may have mor,e dle veloped branches and more exsert monticules. VIBNKATARAMAN AND 103 S ATYANARAYANA GENUS Paraclavarina Veron, 1985 Monospecific easily distinguishable genus Paraclavarina triangularis Colonies branching. Branches intergrade with each other. Massive with flattened encrusting margins or encrusting. Branches are triangular in horizontal section. Valleys in the branches with thick ,columellae and septa. Similar to Hydnophora and are readily distinguished with the presence or absence of triangular branches. GENUS Merulina Ehrenberg, 1834 ｃｨ｡ｲ｣ｾ Ｌ ｳＺ＠ CoLonies are laminar and fo iaceous 'o r sub-arborescent with different growth forms characteristically occurring in one coLony. Valleys are short, straight and spread fanwise, then divide. They radiate from the ,colony centre on flat surfaces but are highly contorted on br,anches. Flat surfaces often have concentric growth lines. Polyps are ext-ended only at m,ght. Branch tips may resemble Hydnophara. Merulina ampliata Laminar or subarborescent colonies (plates in deep water, branches in shallow water). Valleys short and straight and spr,e ad ｬｩ ｾ･＠ ,a fan. Flat sUIfaces often have cocentric growth lines. Merulina scr,abricula Colonies laminar or subarborescent with different growth forms occurring in the same colony. Valleys ar,e short and straight ,a nd spread in a fan before dividing. Valleys raruat'€ from the colony ,centre on flat surfaces but are hi,g hly contorted on branches. Flat surfaces have concentric growth lines Similar to Merulina ampliata which has thicker and coarser skeletal structures. GENUS Scapophyllia Milne Edw,a rds and Haime, 1848 Character,s: It is a monospecific genus. Colonies are composed of blunt-ended ,columns, which may divide ,a nd with thick laminar bases. Valleys are meandroid and sinuous. Septa are thick in the valleys and fuse irregularly with each other and with a few thick septal teeth that ,comprise each columella. Polyps are extended only at night and have Long tapering tentacles of uniform length. Scapop,h yllia cylindrica Colonies have thick laminar bases and ｢ｬｵｮｴ ｾ ･ｮ､＠ oolumns which occasionally branch. Valleys are meandroid and sinuous. Septa are thick and fuse irregularly with each other and with the ,oolumellae. Columellae are composed of a few thick septal teeth. Laminar Scapophyllia resemble Merulina but parallel, not spreading vallyes. 104 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Hydnophora microconos Mendina ampliata ScapophylUa cylindrica FAMILY: MUSSIDAE Ortmann, 1890 All genera are hermatypic, solitary or 'col'o nial, ,e xtant or fossil. Skeletal structures are solid. Corallites and valleys are large. Septa have large teeth <or lobes. Columellae and walls are thick and well developed. Family Pectiniidae is related t1> Mussidae. Mussidae includes the follo\\ring 14 genera, Blast,omussat Cynarina, Scolymia, Aust-ralomussa, Acanthastrea, Labophyllia, Symphyllia, Mussa, lsophyllia, Isophyllastrea, MycetophyIlia ,a nd Mussimillia. The last five g,e nera are restricted to the Atlantic. There are about 54 species in the world and 15 are reported tt"OID india belonging to 7 g,enera. Acanthastrea echinata Lobophyllia ,corymbosa VIENKATARAMAN AND 105 S ATYANARAYANA GENUS Blasto1lnussa VVells, 1961 Characters: Colonies phaceloid with erect cylindrical ｑｯｲ｡ｬｩｴｾｳＮ＠ Corallites Ｌ ｣ｯｳｴ｡ｾ＠ with nart'low and ,a delicate epitheca. Septal dentations low, rounded ,a nd lobate. Columellae ,c oarsely trabecular, small. Polyps as described for this family hut do not f'O rIn concentric rings. ･､ｧｾｺｯｮ＠ B. merleti Colonies phaceloid t-o plocoid. Corallites to 7 mm diameter. Septa in 2 orders .. PrLmary septa may be exsert. Columellae is poorly developed. Similar to B. wellsi which has much larg,e r coralHtes with more numerous septa. GENUS Scolymia Haime, 1852 Characters: Usually monocentric, sometimes polycentric. Septa ,a re numerous with five or six cycles developed. Septa hav,e large, regular, blunt dentations. Columellae large. Polyps as described for this family but do not form concentric rings s. vitiensis Sturdy with large blunt teeth Lndo-Pacific distribution GENUS Austral,o mussa Veron, 1985 Monospedfic genus Ausftalomussa rowleyensis Colonies dome shaped. Colonies subcerioid, placed in shaUow valleys. Septa and costae thjck and with blunt teeth. Similar to Soolymia vitiensis which is non-colonial in nature GENUS Acanthastrea Milne Edwards aDd I aime, 1848 Characters: Colonies are massive, usually flat. Corallites are ,c edoid or subplacoid, monocentric, either cwcular or an,g ular in shape. Septo-costae are thick near the corallite wall, becoming thin near the ,c olumella and have tall mussid teeth. P.olyps are ｴｨｩ｣ｫｾｷ｡ｬ･､＠ and are extended only at night. Acanthastrea does not rese ' ble any ,o ther mussid genus, with the exceptio- of A. hillae which ｾ＠ s ｾ ｬｩｫ･Ｎ＠ However, Ac.anthastrea species are readily cQnfused with Faviidae, sometimes ｓｹｭｰｨｬｩ｡ especially Favites (in the case of A. ,echinata). They are identified much m ore easily in underwater, where thick fleshy polyps obscure underlying skeletal structures, just as they do with most other mussids. l 1. Species with smaIl Corallites (less than 15 mm diameter) Acanthastrea echinata Colonies massive or encrusting. GorallUes cerioid or plocoid, usually cir'cular, wide range of sizes within a colony. Septa have long pointed teeth. 106 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL A. hemprkhii Colonies encrusting to massive. Corallites cerioid. Septa have ,e xsert teeth. Similar to A. echinata which has more widely spaced, fleshy, less cerioid corallites. 2. Spec es with large corallites (over 15 mm diameter) A. hillae Colonies are cerioid. CorallHes have irregular shapes and sometimes form short valleys with several centres. A. ishigakiensis Massive are subrnassive Corallites ceioid up to 25mm diameter- becoming plocoid on the sides of the colony Septa uniform with large teeth. Similar to A. hillae which has smaller coralHtes and forms valleys. GENUS Lob.ophyllia de Blainville, 1830 Characters: Colonies are phaceloid to ｦｬ｡｢･ｯ ｾ ｭ･｡ｮ､ｲｯｩ＠ either ｦｬ｡ｴ ｾ ｴｯｰ･､＠ or ､ｯｭ･ ｾ ｳｨ｡ｰ･､Ｎ＠ Corallites and / or valleys are large. Septa are large with very long teeth. Columella centers are broad and ,compact. Polyps are extended only at night. ,Symphyllia has coarse skeletal structures comparable to Lobophyllia. L. hemprichii Colonies flat to massive and may be very large. Phacel'oid to ｦｬ｡｢･ｯ ｾ ｭ･｡ｮ､ｲｯｩＮ＠ Septa taper from the wall to the columella. Tall sharp teeth. Similar to Lobophyllia dentatus which has mor,e exsert septa and prominent teeth. L. corymhosa Colonies flat to hemispherical and mostly phac1eloid - monocentric to tricentric. Does not have .a large growth ｾｯｲｭ＠ variation. Calices are deep with well defined walls. Septa thick near walls and thin within the calice. Septal teeth tall and decrease in size towards the calice Ｌ ｣･ｮｾＮ＠ Similar to Lobophyllia dentatus which has different calices and septa. L. diminuta Small, flat or ､ｯｭ･ ｾ ｳｨ｡