Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 June 2021 | 13(7): 18920–18924
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4640.13.7.18920-18924
#4640 | Received 31 October 2020 | Final
received 15 May 2021 | Finally accepted 29 May 2021
A new distribution record of the
Horn Coral Caryophyllia grandis
Gardiner & Waugh, 1938 (Anthozoa: Scleractinia)
from the Karnataka Coast, India
J.S. Yogesh Kumar 1 & C. Raghunathan 2
1 Zoological Survey of India, Sundarban Regional Centre, Canning, West Bengal 743329,
India.
2 Zoological Survey of India,
M-Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal 700053, India.
1 yogeshkumarzsi16@gmail.com
(corresponding author), 2 raghunathan.c@zsi.gov.in
Editor: A. Biju Kumar, University of
Kerala, Thiruvananthapuram, India. Date of
publication: 26 June 2021 (online & print)
Citation: Kumar, J.S.Y. & C.
Raghunathan (2021). A new distribution record of the
Horn Coral Caryophyllia grandis
Gardiner & Waugh, 1938 (Anthozoa: Scleractinia)
from the Karnataka Coast, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(7): 18920–18924. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.4640.13.7.18920-18924
Copyright: © Kumar & Raghunathan 2021. Creative Commons Attribution
4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: ZSI, MoEFCC
(F.No. 323-1/2017/Tech./4807 Dated
26.03.2018) funded for
Dr. J. S. Yogesh
Kumar, Scientist D (MARC).
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors thank to Dr. Stephen D. Cairns, Research Scientist, Department of
Invertebrate Zoology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington for identification
support. My sincere thanks to Director of Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata
and Director of Centre for Marine Living Resources & Ecology (CMLRE),
Kochi. Also, thanks to Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, and
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India. I thank the officers and crew
of FORV Sagar Sampada
(cruise No.374).
Abstract: Surveys were conducted under the
project entitled “Resource exploration and Inventorisation
of Deep Sea ecosystem & Marine ecosystem Dynamics: Sagar
Sampada Cruise” by on-board FORV Sagar
Sampada Cruise No. 374 from 2 April to 15 April
2018 from Okha to Cochin along the west coast of
India. The species Caryophyllia
(Caryophyllia) grandis is
recorded from a depth of 580m off Karwar, Karnataka and is reported herein as a
new distribution record to the Karnataka coast, India.
Keywords: Azooxanthellate coral, Scleractinian coral, west coast.
Scleractinian corals are represented by 627
species in India of which 35 species are azooxanthellate coral, among them nine
species belonging to the genus Caryophyllia
Lamarck, 1801 (Mondal et al. 2016). The genus Caryophyllia
belongs to the family Caryophylliidae, order Scleractinia, suborder Hexacorallia,
and commonly called azooxanthellate corals or deep-sea corals. The family Caryophylliidae
is one of the 40 presently recognized families of the order Scleractinia
(WoRMS 2021) which globally includes more than 300
species belonging to 42 genera (Cairns 1999) of which 90% of azooxanthellate
corals and 10% of zooxanthellate corals were reported around the world (Reyes
et al. 2009). In the Indian Ocean, 86
species belonging to the family Caryophylliidae have
been reported by Cairns (1999). Among
them, 44 species of azooxanthellate corals were reported along the Indian coast
(Venkataraman et al. 2003; Venkataraman 2006).
A total of 10 species of coral belonging to the genus Caryophyllia was reported from Indian waters,
of which five species were reported by Alcock (1898)
three species by Venkataraman (2007) and three species by Lazarus &
Chandran (2016). The present study gives
a detailed description of the species Caryophyllia
(Caryophyllia) grandis collected
off Karwar, Karnataka coast, India.
