Endopachys grayi Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848

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

Endopachys grayi Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848

Fig. 9K, L

Endopachys grayi Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848b: 82-83, pl. 1, figs 2, 2A. - Semper 1872: 267. -van der Horst 1922: 68, 74. -van der Horst 1926: 51. - van der Horst 1927: 6-7, pl. 2, fig. 12. -Faustino 1927: 240-241. - Gardiner and Waugh 1939: 241. - Yabe and Eguchi 1942b: 139. - Squires 1961: 17. - Pillai 1972: 213. - Boshoff 1981: 42 (in part). -Cairns 1984: 27, pl. 5, fig. E. - Zibrowius and Grygier 1985: 137. - Veron 1986: 610. - Cairns 1989b: 34. - Cairns 1991 a: 24-25, pl. 10, figs I-J, pl. 11, figs A, B. - Cairns and Keller 1993: 276. -Cairns 1994: 84-85, pl. 36, figs E, H pl. 37, fig. I. - Cairns 1995: 121-122, pl. 41, figs C-H. - Cairns and Zibrowius 1997: 185-186. - Cairns 1998: 362, 365. -Cairns 1999: 132, fig. 22F. - Cairns et al. 1999: 27. - Cairns 2001: 25, pl. 7, fig. G. -Cairns 2004a. 276, 316. - Cairns 2006: 49. - Kitahara and Cairns 2021: 329-330, 332, figs 173H-J, 175, 176A-B.

Endopachys weberi Alcock, 1902a: 109-110.

Endopachys oahense Vaughan, 1907: 147-148, pl. 44, fig. 3.

Endopachys japonicum Yabe & Eguchi, 1932e: 388, 399. - Yabe and Eguchi 1932b: 443. - Yabe and Eguchi 1932a: 14-17, pl. 2, figs 1-6. -Eguchi 1934 a: 268. - Yabe and Eguchi 1942b: 139. -Eguchi 1965: 293. - Eguchi and Miyawaki 1975: 59.

Endopachys vaughani Durham, 1947: 39-40, pl. 11, figs 6-8, 10, 11.

Endopachys sp. -van der Horst 1922: 68, pl. 8,fig. 4.

Type locality.

Unknown (Cairns 1994; Cairns and Zibrowius 1997).

Type material.

Presumably lost (Cairns 1994).

Material examined.

ORI_EId1(2 specimens): Eastern margin, other locality data unknown. SAMC_A073064 (2 specimens): Eastern margin, 4 km from Cape Vidal /off Groot Brak Estuary, 28°07'30.00"S, 32°36'24.11"E; 75- 80 m. SAMC_A073069 (1 specimen): Eastern margin, 48 km from Cape Vidal / 21 km off Mgobezeleni Estuary, 27°42'53.99"S, 32°40'54.11"E; 160 m. SAMC_A073213 (1 specimen): Eastern margin, 29 km from Durban / 14 km off Mbokodweni Estuary, 30°06'24.12"S, 31°00'47.88"E; 160- 170 m. SAMC_A073266 (5 specimens): Southern margin, 2 km from Stilbaai / 1 km off Goukou Estuary, 34°22'55.26"S, 21°25'25.49"E; 88 m. SAMC_A090114 (1 specimen): Eastern margin, 16 km from Port St. Johns / 13 km off Bulolo Estuary, 31°45'00.00"S, 29°26'59.99"E; 70 m. SAMC_A090115 (9 specimens): Eastern margin, 29 km from Durban / 22 km off Mdloti Estuary, 29°46'00.00"S, 31°16'59.99"E; 110- 130 m. SAM_H1420 (5 specimens): Eastern margin, 39 km from Mtunzini / 8 km off Zinkwasi Estuary, 29°13'00.00"S, 31°30'00.00"E; 66- 77 m. SAM_H1427 (5 specimens): Eastern margin, 2 km from Durban / 8 km off Umgeni Estuary, 29°52'00.00"S, 31°00'00.00"E; 99 m. SAM_H1476 (3 specimens): Eastern margin 2 km from Durban / 8 km off Umgeni Estuary, 29°52'00.00"S, 31°00'00.00"E; 99 m. SAM_H3120 (28 specimens): Eastern margin, 39 km from Mtunzini / 8 km off Zinkwasi Estuary, 29°13'00.00"S, 31°30'00.00"E; 73 m. SAM_H3121 (2 specimens): Eastern margin, 39 km from Mtunzini / 8 km off Zinkwasi Estuary, 29°13'00.00"S, 31°30'00.00"E; 73 m. SAM_H3122 (3 specimens): Eastern margin, 6 km from Durban / 9 km off Umgeni Estuary, 29°52'59.99"S, 31°03'05.00"E; 86 m. SAM_H3123 (2 specimens): Eastern margin, 9 km from Shaka’s Rock / 2 km off Tongati Estuary, 29°34'00.00"S, 31°10'59.99"E; 66 m. SAM_H4593 (2 specimens): Eastern margin, 26 km from Port St. Johns /off Bulolo Estuary, 29°34'47.99"S, 31°41'59.99"E; 138 m. DEFF_NANSEN-INV 32 (8 specimens): Eastern margin, 30 km from Shaka’s Rock / 31 km off Tongati Estuary, 29°43'11.99"S, 31°25'47.99"E; 185 m. USNM 91812 (3 specimens): Eastern margin, 29 km from Shaka’s Rock / 24 km off Mdloti Estuary, 29°45'54.00"S, 31°18'11.88"E; 105 m. USNM 91813 (1 specimen): Eastern margin, 44 km south of Ponta Do Ouro / 28 km off Kosi Bay Estuary, 27°14'35.88"S, 32°48'47.87"E; 74 m.