ｰ･､＠ colonies. Corallites are phaceloid up to 35 mm diameter. L. hemprichii has larger and more uniformly spaced corallites. Tall septal dentations make corallites irregular and spiny. L. hattai Colonies partly flabellate, partly meandroid. Valleys wide and shallow, VIENKATARAMAN AND 107 S ATYANARAYANA Columellae are in two rows. Small ,c olonies ,c an be confused with L. hemprichii. S. agaricia ,a lso has two rows of columellae but this S. agaricra has coarser septa, septal ornamentation, and much deeper valleys. GENUS Symphyllia Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 Characters: Colonies are meandroid, either flat-topped or dome shaped. Valleys are wide. A groove usually runs along the top of the walls. Septa are large with long teeth. Columella centers are broad and compact. Polyps are extended only at night. Lobophyllia aJone has coaIse skeletal structures ,a omparable to Symphyllia. S. recta Colonies massive to flat. Valleys highly sinuous and narrow - up to 15 mm wide. Walls have a groove along the top. Septa dentations ,a re fine. Similar to S. radians which has larger and less sinuous valleys,. S. radians Colonies massive to flat,. Valleys fairly straight, especially if colonies have flat surfaces, otherwise irregularly sinuous vallyes in a radiating pattern. Septal dentations intermediate between S. ｾ･｣ｴ｡＠ and S. agaricia. Valleys average 20-25 mm wide. s. agarida Coloru'es hemispherical to flat. V.alleys s· llOUS or straight ｾ＠ 35 mIn w·de. Usually separated by a narrow groove. Septa thick with large teeth. Similar to S. radians which has smaller, straighter valleys. GENUS Cynarlna Brugg,e mann, 1877 Characters: 'O ne 'Of the most deF c.ately beautiful 'Of aI corals. Despite their delicate appearance Cynarina, alone among the mussids, are tolerant of a wide ran,ge of environmental conditions and make a good aquarium speciemen. It is a monospecific ,genus. CoraJs ,a Ie monocentric (oval or circular or cylindrical) with a base firmly attached or with a pointed base and free living. Primary septa are thick and have very large teeth. Paliform l'obes are usually well developed. Columellae are broad ,a nd compact. Cynaria lacrymalis Monocentric, oval or drcularwith a base for attaclunent. May have ,a pointed base when living. Primary septa thick with large, rounded or lobed teeth. Paliform lobes usually well developed. C'Olume lae broad ,a nd compact. ｦｲ･ ｾ＠ 108 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Symphyllia agaricia Acanthastrea echinata Lobophyllia ,corymbosa Cynarina lacrymalis FAMrLY: OCULINIDAE Gray, 1847 extant and fossil. Corallites are thickened and linked byColonial, hermatypic and ahermatypic, a smooth coenosteum. Septa are very ,exsert. Related to the family Rhizangiidae. The Oculinidae are generally ahermatypic except two genera viz. Galaxea and Archelia. There are bout 29 species belonging to 10 genera out of which only 3 species belonging to only 1 genera are reported from India. GENUS Galaxea 'Oken, 1815 Character,s: Colonies are massive, ,c olumnar, encrusting or irregular. Corallites are cylindrical, thin-walled and separated by a blistery coenosteum. Columellae are w,e ak or abs,e nt. Septa are very exsert. It is very distinctive, although the species within the genus are very similar, with the main differenc'e ｢･ ｩｮｾ＠ ,only in the ｳｾ･＠ of the corallites. G. astreata corallites are smaller in diameter and round comparable to G. fascicularis, which is larger in diameter and may be irregular. <;alaxea astreata VIBNKATARAMAN AND 109 S ATYANARAYANA Galaxea acrhelia Colonies branching. Branches short, truncated and irregular. Corallit-es tubular, delicate and with open rims. Coralllites branch off from older corallites. Septa are very exsert and are irre,g ular in length. Blistery coenosteum and Colummellae ,absent. Similar to G. /ascicularis which does not branch. Galaxea fascicularis Massive colonies fJ:1equently over 5 m ,across. Corallites of mixed sizes, usually less than 10 mm in diameter. Some septa reach the ,c entre of the ,eorallite. Galaxea astreata Colonies submassive, columnar and encrusting. Corallites may vary greatly in size depending upon where in the colony they appear. Usually 8-12 septa reach the colony centre. FAMILY: PECTINIIDAE Vaughan and Wells, 1943 Characters: There is one solitary fossil genus; the remainder is colonial and hermatypic. Colonies are basically laminar, oomposed of thin plates. Corallite walls are absent or formed by the non-porous costate coenosteum of the laminae. Family Mussidae is similar to Pectinidae. The P,e ctiniidae is a small distinct family ｷ ｾ ｴｨ＠ only five extant g,e nera, all hermatypic, comprised ,o f Echinophyllia, Echinomorpha, Oxypora, Mycedium ,a nd Pecunia. There are bout 31 species belonging to 6 genera out of which only 11 species belongin,g to only 4 genera are reported from India. GENUS EchinophyUia Klunzinger, 1879 Charactus: Colonies ave 'e ncrusting or laminar. Calices are round or oval, immersed to tubular and not strongly inclined ,o n the colony surface. Septa are usually numerous. Columellae are usually well developed. The eoenosteum is pitted at the commencement of new septo-costae. Echinophy Ilia aspera Plates with irregular, hillocky or submassive central areas and thin at edges. Smaller colonies usually have a ,c entt,al corallite. Corallites have toothed costae. No paliform lobes. £,chinophyllia echinoporoides Explanat-e plates with thin edges and central area (frequently formed by central overgrowths) to 3 ,e m thick. Corallit-es mostly plocoid or subplocoid, small and ar,e slightly inclined towards the colony margin. Similar to Echinopora lamellosa which has a similar growth form, corallites of a similar size, shape, density but has ,e xsert ,costae. 110 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL Echinophyllia patula Thin plates with widely spaced corallites. Corallit-es immersed with broad columellae. A larg,e central cor.allite may be distinguishable. Costae are well developed with exsert triangular granulations. Deep pits where costae commence. Similar to Echinophyllia ,aspera which has smaller, moroe exsert and more crowded corallites. Echinophyllia echinata has more irregular costae and a more prominent ,c entral corallite. EchinophylUa echinata Thin plates, do not form thick plates or submassive forms Large central cor,allite Very prominent first aj1d second order sept-costae GENUS Oxypora Saville-Kent, 1871 ｃｨ｡ｲ｣ｾｳＺ＠ Colonies are foliaceous, usually with very thin laminae. Calices are round or oval in shape, irregular, shallow, not strongly inclined 'o n the corallum surface. Septa ,a re few, ,columellae are poorly developed. The coenosteum is pitted at the insertion of new septo-coastae. Oxypora is r,e adily confused with Echinophyllia especially when colonies become thickened. Sometimes confused with Echinopota and Mycedium also. Oxypora crassispinosa Colonies f,oliose. LaBlinaI or thin, convoluted, ｨｯｲｩｾｮ ｴ｡ ｬ＠ or upright. Laminar with prominent coastal ridges Corallites are small with few costae (mostly ,o ne or two per corallite) Similar to Mycedium but easily recognizable due to coastal rid,ges .. O. lacera Thin, ,e ncrusting or laminar plates. Intercostal slits usually absent from central parts of colony. Costae are very toothed. Similar to Echinophyllia aspera which usually has corallites slightly inclined near the periphery and is radially synunetrical near the colony centr,e (r,e verse OCCUIS in O. ｬ｡｣ｾＩＮ＠ O. lacera usually has less than 12 primary septa, E. aspera usually has over 12 primary septa. GENUS Mycedium 01en, 1815 Characters : Colonies are laminar or foliaceous . Corallites are ｮｯｳ･ｾｨ｡ｰ､Ｌ＠ facing outw,a rd towards the corallum perimeter. Septa and columellae ,a re well developed and costae form outwardly walls. The coenosteum is never pitted at the insertion of new septo-costae. Polyps are extended only at ni,ght. Mycedium el,ephantotus Colonies laminar or encrusting. Corallites nariform, up to 15 mm diameter, inclined towards the colony perimeter. Septa and columellae ,a re well developed and costae form outwardly radiating ribs. CoenosteuID has no pits. Similar to Mycedium robokaki which has smaller coralHtes and irregularly shaped fronds. VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 111 GENUS Pecunia Oken, 1815 Characters! Colonies are laminar to ｳｵ｢ｾ｡