Materials And Methods
The present survey was conducted
from 2 to 15 April 2018, along the west coast from Okha
(Gujarat) to Cochin (Kerala) by on-board the fisheries and oceanographic
research vessel FORV Sagar Sampada
Cruise No. 374. The
specimens examined in the present study were collected by a trawl fishing
operation at about 580m depth off Karnataka (14.3760N, 73.0270E),
west coast of India. The specimens were
examined and identified under a Leica M205 stereo-zoom microscope (Cairns &
Kitahara 2012) and both examples photographed using a
Nikon Coolpix W300 camera. The voucher
specimens are deposited in the National Zoological Collection, ZSI, MARC, Digha, Reg. No. C5498.
Results
A total of nine species belonging
to the genus Caryophyllia has been
reported from India (Table 1). Among
them, seven species were reported from the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, five
species from Lakshadweep Islands, one species each off the Madras and Kerala
coast. Caryophyllia
(Caryophyllia) grandis
was observed for the first time from the Karwar coast, Karnataka, India. A detailed description of this species is
given below.
Systematic description
Phylum Cnidaria Verrill, 1865
Class Anthozoa Ehrenberg, 1834
Subclass Hexacorallia
Haeckel, 1896
Order Scleractinia
Bourne, 1900
Suborder Caryophylliina
Vaughan & Wells, 1943
Family Caryophylliidae
Dana, 1846
Genus Caryophyllia
Lamarck, 1801
Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia)
grandis Gardiner & Waugh, 1938 (Image 1 & 2).
Common Name: Horn Coral
Materials examined: Reg. No.
C5498, two samples from soft clay and fine sand bottom, off Karwar coast
(14.3760N, 73.0270E) Karnataka, west coast of India,
Arabian Sea at 580m depth; coll. J.S. Yogesh Kumar.
Diagnosis: Both specimens are
curved horn-shaped and free-living. One
large specimen corallum is 38mm in size of Greater Calicular Diameter (GCD) and the average height of the corallum is 35mm.
The septa are arranged hexamerally in five
complete cycles (S1–S5); however, one large specimen 38mm GCD has 24 primary
septa and a total of 96 septa (Image 2A left).
The second specimen 33mm GCD has 22 primary septa and a total of 88
septa (Image 2A right). The septa S3 are
slightly less exsert than primary septa (S1) and a
total 24 and 22 paliform lobes are in both specimens,
respectively. The paliform
are narrower than S4 and border form a crown circling a fascicular
columella. The columellar are composed
of broad and twisted elements in the centre part of the corallites.
Type locality: West side of Fadiffolu Atoll, Maldive Islands
at 494m depth (14.9780N, 73.2730E) Reg. No.
BM1950.1.9.211-225 (Cairns & Zibrowius 1997; Kitahara et al. 2010)
Distribution: Maldive
(494m), western Australia (399–431 m), Indonesia (251–567 m); South Africa to
western Sumatra (183–595 m).
Taxonomical Reference: Veron (1986); Cairns & Keller (1993); Cairns & Zibrowius (1997); Cairns et al. (1999); Kitahara et al. (2010).
Remark: Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia)
grandis is closely related to Caryophyllia
(Caryophyllia) ambrosia Alcock,
2007 (Laccadive, 1,000–1,070 fms).
Discussion
Azooxanthellate corals are
reported from deep water and dark environments (Dinesen 1982, 1983). Nearly 34 species of azooxanthellate corals
are known from the seas around the Indian waters (Turner et al. 2001). Venkataraman (2007) reported updated checklist
of azooxanthellate corals from the Indian coast. Recently, Lazarus & Chandran (2016)
listed a total of 34 species belonging to 17 genera, four families from the
Indian coast; of which 20 species were reported from the Andaman & Nicobar
Islands, 13 species from the Gulf of Mannar, 12
species from the south-west coast of India, four species each from the Gulf of
Kachchh, Lakshadweep, and 3 species from the mid-west coast (Goa). The species Caryophyllia
(Caryophyllia) grandis was
excluded in the updated list of azooxanthellate corals from the Indian coast
(Lazarus & Chandran 2016).
