Notophyllia recta Dennant, 1906

Cairns, S. D., 2004, The Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Coelenterata: Anthozoa) of Australia, Records of the Australian Museum 56, pp. 259-329 : 318

Notophyllia recta Dennant, 1906

Sphenotrochus variolaris Tenison-Woods, 1879a: 189–190 (in part: 34 of the 49 Recent specimens from Port Stephens, NSW); 1878b: 307 (in part, NSW).– Wells, 1958: 262 (in part, listed).– Squires, 1961: 19 (in part, listed).

Notophyllia recta Dennant, 1906: 163 (in part: pl. 5, figs. 4a,b, not specimens from Cape Jaffa; NSW).– Howchin, 1909: 248 (in part: not specimens from Cape Jaffa).– Boschma, 1952: 239– 245 (in part: pl. 1, figs. 4–8, 13, 17, 21–26, NSW).– Wells, 1958: 262 (listed).– Boschma, 1959: 1 (Remarks).– Wells, 1964: 109 (listed).– Veron, 1986: 610 (listed).–Cairns & Parker, 1992: 51–52, figs. 17h, 18a,d (WA, SA, NSW).– Stranks, 1993: 21 (type deposition).– Cairns, 1998: 365, 406 (Remarks).

Notophyllia variolaris .– Wells, 1964: 109 (in part, listed).– Veron, 1986: 610 (in part, listed).

New records. VICTORIA: Tangaroa 81-T-1-Q634, 1, NMV F67810 ; Tangaroa 81-T-1-170, 1, NMV F67814 . — NEW SOUTH WALES: Thetis 49, 56, AM G11950 and G14470 ; off Cronulla , depth unknown, 6 November 1963, 3, AM G15331 ; Kapala 78/27/01, 15, AM G15294 ; east of Sydney , depth unknown, 2, AM G15319 ; Reef Benthic Survey 5, 33: 5, USNM 1009242 , 28 , AM G16741 .

Types. Three syntypes are NMV F41518 ( Stranks, 1993). Type Locality: 20 miles (= 32 km) northeast of Port Jackson , NSW, 457 m.

Remarks. Adult specimens of N. etheridgi and N. recta are fairly easy to distinguish (Cairns & Parker, 1992), but juvenile specimens of N. etheridgi of 5.5 mm or less GCD are very similar to adult coralla of N. recta of similar size, both having the same number of septa and a similarly shaped corallum. The only character distinguishing them at this size is that the ten secondary septa of N. etheridgi are much smaller (less than half the width) than the 10 primaries, their axial edges fusing with the columella quite low in the fossa, whereas the secondary septa of N. recta are almost the same width as the primaries, fusing to the columella high in the fossa, almost at the level of the primary fusion.