ｲｯ･｣ｮｴＬ＠ covered with high, thin, acute irregular walls usually arranged as wide valleys. Valleys may be as short as they ave wide and the walls may form tall spires, becoming sub-arborescent. CoralHt-e centers occur in any position. Sept-o-costae are well developed and may form the start of walls or spires. Polyps we extended only at night. COl O ',es are sub ,assive or fo I Pectinia lactuca thick pi ates. Radiating valleys can be traced from colony centre to periphery. Collines continuous and plate-like. Pectinia paeonia Colonies never have extended valleys. Inste,a d colonies form dusters of fluted thin laminae with exsert costae forming up",rardly projecting spires and short walls. Collines bisected and irregular, surround only 1 or ,a few centres. Septa have small teeth. Columellae are weakly developed. Similar to Rectinia alcicornis which has more solid skeletal structures, tall spires, a well developed columellae and highly toothed costae. Pecunia alcicornis Colonies irregular ｣ｬｵｳｴ･ｾ＠ spires and short walls. of fluted flat laminae with exsert costae forming upwardly projecting Tall upwardly projecting spires dominate the colony. Strong septal/ ,costal dentations. Relafvely large columellae. Similar to P. paeonia which .sIess ,c alcif ed and has thinner J ｳｾ･ｬｴ｡ ｬ＠ structul es. Pectinia teres Small clumps of po' ted branch-like spires. Conspicuous ,corallites. Exsert costae. E,chinophyllia aspera Mycedium elephantotus 112 CORAL IDENTIf ICA'flON MANUAL Pectinia paeonia Oxypor,a lacer,a FAMILY: POCILLOPORIDAE Gray, 1842 It is colonial and mostly hermatypic corals, ,contains three common genera, Pocillopora, Seriatopora and StylophQra, which hav'e very similar biological characters. Representative of all these genera ,are recorded in Indian waters. Characters: Co1onies ar,e submassive, ramose or arborescent. Branches are often flattened or fine and irregular. Colonies al,e CQvel'led in verrucae (large mounds). Corallites are small and ｩｭ･ｾｳ､Ｎ＠ Septa and columella are usually poorly developed. The c'o enosteum is covered with spinules. Superficially this family resembles Astroooeniidae and Acraporidae. There ar,e bout 39 species belonging t-o 4 genera out of which only11 species belonging to only 3 genera are reported from India. Pocillopora eydouxi Pocillopora damicomis Stylophora pistillata Seriatopora hystrix Pocillopora verruc,Qsa VIBNKATARAMAN AND 113 S ATYANARAYANA GENUS Pocillopora Lamarck, 1816 Pocillopora is a well-deined genus readily distinguishable from other genus by the presence of verrucae. Characters: Colonies are sub-massive to ramose with branches tending to be blade-like or else fine and irllegular,. Colonies are cov,ef1ed with verrucae. Corallites are immersed. They may be devoid of internal structures or have ,a low solid columella and two unequal cycles of septa. The Ic oenosteum is usually covered by granules. Polyps are usually extended only at ni,ght. Pocillopora damicornis Pocillopora verruoosa Pocillopol'a ,e ydouxi P. damicornis Lacks true verrucae-no deaI distinction between verrucae and branches Branches comprised of cerioid corallites Peripheral branches much thinner than other species in this genus P. meandrina Colonies compact and upri,ght. Branches short, flat and r,a diate from the center. Vie rucae neatf U I" orm rounded and mediu sized. V,errucae not longer than wide Similar to P. verrucosa which has relatively prominent verrucae which are longer than wide. 114 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL P. verrucosa Uniform upright distinct branches. Prominent verrucae-large and irregular in size, giving the co1ony a rough/ragged surface Larger branches than p, damicomis Synonymised with P. meandrina in monograph. There is some overlap in calicular Ｌ ｣ｨ｡ｲｴ･ｾｳ＠ cai"ces of P. meandrina are slightly larger and there ｾｳ＠ slightly less septal development). (The Onl y common in exposed areas (outer reef fronts), therefore less variable than P.damicornis. P. eydouxi Large upright dub shaped branches, branching may be infrequent. Can form large ,colonies. Veruccae uniform. P. ankeli Colonies short a-.nd 'c ompact w ith short knobby branches. V'e rrucae small ,a nd crowded. Corallites ,c rowded on verrucae. Similar to P. verrucosa which has less crowded oorallites and more upright branches. P. linguata Compact ,eolonies with irregularly radiating branches with flattended ends. V,e rrucae widely spaced and irregular. GENUS Seriatopora Lamarck, 1816 Characters: Colonies form compact bushes with thin anastomosing (fused) branches. Corallites are arranged in neat rows along the 'branches. They are mostly immersed and have poorly developed internal structures ･ｾ｣ｰ ｴ＠ for solid..like columella. Usually one, sometimes tw'o cycles 'of septa are developed and are fused to the columella. The 'c oenosteum is ,c overed by fine spinules. Polyps are extended only at night. S,eri,atopora crassa Colony branching. Main branches about 1 em thick and branchlets either narrow or broad, when narrow 3 to 4 mm, broade, ones 7 to 8 I I • Calices subcircular 0.6 mm in diameter. Upper wall raised up forming hoods. First cycle of septa prominent, surface coenchyme echinulate. S. hystrix Thin tapering branches - 1.5-4.5 mm. 1 cm below tip and 2.5..8 mm near ,colony base. S. stellata Thick, short and stron,g ly tapered branches. Branches usuaJly fused into clumps. Corallites are aligned in rows which are r,aised into ridges down the sides of br,anches. Similar to S. hystrix which does not have raised ridges and usually has thin branches. VIBNKATARAMAN AND 115 S ATYANARAYANA S. caliendrum Branches usually thick (3-8 nun) and non-tapering (rounded tips). ｃｯｲ｡ｬｴｾｳ＠ ,a re in rows but not as obvious as S.hystrix. Corallites have Stylophora-like hoods. GENUS Stylophora Schweigger, 1819 Seven species ,a re reported worldwide, of which only one species is recorded fr-orn India. Characters: Colonies are ramose to submassive with short, seldom fusing branches, which ,a re expanded at the tips. Colonies lack true verrucae. Upper wall of corallites is deve10ped as ,a spiny hood. Six primary septa may be fused to a style-like columella. Cor,allites are in rows down branches. Stylophora pistillata Seriatopora hystrix Stylophora pistillata Thick, blunt-ended branches. Corallites immersed.. conical or hooded. FAMILY: PORITIDAE Gray, 1842 Family Poritidae is a heterogenous assemblage of distantly related genera. It is Colonial, hermatypic and mostly extant. Colonies are usually massive, laminar or ramose. Corallites have a wide size range but are usually compact with little or no coenosteum. Walls and septa are porous. The Poritidae includes five extant hermatypic genera, Porites, Stylaraea, Roritipora, Goniopora and Alveopora. Poritipora is a very recently erected ,genus. There are bout 89 species belonging to 6 genera out of which only 20 species belonging to only 4 gener,a are reported from India. Porites lobata Porites ｬｩ｣ｨｾｮ＠ < Goniopor.a minor Porites nigresences 116 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL GENUS Porites Link, 1807 Characters: Colonies are flat (foliaceous or encrusting), massive ,o r branching. Massiv,e colonies are spherical or hemispherical when small and helmet or dome-shaped when large, and are commonly over 5 m in diamet-er. Corallit-es are small, immersed, with ,c.alices less than 2 mm in diameter and filled with septa. Polyps usually extend only at night. Porites resembles ｍｯｮｴｩｰｾ｡