In India, a total of nine species
of coral belonging to the genus Caryophyllia
were reported (Alcock 1898; Venkataraman 2007;
Lazarus & Chandran 2016). The
species name verified in the WoRMS database, of which
seven species status showed accepted and two species synonymised (Table
1). The present study reported Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia)
grandis azooxanthellate coral from Karwar, west
coast of India and close to type locality Maldives (Image 1). The species was first described by Gardiner
& Waugh (1938) from the Maldives at 494m depth followed by this species was
reported from Australia at 431m depth, Indonesia at 567m depth, and South
Africa to Western Sumatra at 595m depth (Cairns 1991; Cairns & Keller 1993;
Cairns & Zibrowius 1997; Cairns 1998, 1999,
2004). Kitahara
et al. (2010) reported the same species from Australian waters, and the size of
the corallum is 50mm GCD and curved. The upper theca was white and the lower theca
was discoloured. The present reported
species, corallum is 39–40 mm in size, horn-shaped
and lower thecas are pale white. The species Caryophyllia
(Caryophyllia) grandis is
the first distribution report from off Karwar coast, Karnataka, India.
Table 1. List of the species
under the genus Caryophyllia Lamarck, 1801 as
per the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS).
|
Reported name of
the species |
AN |
LAK |
KL |
TN |
KN |
Ref. |
Status |
|
Family Caryophyllidae Dana, 1846 Genus Caryophyllia Lamarck, 1801 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
1. |
Caryophyllia (Acanthocyathus) grayi
(Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848) |
* |
|
|
|
|
I |
Accepted |
2. |
Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) ambrosia Alcock,
1898 |
|
* |
|
|
|
II |
Accepted |
3. |
Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) clavus Scacchi,
1835 Accepted name: Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) smithii
Stokes & Broderip, 1828 |
* |
* |
|
|
|
III |
Synonymised |
4. |
Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) ephyala
Alcock, 1891 |
* |
* |
|
|
|
II |
Accepted |
5. |
Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) grandis
Gardiner & Waugh, 1938 |
+ |
+ |
|
|
** |
I |
Accepted |
6. |
Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) paradoxus Alcock,
1898 |
|
|
* |
|
|
II |
Accepted |
7. |
Caryophyllia arcuata Milne Edwards & Haime,
1848 |
* |
* |
|
|
|
I, III |
Accepted |
8. |
Caryophyllia communis (Seguenza, 1863) (fossil species) |
* |
|
|
|
|
II |
Accepted |
9. |
Caryophyllia scillaeomorpha Alcock, 1894 Accepted name: Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) ambrosia Alcock,
1898 |
|
|
|
* |
|
II |
Synonymised |
*—Reported | **—present study
report | +—doubtful | AN—Andaman & Nicobar | LAK—Lakshadweep | KL—Kerala |
TN—Tamil Nadu | KN—Karnataka | Ref.—Reference | I—Venkataraman (2007) | II—Alcock (1898) | III—Lazarus & Chandran (2016).
References
Alcock, A. (1898). An account of the deepsea Madreporaria collected by
the Royal Indian Marine Survey Ship Investigator. Indian Museum, Calcutta,
29pp.
Cairns, S.D.
& M.V. Kitahara (2012). An illustrated key to the genera
and subgenera of the recent azooxanthellate Scleractinia
(Cnidaria, Anthozoa), with an attached glossary. Zookey
227: 1–47.
Cairns, S.D.
& N.B. Keller (1993). New taxa distributional records of Azooxanthellate Scleractinia
(Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from the tropical southwest Indian Ocean, with comments on
their zoogeography and ecology. Annals of the South African Museum 103:
213–292.
Cairns, S.D.
& H. Zibrowius (1997). Cnidaria Anthozoa:
Azooxanthellate Scleractinia from the Philippine and
Indonesian regions. Memoires du Museum National D Histoire
Naturelle 172: 27–243.
Cairns, S.D.
(1991). A revision
of the ahermatypic Scleractinia
of the Galapagos and Cocos Islands. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology
504: 1–44.
Cairns, S.D.
