Physophyllia, DUNCAN, 1884: 118

Huang, Danwei, Benzoni, Francesca, Fukami, Hironobu, Knowlton, Nancy, Smith, Nathan D. & Budd, Ann F., 2014, Taxonomic classification of the reef coral families Merulinidae, Montastraeidae, and Diploastraeidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia), Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171 (2), pp. 277-355 : 335-336

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.1111/zoj.12140

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.10541966

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/6A35B423-1840-FFCB-8673-8D16FAD4F8BA

treatment provided by

Marcus

scientific name

Physophyllia
status

 

GENUS PHYSOPHYLLIA DUNCAN, 1884: 118 View in CoL ( FIG. 23 View Figure 23 )

Type species

Physophyllia ayleni Wells, 1935: 342 View in CoL , pl. 13, pl. 14: figs 1–3 (non Pectinia ayleni sensu Veron, 2000 View in CoL , vol. 2: 352, figs 1–3); subsequent designation, Wells, 1935: 340.

Original description

‘Colony large, spreading, pedunculate, foliaceous, folia united and presenting faint broad ridges, which are crossed by septocostae. Corallites low, wide apart, arranged more or less in concentric circles. Calices distant, large, sunken, deep, elongate, forming series of 2 to 4, or circular. Fossa large and deep. Columella small, trabeculate. Septa large, exsert, spinulose, especially near the axis, unequal, wide apart; ending in septocostae which are confluent with those of the calices on either side, and some of which pass over broad ridges radially. Intercalicular surface large, gibbous or ridged, formed of convex vesicular endotheca; this endotheca fills up the interseptal loculi also, and is greatly developed. Calices on one side of the colony only. Common wall inferior, costulate to the base. Costae distinct, spinulose. No epitheca. Fissiparity occurs, and also gemmation.’ ( Duncan, 1884: 118).

Subsequent descriptions

Delage & Hérouard, 1901: 631, 632; Wells, 1935: 340; Yabe et al., 1936: 52; Vaughan & Wells, 1943: 198; discontinuous amongst adjacent corallites (lamellar linkage). Paliform (uniaxial) lobes weak or moderate. Epitheca absent and endotheca abundant (vesicular) ( Fig. 23 View Figure 23 ).

Species included

Physophyllia ayleni Wells, 1935: 342 View in CoL , pl. 13, pl. 14: figs 1–3; holotype: NHMUK 1862.7 About NHMUK .16.46 (dry specimen; Fig. 23A View Figure 23 ); paratypes: NHMUK 1892.10 About NHMUK .17.97, 1893.9.1.185, 1893.9.1.186, 1893.9.1.187, 1893.9.1.188 ( Fig. 23B View Figure 23 ), 1893.9.1.189, 1893.9.1.190 (seven dry specimens); type locality: Japan; phylogenetic data: none.

Taxonomic remarks

This is a monotypic genus with Physophyllia ayleni as its sole member. The species was placed in Pectinia by Veron (2000, vol. 2: 352) based on his collection, presumably shown in figs 1–3. These are however distinct from the type material studied by Wells (1935: 342) and thus have been described as Pectinia crassa Ditlev, 2003: 204 , figs 13–15, with material from Sabah. The distribution of Physophyllia remains as defined by the type material of Physophyllia ayleni – holotype from Japan and paratypes from Macclesfield Bank in the South China Sea. Subsequent studies appear to have expanded this range to the Maldives ( Pillai & Scheer, 1976: 69, pl. 31: fig. 1; Scheer, 1984) and western Australia ( Veron, 1993: 237), but only the former could be verified as a likely candidate for the species.

Alloiteau, 1952: 632; Wells, 1956: F419; Nemenzo, 1971: 176; Wood, 1983: 200,201; Veron, 1986: 592; Chevalier & Beauvais, 1987: 726.

Diagnosis

Colonial, with intracalicular budding only. Corallites polymorphic and organically united; monticules absent. Coenosteum costate, extensive amount (≥ corallite diameter). Calice width medium (4–15 mm), with medium relief (3–6 mm). Costosepta confluent. Septa in three cycles (24–36 septa). Free septa present but irregular. Septa spaced <six septa per 5 mm. Costosepta unequal in relative thickness. Columellae trabecular and spongy (> three threads), <1/4 of calice width, and Morphological remarks

Based on an examination of the type material of Physophyllia ayleni , the genus shares all macromorphological characters studied here with Pectinia and Mycedium . Note that quantitative measurements were based on peripheral corallites as some structures of the central corallite, such as the columella, may be extremely large in comparison.

Although we recognize Physophyllia as distinct from Pectinia and Mycedium , subcorallite morphology and/ or DNA sequence data will reveal the accuracy of this interpretation. The latter two genera are indistinguishable for all of the characters used for the present analysis, but they arguably span a wide range of morphologies not coded into phylogenetic data. The coenosteum of Physophyllia is made up of large ridges filled with vesicular endotheca, and does not form upwardly projecting laminae seen in most Pectinia species. Its corallites are also not distinctly inclined towards the periphery of the colony, a clear distinction from Mycedium . If Physophyllia is indeed separable from either of these genera based on the same molecular markers as employed here, it would probably be recovered outside of the Pectinia + Mycedium clade, and subcorallite disparities could be expected.

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Cnidaria

Class

Anthozoa

Order

Scleractinia

Family

Merulinidae

Loc

Physophyllia

Huang, Danwei, Benzoni, Francesca, Fukami, Hironobu, Knowlton, Nancy, Smith, Nathan D. & Budd, Ann F. 2014
2014
Loc

Physophyllia ayleni

Wells JW 1935: 342
Wells JW 1935: 340
1935
Loc

Physophyllia ayleni

Wells JW 1935: 342
1935
Loc

PHYSOPHYLLIA DUNCAN, 1884: 118

Duncan PM 1884: 118
1884
Darwin Core Archive (for parent article) View in SIBiLS Plain XML RDF