Ｎ＠ Porites differs from Mon.t-ipora by different growth forms. Corallites are usually larger and more compact-ed and lack the elaborate thecal and reticulum papillae and tuberculae, which characterise Montipora. Porites also have 'corallites filled with septa, whereas those of Montipora contain only inward projecting septal teeth. Porites species are the most difficult of all the major genera t-o identify because of variable and small corallites. Patterns of fusion of the triplet in Poriles a) Triplet with free lateral septa and three pali & ventral directiv'e fused & one palus b) Triplet with ｬ｡ｴ･ｾ＠ ｓｾ･ｬｴ｡＠ structures used in porites species identification: Dorsal directive septum FOUI pairs of lateral septa with each pair fused at their inner ma-.rgln (these septa are usually larg'e r than the lateral septa in the ventral triplet) Ventral tr'plet Qomposed of ventral direcfve septum (ce tre) and tw,o lateral septum, inner mar,g ins of septa in triplet are free or fused Pali vary in height, absent only in P. solida Denticles are on upper septal margins . Species forming large massive colonies P.lutea Large hemispherical or helmet shaped colonies. Usually form microatolls in intertidal habitats . Tightly ｰ｡｣ｾ･､＠ corallites are filled' with ｳｾ･ｬｴ｡＠ ｴｨｩ｣ｾ･ｲ＠ walls and five tall and three short pali. I Corallites of P,l.obata appear to have ｾ･ｷｲ＠ structures. Similar to P. australiensis which has skeletal elements. Widely distributed throughout reefs of the world Ｈ･ｾ｣ｬｵ､ｩｮｧ＠ Caribbean). VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 117 P.lobata Large hemispherical or helmet shaped colonjes with a lobed upper surface. Com-.monly form micro atolls in intertidal habitats. Corallites are open with relatively tew skeletal elements. Similar to P. solida and P. austr,aliensis. Widely distributed throughout reefs of the world. P. salida Large massive ,colonies, usually hemispherical. Surface is smooth to undulating. Corallites are large with no pati. Similar to P. lobata which has weakly developed patio 2. Species forming small massive colonies P.murrayensis Colonies hemispherical 'or spherical. Colony surface is smooth and ,corallites ,are evenly spaced. Similar to P. lobata which has larger corallit-es and longer septa. P. stephensoni has similar corallite characters. 3. Species formjn-s columns, laminae ,a nd br,a nches P. lichen Encrusting laminae, thick plates or sub-massive with colunms or br,anches. Corallites in rowsthin wall ｷｾｴｨｩｮ＠ rows and thick wa s between rows. Thick and thin walls means that P. lichen forms a transition between other Porites species esp P. annae and P. vaughtlni. Widely distributed throughout Indian and Pacific 'Oceans, SE Asia .and the GBR. P. annae Branching, usually with horizontal basal plates. Nodular branches usually ,anastomose or columnar. Abundant on intertidal flats and may form micro-atolls. p. v ,a ughani Coloms encrusting, laminar or form columns. Corallites widely spaced and separated by ridges. Similar to P. annae. Corallites resemble P.lichen. 4. Species forming laminae and branches P. nigrescens Branching, sometimes with an encrusting base. Concave calices. Similar to P. cylindrica, but it has shallow corallites and thicker branchers. Also r,esembles P. negrosensis. P. eridani crusting p iates w'th short s'mp e branches/ colUllUlS. Corallit-es irre.g ulariy distributed on both laminae and branches. Five paU sometimes united, fossa deep, columella absent, septa short and thick, coraltite walls thick Similar to P. flavus but it does not hav'e basal laminae. 'G rowth from r·esembles P. Zatistella. 118 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL P,. compress a Cylindrical branches with fuse. Growth form and corallite characters extremely variable. Similar to P. cylindrica Endemic species of Hawaii. P. cylindrica Branching, sometimes with an encrusting base. Colonies have a smooth surface due to shallow corallites. Similar to P. compressa and P. attenuata. Often ,c onfused with Paulastrea r:amosa under water. P. monticulosa Colonies massive or plate like sometimes branchin,g and encrusting, or a combination of growth forms. Corallites are separated into groups by ridges. Similar to P. rus but this species is more branching. P. rus Large colonies, submassivel laminar or branching. Coenosteum commonly raised in ridges which chaI,acteristically converge towards each other forming flame-shaped patterns. Corallites small, superficial and widely separated by an extensive, finely reticulated coenosteum. Similar to Montipora. Resembles P. monticulosa. Porites andrewsi Colonies are branching, sometimes with ,a n encrusting or massive base and may be very large. Branches are usually <30 cm long and <40 mm in diameter near their base. Corallites are very superficial. flush with the corallum surface. The maximum diameter of calices is 1.5 nun and the distance between corallites is upto 7 calice diameters but is usually less. Living 'c-olorues have a v,e ry vide range of colours, especially those oc'c urring in shallow w,ater. Porites evennanni Colonies submassive to massive. Triplet has free margins. Septa thick. 8 large pa i and ,a Large columella Septa are thick. Porites ,exserta COl allum ･ｮ｣ｲｵｳｾｧＮ＠ Calices shallow, polygonal ,o r circular, generally 12 septa present. A prominent septal denticle present between the exsert part of the septa and the paluso Two rings of synapticulae. VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 119 Dorsal directives '\ columella tdphH with free margins Diagramatic representation of a Porities corallite, showing septal structures 'c ommonly used in species identification. ｜Ｎ＼Ａｾ＠ . . .ｾｔ ｗＧｯ＠ cJrmhele l tr.plet hu 2 (1i3trely 3) denlic: eJ ｴｾ (:ohundlla Porites lutca. Porites PQriteli ,' obsta ｏＨｬｾｕＡＮ＠ - - - -__ smaU ｯｲｾ｢ｳ･Ｎｵ＠ tripld has free or fused JUlrVDS Poriter liclle12 PorUer aigrescens 80 ｭ｡ｬ naa ｳｭ＠ 120 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL Pali, five, one on the ventral dir,ective and four-one each on the fused ends of the lateral pairs. Columella usually absent This species is dosely related to P. lichen except for the nature ,of the wall and the exsert ends of the septa. ｦｾ･＠ P,orites mannarensis Colonies are ,globular or subhemispherkal, occur as free living. Surface lobulated. In globular specimens invariably the remains of Acropora on which the colony initially starts its growth is r,e tained. In others the basal part is ,e xpanded. Porites minicoensis Colonies unattached, free, ramose, with a crowded duster of small branches radiating from a central elongated body. Largest size recorded is 7 em. Branches 1.5 to 2.5 cm. long, up to 10 mm. Thick at the base. Tip .of the branches expanded with small nodules. SUB GENUS Synaraea VERRILL, 1864 Porites (Synaraea) convexa Colonies encrusting to submassive. Cal ices round, superficial and arranged in valleys formed by coenchymal foveolations. Triplet often forms trident. Pali 5 to 6. Columella style mayor may not present. Similar to P. mont-iculosa and may be a synonym .of it. GENUS Sty,laraea Mile Edwards and aime, 1851 Monospecific ,g enus Stylaraea punctata Colonies encrusting and usually round in shape. Corallies are with flaring openings and ,a re neatly arranged. Pinnul@ like distinctive columella. Two cycles of septa. Resembles Porites but easily distinguishable with the prominent pinnule like distinctive ,columella. GENUS Goniopora de Blainville, 1830 Character,s: Colonies are usually columnar or massive but may be encrusting. Corallites are usually thick but porous walls and calices a.re filled with compact septa and columella. Polyps are long and fleshy, extended day and night. ｇｯｮｩｰｾ｡