(1998).
Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) of
western Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 18:
361–417.
Cairns, S.D.
(1999). Cnidaria
Anthozoa: Deep-water azooxanthellate Scleractinia
from Vanuatu, and Wallis and Futuna Islands. Memoires du Museum National d’ Histoire Naturelle 180:
31–167.
Cairns, S.D.
(2004). The
azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Coelenterata:
Anthozoa) of Australia. Records of the Australian Museum 56: 259–329.
Cairns, S.D.
& N.B. Keller (1993). New taxa and distributional records of azooxanthellata
Scleractinia (Cnidaria, Anthozoa) from the tropical
south-west Indian Ocean, with comments on their zoogeography and ecology. Annal of the South African Museum 103(5):
213–292.
Cairns, S.D.
& H. Zibrowius (1997). Cnidaria Anthozoa:
Azooxanthellate Scleractinia from the Philippine and
Indonesian Region. Memoires du Museum National d’ Histoire
Naturelle 172(2): 27–243.
Cairns, S.D.,
V. Haussermann & G. Forsterra
(2005). A review of
the Scleractinia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) of Chile, with
the description of two new species. Zootaxa 1018:
15–46.
Chairs, S.D.
(1999). Cnidaria:
Anthozoa: deep-water azooxanthellate Scleractinia
from Vanuatu and Wallis and Futuna Island. Memoires du Museum National d Histoire Naturelle
31–167pp.
Dinesen, Z.D.
(1982). Regional
variation in shade-dwelling coral assemblages of the Great Barrier Reef
Province. Marine Ecology - Progress Series 7: 117–123.
Dinesen, Z.D.
(1983).
Shade-dwelling corals of the Great Barrier Reef. Marine Ecology - Progress
Series 10: 173–185.
Gardiner,
J.S. & P. Waugh (1938). The flabellid and turbinolid
corals. The John Murray Expedition 1933–34. Scientific Report 5:
167–202.
Kitahara, V.M., S.D. Cairns & D.J.
Miller (2010). Monophyletic
origin of Caryophyllia (Scleractinia,
Caryophylliidae) with descriptions of six new
species. Systematics and Biodiversity 8(1): 91–118.
Lazarus, S.
& R. Chandran (2016). Occurrence of azooxanthellate scleractinian
corals off Goa, mid-west coast of India. Marine Biodiversity Records 9:
78.
Mondal, T.,
C. Raghunathan & K. Chandra (2016). Scleractinian
corals of India: Diversity, distribution, significance and threats, pp.
146–180. Chandra, K., C. Raghunathan, T. Mondal & S. Dash (eds.). Current
Status of Marine Faunal Diversity in India. Zoological Survey of India,
Kolkata, 525pp.
Reyes, J., N.
Santodomingo & S. Cairns (2009). Caryophylliidae
(Scleractinia) from the Colombian Caribbean. Zootaxa 2262: 1–39.
Turner, J.R.,
D. Vousden, R. Klaus, C. Satyanarayana, D. Fenner, K. Venkataraman, P.T. Rajan
& N.V.S. Rao (2001). Report of Phase I: Remote sensing and Rapid site assessment
survey, April 2001. Coral Reef ecosystem of the Andaman Islands.
GOI/UNDPGEF, Publ. Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India,
76pp.
Venkataraman,
K. (2007).
Azooxanthellate hard corals (Scleractinia) from
India. Bulletin of Marine Science 209–214pp.
Venkataraman,
K. (2006). Coral
reefs in India- National Biodiversity Authority, Chennai, pp. 1–18.
Venkataraman, K., C. Satyanarayana, J.R.B. Alfred & J. Wolstenholme (2003).
Hand Book Hard Corals of India. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata,
India, 266pp.
Veron,
J.E.N. (1986). Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. many unnumbered figs. North
Ryde [Sydney]: Angus and Robertson, xii+644pp.
WoRMS (2021). Scleractinia.
Accessed at: http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1363 on
15 May 2021 .