Imagery data.

PF 10983 (4 specimens): Eastern margin, 19 km from Shaka’s Rock/3 km off Mdloti Estuary, 29°38'59.99"S, 31°07'59.99"E; 71-73 m.

Description.

Corallum (anthocyathus) variable in shape, including cuneiform, compressed-cylindrical, and flabellate. Corallum free, compressed and usually with a rounded base on GCD plane. Largest specimen examined (DEFF_NANSEN-INV 32) 37.2 × 19.7 mm in CD (excluding crests), and 25.8 mm in H. Thecal edges project outward to form slightly porous, and straight to slightly sinuous thecal crests. Upper thecal crest meets in acute angle, and often support one bud obliquely oriented (sometimes supporting ≤ four buds). Crest wider at lower half of corallum. Costae equal in width and flat to slightly convex, becoming progressively less developed towards base. Intercostal striae thin, narrow, and porous. Corallum white.

Septa hexamerally arranged in five complete cycles according to the formula: S1-2 > S3 > S5 > S4 (96 septa). S1-2 thick, most exsert, porous at upper distal margin, and extend towards columella with straight, vertical, and finely dentate axial margins. S3 less exsert and extend ¾ the distance of S1-2 with dentate axial margins. S4 variable in development: if not flanked by a pair of S5, both S4 in a half-system bend towards each other meeting before S3 in a characteristic Pourtalès plan, but, if flanked, S4 have highly laciniate axial margins. S5 dimorphic in development: those adjacent to S1 more exsert and wider than those adjacent to S2. Each Pourtalès plan terminates in a palus-like structure. All septal faces granular. Fossa deep, containing septum in the elongate and spongy columella.

Distribution.

Regional: Eastern margin of South Africa, extending from off Port St. Johns towards Kosi Bay Estuary (44 km south of Ponta Do Ouro: Mozambique); 66-170 m. Elsewhere: Mozambique; Tanzania ( Cairns 1989b); Zanzibar; Mauritius (van der Horst 1926); Saya de Malha; Arabian Sea ( Gardiner and Waugh 1939) Cairns and Keller 1993); Philippines and Indonesia ( Cairns and Zibrowius 1997; Kitahara and Cairns 2021), Malaysia; Australia (Cairns 2004); New Caledonia ( Zibrowius and Grygier 1985); Wallis and Futuna; Vanuatu ( Cairns 1999a); Hawaii; United States; Japan (Cairns 1984; Zibrowius and Grygier 1985; Cairns 1994); 37-550 m.

Remarks.

Endopachys grayi is easily recognised by its corallum shape and presence of lateral thecal crest. Overall, Tropidocyathus lessoni (Michelin, 1842) resembles E. grayi , but belongs to a different family ( Turbinoliidae ) and is easily distinguished by having a solid corallum (not porous as dendrophylliids). Within the genus, only two species, E. grayi and Endopachys bulbosa Cairns & Zibrowius, 1997, are known and they differ in: (i) distribution ( E. grayi = Indo-Pacific vs. E. bulbosa = South Pacific), (ii) basal thickness ( E. grayi = 3 mm vs. E. bulbosa = 4 mm), (iii) thecal face angle in relation to height ( E. grayi = face angle being low initially and broadens with height vs. E. bulbosa = face angle being high initially and decreases with height), (iv) septal exsertness ( E. grayi = S1-2 being ≤ 3.0 mm vs. E. bulbosa = S1-2 being ≤ 5.0 mm), (v) costae ( E. grayi = poorly-defined vs. E. bulbosa = well-defined costae), and (vi) presence or absence of pali ( E. grayi = pali present vs. E. bulbosa = pali absent) ( Cairns and Zibrowius 1997). The DEFF_NANSEN-INV 32 specimen appears to be the largest E. grayi recorded to date. It is 37.2 × 19.7 mm in CD (excluding crests), 25.8 mm in H, and has a pair of S6, totalling 98 septa.

Figures

Figure 9. A, B Dendrophyllia sp. 1 (SAMC _ A 090158, off Knysna, 333 m A close-up calicular view B lateral view C, G Ednapsammia columnapriva sp. nov. C, D (SAM _ H 1441, off Mossel Bay, 212 m) C calicular view D lateral view E-G (SAMC _ A 090159, off Gouritsmond, 333 m) E calicular view F lateral view G calicular view H Enallopsammia pusilla (DSCS-INV 238, off Gouritsmond, 333 m): lateral view. I, J Enallopsammia rostrata (SAMC _ A 073270, off Port St Johns, 200 m) I close up calicular view J lateral view K, L Endopachys grayi (DEFF _ NANSEN-INV 32, off Shaka's Rock, 185 m) K calicular view L lateral view M, N Endopsammia philippensis (DIIIb 1, off Durban, 442 m) M calicular view N lateral view O, P Heteropsammia cochlea (EIe 1, locality data unknown) O calicular view P lateral view. Scale bars: 10 mm (A-C, E-I, K-P); 100 mm (D, J).