＠ ,a re usually easier to identify in underwater than they are from skeletons. They have 24 tentac es. Diffevent species have polyps of difte ent shapes and colours, which allow them easy to identify in underwater.. Goniopora is similar to Alveopora. Polyps of this genus are similar to GoniopQra, which has 24 tentacles, while Alveopora has only 12. VIENKATARAMAN AND 121 S ATYANARAYANA Massive species with large (oy.er 5 mm) Corallites Goni,opora djiboutiensis Submassive or ,c olumnar usually with an encrusting margin. Cirallites rounded or polygonal. Columellae prominent, dome-shaped and usually divided into 6 fused paIts. Polyps have large oral cones. Similar to G. pendu,lus and G. columna which also have large oral cones. G. pendulus has bigger polyps with much longer tentacles. G. columna has a more columnar growth-form. Goniopora stokes; Shape of colonies varies greatly from free-living and massive to attached and ,c olumnar. Calices have high walls giving the colony a ragged appearance. Columellae are broad and irregular. Similar to G. pendulus which forms larger colonies with polyps of equal size, Branching or columnar ,s pecies with large (over 5 mm) corallites Goniopora columna Short columns, oval in traverse section. Corall'tes near the tops of columns have fine irvegular septa and diffuse co umellae. Those on the sides ,of columns have broad compact columellae and short septa. Large polyps with large oral discs. Similar to G. stokesi, which has larger polyps and a ragged wall structure. Massive species with medium (3-5 mm) Corallites Goniopora. tenuidens Colonies massive, hemispherical or irregular. Corallites rQunded with thin walls and 6 prominent paIiform lobes. Polyps to G. minor which has thick pali forming a crown. Gonipora min,or Colonies hemispherical or encrusting. Calices ,a re circular with thick walls. Usually 6 thick pall which are in contact and f,o rm a crown. Septal structures ar,e heavily granulated. Similar to G tenuidens which has blunt tentacles of uniform length. Branching or ,c olumnar .species with medium (3-5 nun) Corallites Goniopora planulata Colonies submassive with small compacted columns or mounds. Corallites have thin walls. Septa are thin and uJ.'Iegular. Paliform lobes form a diffuse crown.. Similar to G. .columna which forms thicker columns and has larger corallites. 122 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Species with small l(less than 3 mm) Corallites Goniopor,a stutchburyi Colo ',es sub assive to encrus ,' g. Calices ,are small and shallow givin,g colonies a smooth surface. Resembles Porities. GENUS AI'Oeopora de Blainville, 1830 Characters: Colonies are massive or branching, often with irregular shapes. The skeletal structure is very light, consisting of interconnecting rods and spines. Corallites have walls that are perforated and septa that ,are mostly composed ,of fine spines, which may meet in the centre forming a columella tangle. It has 12 tentac les, often with swollen knob- ｾｫ･＠ tips. Alveopora is similar to Goniopora. Medium sized Corallites A. verrilUana Short irre,g ularly dividing knob br,anches are distinctive Corallites 1.7-2.0 mmwith short blunt skeletal spines. No columellae. Similar to A. fenestrata which has a hemispherical growth form and larger ,corallites. Small Corallites and short polyps A. daedalea Colonies encrsting, thick p iates or columnar. Smooth surface. Tips of polyp t-entacles are truncated giving a squared appearance. Sometimes 6 large tentacles alternate with 6 small tentacles. Similar to A. spongiosa which is less Icolumnar, and does not have trauncat-ed tentacles. Other species Alveopora superficialis Colonies are explanate, thick; calices neatly rounded, close together, intercorallite wall very thin. Calices neatly rounded, close together, intercoraUite wall 0.1 to 0.2 mm, adjacent 'ones almost used. Septa 12 in number subequal in thickness, horizontally extending, hair-like. The ｩｮｴ･ｲ above. ｾ ｳ･ｰｴ｡ｬ＠ spaces ｡ｾ･＠ oval in outline and the calyx, spear like a wheel when observed from The ,colonies are light and fragile. Remarks: Though Veron and Pichon (1982) reported this species as nominal, Veron (2000) dtd not include this species in the world species list. Mostly found on shallow reef environments. VIBNKATARAMAN AND 123 S ATYANARAYANA Porites soUda Goniopora tenuidens Goniopora stokesi FAMILY: RHIZANGIIDAE d'Orhi,gny, 1851 Charact-ers : Colonjes usually encrusting with scattered corallites, Sometimes solitary, Corallites tubular and small. Budding extratentacular. Mostlycomposed of azooxanthellate species. There are bout 33 spec'es belon,gin,g to 4 g,e nera ,o ut of which only 3 spec'es belonging to only 3 genera ,a re reported from India. GENUS Astrangia: sp. Milne Edwards ,a nd ,aime, 1848 Encrusting and submassive, Compacted and deep corallites, Corallites mostly cwcular in shape. Septal margins beaded. Columellae well developed. Cladangia exusta Co' a lum ene' ust' g and ' ｾ＠ . Corallites 1-3mm in height and shallow. Distance between corallites vary from 2 to 6 Calices mostly round in shape. mIn. 124 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Coenosteum dense. Epitherca absent. Septa in three complete cycles. Columella distinct.. usually trabecular I have papillary projects merging with septal dentition. GENUS Culicia Dana, 1846 Corallum solitary and in groups. Cylindrical corallites. Mostly less than 5 mm in height and width. Granular septa. Columella present. Culicia ru,be,ola Corallum reptoid1 corallites droular1 2-4 rom in diameter. Epitheca well developed. 20 to 24 septa, first two cycles well develO"ped. Edges with weak dentition, sides granular. Twelve septa reach the columella. Columella trabecular with ,a few vertical papillae. Generally the ,colonies are found under dead parts .of the massive cor,als. The tota number of septa may range upto 36 depending on the size of the cora lites. FAMILY: SIDERASTREIDAE Vau,g han and Wells, 1943 Siderastt,eidae is a family with mostly extant, ,colonial and hermatypic corals. Colenies are massive or columnar. Corallites are immersed with poorly defined walls formed by thickening of the ｳ･ｰｴｾ＠ costae. Septa aI'e usually fused along their inner mar,g ins to form £.an-lik,e groups; they have granulated upper margins and are closely compacted and evenly spaced. It is dosely related to family Agariciidae. There are six extant hermatypic genera, four of which, Siderastr.ea, Pseudosiderastrea, Psammocor.a and Coscinaraea are found in Indian waters. The Psammocora and Coscinar.aea are common with clear affinities. Other genera w ithin the family have a few species with uncertain relationships and unusual distributions and habitat pr,eferences. A total of 28 species are reported in the world out of which only 11 species ｡ｲｾ＠ reported from India. Pseudosider.astrea tayami Psammocor4 digitata Siderastre4savignyana CQscinaraea monile GENUS Pseudosiderastrea Yabe and Sugiyama, 1935 It is mono specific and closely resembles Coscinaraeaand superficially resembles Coeloseris and Leptastrea. Characters: Colonies are enci usting to massive or ､ｯｭ･ｾｳｨ｡ｰＮ＠ CoraU'tes are ,cereoid, polygona 3-6 nun in diameter. Septa are ,evenly spaced and fuse with each ether in fan-like groups. Septa have fine, saw-like teeth. Columellae consist of one to four pinnules. I VIENKATARAMAN AND 125 S ATYANARAYANA Pseudosiderasterea tay,a mi Encrusting to dome shaped. Corallites polygonal, 2-4 mm diameter. Septaa1e neatly aIra,llged. Fusing in neat fan- ike ,groups. Walls have a fine ridge along the top. Similar to Pseudosiderastrea tayami which has ,a similar growth form but septa hav,e ｳ｡ｷ ｾｬｩｫ ･＠ teeth. GENUS Siderastrea Yabe and SugiyamaJ 1935 ｃｨ｡ｲ｣ｴ･ｾｳ＠ : Colonies aIle Boulder shaped to encrusting. Corallites cerioid, rounded or polygonal. Septa evenly spaced with fine saw...like teeth. Siderastrea savignayana Encrusting or low mounds to one metre across. Corallites polygonal, 24 mm diameter. Septa are neatly arranged. Fusing in neat fan-like ,groups. Walls have a fine ridge along the top. Similar to Pseudosiderastrea tayami which has a similar growth form but septa have saw like teeth. GENUS Psammocora Dana, 1846 Charact'e rs : Colonies are massive, columnar, laminar, foliaceous or encrusting. Corallites are very small and shallow, sometimes forming shallow valleys. Walls are indistinct. A small number of primary septo-costae are imbedded in secondary septo-costae, forming distinctive species..specific patterns. Polyps are usually extended only at night. Psammocora is readily confused with Coscinaraeaf which is initially distinguished by having larger corallites with much larger calices. Psammocora digitata ｐｬ｡ｴＭ･ｩｾ＠ or ,c olunmar. Small shallow corallites. Slightly exsert petaloid primary septa. Psammocora cont-igua Colonies mixtures of flattened ｢ｲ Ｌ ｾｮ｣ｨ･ｳＮ＠ Colonies have a smooth surface due to shallow corallites. Corallite structur-es are fine. Sometimes occur as free-living mobile balls. Psammocora profunda,ce.lla Colonies submassiv,e or plate-like Corallites arranged along valley floor;s Walls between ,corallites are rounded and may form a central ridge. Septa not exsert. Psammocora haimeana Corallites situated at the bottom of depr,e ssions Walls have acute tops Primary septo...costae are petaloid but not exsert. 126 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL ｐｳ｡ｭｯ｣ｾ＠ superficialis Encrusting with low irregular ridg-es. Corallites small, shallow and irregularly distributed. Similar to P. niertraszi which has similar corallites but has well defined ridges between them. Psammocora explanulata Thin plates with large corallites which are evenly distributed. Distinctive exsert septa which may be petaloid or meandering. GENUS Coscinaraea Milne Edwards and Haime, 1848 Characters: Colonies are massive, columnar, ,e ncrusting or laminar. Corallites are large and in short valleys or irregularly scattered ,a nd shallow. ｓ･ｰｴｯｾｳ｡＠ are fused in distinctive patterns and have finely serrated to heavily gr,a nulated margins. Compound trabeculae and true synapticulothecal wall distinguish Coscinaraea from Psammocora. Sider-astrea sayignyana Psamm,ocorR contiguR Coscinaraea monile Colonies encrusting 'or dome-shaped. Calices monocentric - up to 7 mm - or form short valleys. Septa are ev,e n and finely serrated giving colonies a smooth appearance. Coscinar,aea ,columna Encrusting or massive Septo..costae are not heavily granulated. Pinnules present on top of corallite walls. Similar to C. ,exesa, which has columnar growth-form and more larger and shallow,e r ,oorallites with granulated sept-o-costae. Cos,cinaraea crassa Large heavily calcified unifadal plate with large compact corallites. Long and short septo-costae are slightly alternate. Colume lae are ｳｾ＠ gle fused septal margins deep w'thin the ,co a lite. Superficially a greatly enlarged ,coarser and thicker v,ersion of C. mcneilli. VIENKATARAMAN AND 127 S ATYANARAYANA Pseudosiderastrea tayami Coscinaraea monile FAMILY: TRACHYPHYLLIDAE Verrill, 1'901 Charact-ers· Solitary to col<oniai and zooxanthellate. The family is separated fromFaviidae by growth-form, the presence of large paliform lobes and fine teeth on the septa. This family has only one genus Trachyphyllia, which itself is ,a mono specific genus. GENUS Trachyphyllia Milne Edwards and Hahne, 1848 Character;s: It is a monospecific genus. Colonies are usually free-living, colonial and flabellomeandroid, resulting from· tr.amural budding. Corallite wall appears to be primarily parathecal and primarily septothecal. The columella is trabecular centers are linked. Trachyphyllia geoffroyi ｔｾ｡｣ｨｹｰｬｩ＠ geoffroyi Colonies flabello-meandroid and free-living. Usually hourglass shaped up to 80mm in length with <one to three mouths. Valleys have large regular septa, paliform lobes and a large columellae of tan,gles spines. Anastomose : descriptive term for branches which re-fuse after havin,g initially divided. Appressed coralHtes : corallires which are fused (partly or ,c ompletely) with the coenosteum on one side so that their axis is approximat-ely parallel with the coenosteum. Arborescent colonies: colonies with a tree lLke growth from. Axial corallite : a corallite which forms the tip of a branch. Most acropora have axial cor,allites whereas they only occur sporadically in other cor,als. ａｸｾ＠ ａｺｯｸ｡ｮｴｨ･ｬｾ＠ al furrow : a groove along the axis of the upper surface of some fungiids ,corals : cor,als that do not have zooxanthellae. Most of them aIe deep water dwelling where, light rarely penetrat-es. BifaciaI : corallites occur on both sides of a plate or folia Bottle brush branching : a descriptiv'e term for ,a branch with compact radial radial usually used for some acropor,a species. ｳｵ｢ｾｲ｡ｮ｣ｨ･Ｌ＠ Br,a nching colonies: a descriptive term for a branch with compact radial sub-branches, usually used for some acropora species. Budding : coral polyp splits in two and produces two new II daughter" polyps. Caespitose : a descriptiv,e term for branches which interLock similarly in three dimensions, usually used for some acropora species. Calice : the inside area of the corallite, not including the walls Centr,a arch: a raised area surrounding the mouth of some solitary fun,giids Cerioid : adjacent corallites share the same wall Coenosteum pit : the point of insertion, or commencement of septa. Mostly found in pectiniidae and fungiida Coenosteum style : prominent projections from the coenosteum usually associated with a single 'corallite. Coenosteum : the surface of the corallum in between the ,corallites Co lines : skeletal dd,ges composed of coenost-eum which separat-e cor,allit-es Colony : corals are made up of numerous individual coral polyps which are inter connected to form a colony. Columella : ｳｾ･ｬ ｴ ｡ｬ＠ structure ,a t the centre of the cor,allite ,c omposed of single or multiple elements. Co umnar colon· es : colonies forming into one or more ,columns. Commensal: a partner ·' a mutually beneficial relationship between two different types of organisms Compact branching : whel'le branches ,o f a colony are dose together,. Corallite : individual cup in the skeleton, which holds a polyp. Corallum : coral skeleton pleural: coralla Corymbose : a descriptive term for colonies which have horizontal interlocking branches ,a nd have short upright branchlets, usually used for some acropora species. Costae : radial skeletal element'S outside the corallite walL Cycles of septafsepto..costae : wher,e r,a dial elements occur in a set sequence of size (6 primary, 6 secondary, 12 tertiary and so on) VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 129 Deltas of septa : fusion of septa into a hexamerous pattern of spongy columella. Common in goniopora. Dentation: teeth which form al,o ng the upper margins of the septa Digitate .: a colony with short branches shaped like the upturned fingers of a hand. Dissepiments : partitions which cut off the lawle r part of the colony which the polyp no lon.ger occupies (as the polyp grows upward) O· sta : remote from the ,centre, eg., the ,e nd of a branch. Divexsity : the number of taxa in a group or place. Ectodermis : the outer cell layer of a polyp. Edge zone: zone between the ·calice or top of branch and the start ·of the epitheca, wheve live coral tissue comes down to meet the epitheca Encrusting colonies: thin colonies which adhere closely, and are attached to the substrat-e. Encrusting: growth form of a coral in which the animal forms a think layer or ,crust over rocks. Endemic: ,a species restricted to a specific r,egion. Entire : without substantial irregularities. Epitheca : a tissue-like layer of calcium carbonate that grows outside corallite walls. 'Originally derived from the basal plate. Explanate corals : colonies which spread horizontally as branches fuse into a solid or near sol" d plate. Explanate : plate growth form. Ex&ert cor,a llit'e : cor,allite which protrudes ,a bove the level of the coenosteum Exsert septa: septa which project above the ,corallite wall Exta ,t: now llvin,g Extinct: no 10nger living Extratentacular budding: method of polyp reproduction in which the new polyp originates outside the ring of tentacles. Family: taxonomic ranking comprising a group of r,elated genera F abello-meandro· d : corals, which have valleys with walls that are separate from the walls of adjacent valleys. Flaring cor,a llites : with expandin,g (trumpet-like) ,curves to the outer corallite wall. Foliaceous : growth form in which colonies torm thin sheets which may be inclined upwards and Iop tn . t_O b_ranch"es. ___ unes.. d__e ve_ so met' Fossa: a cavity or hole in the skeleton. Fov,e olate cor,allites : corallites of some species of montipora which are situated at the base of funnelshaped depressions. Foveolate : funnel shaped corallites with deep depressions at the base Free- iv· n,g cora : corals that are not attached to the substrate. Genus : taxonomic ranking comprising a group of related species exhibiting unusual characters. Glabrous : devoid of attached structures. Granulate : covered with tiny protruding granules of skeleton, usually the ends of trabeculae. 130 CORAL IDENTIfICA'flON MANUAL Granulated: ,covered with sand-like particles. Groove--and..tubercle structures : fine epithecal structures, the development of which is , ,ontrolled by polychaete worms. Growth form : overall shape of the enfue coral skeleton. Hermatypic : literally means reef building Holotype : the principal specimen on which a species name is based. Immersed corallites : corallites whjch are embedded in development between radial corallites of acropora. ｡ｾ､＠ axiaJ Incipient axial corallites : 'corallites int-ermediat-e in development between radial ,a nd axial cor,allit-es of acropora. Intertentacular budding : growth of polyps frQm the inside wall of parent corallites, usually by division of the parent corallites. Lamellar : flat, plate..like Latitudinal attenuation : the progressive decrease in diversity along c,o ntinental coastlines with increasing distance fro , the equator. Massive colonies: colonies which are solid and which are typically hemispherical or ,otherwise have approximately similar dimensions in all directions. Meandroid colonies : massive colonies that have corallit-e mouths ali,g ned in valleys such that there are no individual polyps. Monocentric cora rtes : coralHtes have one columella centre per corallite. Monospedfic ｾ＠ describes a ,genus with one species only, or a coral ,o ommunitywith one species only. Monticules : conical sections of ,c ommon wall between corallites which have ,a secondary radial symmetry. Mucous: gelatinous substance secreted by the ectodermis for protection, to aid the capture of food, or to re ove sed' ent. Muc,ous .s usual y moved by cilia. Narif,o rm: a radial corallite shaped like upside down nose. Usually found in acropora. Nominal species: species that exists in name only. Oral cone : a mound of soft tissue surrounding the mouth. Oral disc : the soft tissue between the mouth and the surrounding tentacles. Orders of septa/sept1()-(ostae : where radial elements occur in different sizes, but not as ,cycles. Pall : upright skeletal rods ,o r plates ,a t the irmer margin of septa formed by upward gr"Owth of the septum. Paliform crown : a circle of paliform lobes surrounding the columella. Paliform lobe : innermost dentation of septum (formed differently from palus) may form a crown. Palus : (plural- pali): innermost dentation of septum (formed differently from paliform lobe) may form a crown. Papillae : projections on the surface Peritheca ! area outside the cor,allite, also called 'coenosteUIn and exotbeca. Phaceloid corals : corals that have corallit,es of unif-orm height adjoined towards their base. Phylum : the taxon level representing a group of related families. Pinnule : small upright structures, usually columellae, 'which are cylindrical in shape. VIBNKATARAMAN AND S ATYANARAYANA 13 Plocoid : each cor,allite has its own separate wall Polyp : small, tube shaped animal with a ring of tentacles. Pourtales plan: a cyclical arrangement of septa created by a specific pattern of fusion. Pr'o pagule : a sexually or asexually produced reproductive body capable of developing into ,a n adult organism. Prostrate: a descriptive term for a colony which sprawls hOrizontally over the substrate. Proximal: dose to the centrel, eg., the base of a branch. Radial cor,a llite : cor,al ｾ＠ tes on the sides of branches as ,o pposed to axial corallites branches. The term is usually used with acropora and ,anacropora. 0 the tips of Radii : inconspicuous septal elements connecting septa with the columella. Used in the taxonomy of porites. Rasp l&e ,corallites : regularly arrang,e d corallites with sharp edges reminiscent of a wood rasp. Reef flat : the flat intertidal parts of reef that are exposed to wave action. Reefs : limestone platforms ,of shallow tropical seas built by corals, coralline alga,e and other photosynthetic organisms or symbionts. Reef-slope: the sloping parts of veefs below the reef flat. Scale like c,orallites : corallites forming a pattern reminiscent of the pattern of fish scales. Scleractinian corals : hard ,corals which have skeleton made up of limestone and grouped under order scleractinia. Septa : rad' a1 skeletal elements project inwards from the corallite wall. Septal teeth: shaIp ｴｯ ｓ･ｰｴｯｾｳ｡＠ ｴ ｨ ｾｬｩ ｾ･＠ 'or lobed structures along the margins of septa. : radial skeletal elements crossing the corallite wall, oomposed of both septa and costae. Solitary corals : corals composed of single individuals. Ther,e may be no clear distinction between single individuals with many mouths ,a nd colonies with individuals which have single mouths. Species: 'comprises all the individual animals that look alike ,a nd are capable of interbreeding with one another. Spinnule : a soluble if bear microscopic size. Spinule : small spines that oocur between the ,corallites of ,a ,coral skeleton. Spongy: tightly reticulate Staghorn : common name for branching acropora species. Sterome : skeletal infilling deriv,e d from the thickening of septa to provide most of the cont-ent of ,corallite walls in some coral families. Stolons : horizontal polyp outgrowths from which daughter polyps are budded. Striae : a string-like arr,angement of skeletal elements or soft tissue. Stylif,o rm : needle lik.e Sub- : a prefix meaning less thCLn or not quite Synapticulae : rods linking septa, either forming a network or in some coral families, contributing to the content of corallite w,alls. Synonymy : a list of names considered by a taxonomist to apply to a given taxon other than the name by which the taxon should be known. Systematics : study of the g,enetic relationship between taxa. 132 CORAL IDENTWICA'flON MANUAL Taxon : a taxonomic unit Taxonomy : study of the morphological relationship between taxa and the naming of taxa. T entac e : projection around the mouth of a coral polyp Tentacles: tubular extensions of the polyp. The 'nterior of the tentacLes is 'c'o ntinuous with the ,coelenteron. Tentacular lobe: a lobe at the beginning (point of . I sertion) of a septum. Commonly found in fungia where each lobe supports a single tentacle. Thicket: a descriptive term for colonies composed of ,closely compacted upright branches. Trabeculae : radiating skeletal fibres that grow together to form septa and other skeletal ,elements; the endpoints are visible as gr,anul.ations. Trident: pattern of fusion .of the ventral septa of some porites where the septa are linked by a ,crossbar. Triplet of septa : the three ventral septa of porites corallites. Tuberculae : projections of coenosteum on the surface of many species of montipor,a that are more than a corallite wide. Type locality : the place wher,e a species was originally described from. Type :s pedes : the species that a genus is primarily based on. Type specimens : the specimens that a species was originally described from. A single or principle spec'men 's the holotype. Unifacial: describes plates which have corallites on .one side only. Verrucae : mounds of coenosteum on the surface of many species .of montipora and pocillopora, that are wider than a corallite. Zooxanthellae: photosynthetic algae (dinoflagellates) that can occur symbiotically in animal tissue. Zooxanthe late corals: corals that have zooxanthellae SUGGESTED READING Alfred, J.R.B., Das, A .K. and Sanyal, A.K. 1998. Faunal Diversity in India, 499 pp. Hodson, ,G. and Carpenter, K. 1995. Scleractinian corals of Kuwait. Pacific Sci,., 49(3): 246 pp. Hoeksema, B. W. 1989. Systematics and ecology of mushroom corals (Scleractinia: Fun,giidae). Zool ｾ･ｲｨ｡ｮ､ｬｩｧＬ＠ 254 : 471 pp. Pitlai, C.S.C. and Scheer, G. 1976. Report on the stony ,c orals from the Maldive Atlchipelag'o. Zoologica (Stuttgart), 43 : 83 pp. Pillai, C.S.G. 1973. A review 'o f the g,e nus ａｮ｡ｾｯｰｲ＠ Ridley, (Scleractinia, Acroporidae) with the description of a new species. J. Mar. Bioi. Assac. India, 15 : 296-301. Satyanarayan.a, C . and Ramakrislma 2009. Handbook on ard Co als of Gulf of Kachchh : 1- 13. Scheer, G. and Pillai, C.S.G. 1974. Report on the Scleractinia from the Nicobar Islands- Zoo,logica (Stuttgart), 42 : 75 pp. Scheer, G . and Pillai, C. S. G. 1983. Report on the Stony Corals from the Red Sea. Zoologica (Stuttgart) 45: 197 pp. Venkataraman, K, Ch. Satyanarayana, J.R.B. Alfred and J. Wolstenholme, 2003. Hand book on Hard Corals of India: 1..266 (ed. Direct,o r, Zoolgocal Survery of India). Venkataraman, K. and Alfred, J.R.B. 2002. Coral reefs. In : Ecosystems.of India, (Ed.) Alfred, J.R.B., ｾＲ ＹＰＮ＠ Das, A.K. and Sanyal, A. K., ENVIS, Zoo1. Surv. India, ＲＶＱ Veron, J.E.N. 1986. Corals of Aus,tralia and Indo-Pacific. Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 644 pp. Veron, J.E.N. 2000. Corals of the World, 1 : 463 pp; 2 : 429 pp; 3 : 490 pp. Veron, J.E.N. and Pichon, M.1976. Scleractinia of Eastern Australia. Part 1, Families Thamnast-eriidae, AstIlocoeniidae, Pocilloporidae. Australian Inst. Mar. Sci. Monogr. Ser., IV: 471 pp. Veron, J.E.N. and Pichon, M. 1982. Scleractinia 0 '- Eastern Austra ia. Part 4. Family Poritidae. Australian Insisitue of Marine Science Monograph Series, V : 210 pp. Veron, J.E.N., Pichon, M. and ｗ ｩｪ ｳｭ｡ｮ ｾ ｂ･ｳｴＬ＠ M. 1977. Scleractinia 'of Eastern Australia. Part 2. Families Faviidae, Trachyphylliidae. Austr;alian Institute .ofMarine Science Monograph Seriesi, III : 233 pp. Vero11, J. E. . and W,allace, C.C. 1984. Scleractinia of Eastern Australia. PaIt 5. Family Acroporidae. Australian Institute of Marine Science Monograph Series, 6 : 485 pp. Veron, J.E.N. 1995. Cor,als in space and time; the bio,g eography and ,e volution of the Scleractinia. UNSW Press, Sydney, 321 pp. Wallace, C. C. Acropora, Staghom cor,als, A getting to know you and identification guide, Indian 'O cean, South East Asia, Pacific Ocean. Ocean Envirorunent Ltd., Austr,a fa, 126 pp. W,allace, C.C. 1999. Staghorn corals of the w'o rld. CSIRO Publ, Melbourne, 422 pp. Wallace, C.C. and Wolestenholme, J. 1998. Revision of the c,o ral ,g enus Acr,opora (Scleractinia: Astrocoeniina : Aaoporidae) from Indonesia. Zooz. /. linnean Soc., 123 : ＱＹ ｾ ＳＸＴＮ＠ Wilkinson, C. R. 2000. Status of Coral r,eefs of the World : 2000. Australian Institute af Marine Science, 363 pp. Wilkinson, C.R., 1998. Status ,o f Coral Reefs ,of the World: 1998. Global coral ReefMcmitoring Network and Australian Institute ,of Marine Science, Townsvil1e, Australia. 184 pp. Corals are one of the few difficult groups in Animal Kingdom as far as Taxonomy is concerned. Identification of corals is difficul t not only through traditional morphological taxonomy but also with the help of upcoming molecular taxonomy. The major projected reasons for this difficulty are the fast evolving nature of these animals and the identification of corals traditionally by studying the morphology and structure of the coral colony as a whole and individual coralIite in detaiL The practical reasons for the intricacies in identification, is the synchronized spawning of all corals at only one time of a year and the plastic nature of its skeleton. There is every possibility of interbreeding during spawning and the plastic nature of skeleton changes the shape of the corallite in general and coral colony in particular. The morphology of the coral colony varies according to the physical environment such as wave action, current or the depth in which they grow. In fact, close and patient observation is very much required to identify the changes. This habit gets evolved only under proper supervision and at the availability of sufficient easily understandable literature. Literature on coral taxonomy is very much lacking because of the availability of few diving researchers, their interest to work on this group and most importantly the interest of the experienced taxonomists to develop further capacity by sharing the expertise they gained. With a view to break this barrier, the present book is prepared as simple as possible with proper and simple explanation of the characters used for identification with pictures, projection of only the important characters of the species listed supported by a glossary. The major objective of this book is not just to inculcate interest among the readers but also to create thoughtful capacity in coral taxonomy. There are chapters on the diversity, variety and distribution of corals and coral reefs for enthusiastic readers as well. Corals are highly threatened group of animals which are predicted to vanish by the end of this century primarily due to global warming. Coral identification is selected by a very few who are adventurous and have a lion heart to do something recognisable to the society. Since this book is in your hand and if we can presume that you are of such kind, please act as a crusader to save and protect these very sensitive animals which grow very slow (on an average only 1.5 cm in a year) and disappearing very fast.