Anomocora fecunda ( Pourtalès, 1871 )

Reyes, Javier, Santodomingo, Nadiezhda & Cairns, Stephen, 2009, Caryophylliidae (Scleractinia) from the Colombian Caribbean, Zootaxa 2262 (1), pp. 1-39 : 25-26

Anomocora fecunda ( Pourtalès, 1871)

Figs. 4L–M

Coelosmilia fecunda Pourtalès, 1871: 21–22 , pl. 1, fig. 12, pl. 6, figs. 14–15.

Anomocora fecunda Cairns, 1979: 127–129 , pl. 24, figs. 6–8, Map 35 (synonymy and description).— Hubbard & Wells, 1986: 138, figs. 29–30.— Viada & Cairns, 1987: 132.—Prahl & Erhardt, 1989: 547.— Cairns et al., 1991: 47 (listed).— Cairns et al., 1994: 4 (listed).— Cairns, 2000: 128–129 (synonymy and description).— Reyes et al., 2005: 324 (listed).— Kitahara, 2007: 502–503, fig. 4C.— Santodomingo et al., 2007: 286 (listed).

Coenosmilia fecunda: Zibrowius, 1980: 131–133 (in part: pl. 67, figs. A–K).

Remarks: Most of the Colombian specimens present elongated and cylindrical corallum, tapering slightly towards the base, resembling those described for the tropical western Atlantic ( Cairns 1979; 2000). However, three of our specimens show straight slender coralla, without thecal budding scars. It is remarkable that some of the Anomocora fecunda and Coenosmilia arbuscula specimens collected at the same station (off Santa Marta and San Bernardo Islands), exhibit intermediate morphological characteristics between both species, suggesting a possible hybridization process between them, such as it has been observed for other coral reef species in the Caribbean (e.g. Acropora species , see Vollmer & Palumbi 2002). With A. fecunda , these intermediate specimens share the following characteristics, elongated and cylindrical corallum, spaced dissepiments, and poorly formed columella. With C. arbuscula , they shared some other morphological features such as the absence of paliform lobes and the presence of ceratoid buds on the parental corallum, which are attached just below the calicular edge. In Colombia, A. fecunda and its intermediate forms with C. arbuscula , have been collected from hard bottoms, conforming deep sea coral assemblages together with other azooxanthellate coral species ( Reyes et al. 2005; Santodomingo et al. 2007).

Distribution: Tropical western Atlantic, from Bahamas to Brazil; 37–640 m depth. Eastern Atlantic, known from Madeira, Canarias and the Azores, between 130 to 540 m depth ( Cairns 2000; Zibrowius 1980).

In Colombia, it is known from off Dibulla (La Guajira) to off San Bernardo Islands , and San Andres and Old Providence Archipelago ; from 70 to 576 m depth .

Material: USNM 46508, 2 corallites, P-776; USNM 46509, 19 corallites, P-775; USNM 62508, O-4832; INV CNI 315, 1 corallite, P-775; INV CNI 398, 13 corallites, E8; INV CNI 399, 3 corallites, E8; INV CNI 838, 5 corallites, E94; INV CNI 839, 2 corallites, E95; INV CNI 840, 2 corallites, E96; INV CNI 841, 3 corallites, E102; INV CNI 842, 3 corallites, E102; INV CNI 843, 1 corallite, E104; INV CNI 844, 3 corallites, E116; INV CNI 845, 16 corallites, E117; INV CNI 846, 1 corallite, E118; INV CNI 847, 1 corallite, E94; INV CNI 849, 2 corallites, E155; INV CNI 1795, 1 corallite, E182; INV CNI 2391, 6 corallites, D34; INV CNI 2476, 1 corallite, C3; INV CNI 2505, +100 corallites, D3; INV CNI 2528, +500 corallites, D12; INV CNI 2543, +50 corallites, D28; INV CNI 2548, +20 corallites, D35; INV CNI 2553, +50 corallites, D35; INV CNI 2570, 5 corallites, D15; INV CNI 2684, 1 corallite, D20; INV CNI 2690, +50 corallites, D31; INV CNI 2783, +30 corallites, D33; INV CNI 2799, 1 corallite, D75; INV CNI 2838, 2 corallites, D15; INV CNI 2897, +50 corallites, C2; INV CNI 2922, +100 corallites, C3.

Figures

FIGURE 4. A, Lophelia pertusa, INV CNI396, off La Guajira (Honda Bay), colony fragments, x 1; B–C, Oxysmilia rotundifolia, INV CNI687, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 1.1; D–E, Colangia immersa, INV CNI683, off La Guajira (Punta Gallinas), calicular and lateral views, both x 3; F–G, Phyllangia americana americana, INV CNI274, off La Guajira (Caricari Point), colony from calicular and oblique views, both x 2; H–I, Rhizosmilia maculata, INV CNI178, off Santa Marta, calicular and lateral views, both x 3.6; J–K, Phacelocyathus flos, INV CNI2940, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 3.6; L–M, Anomocora fecunda INV CNI2897 off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, x 3.2, x 1, respectively; N–O, Anomocora prolifera, INV CNI2725, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular view showing rejuvenescence stage and lateral view, both x 4.4; P–Q, Anomocora marchadi, INV CNI2303, off La Guajira, calicular and lateral views, both x 3.6; R, Coenosmilia arbuscula, INV CNI855, off San Bernardo Islands, branching pattern, x 1.5; S–T, Heterocyathus antoniae, paratype, INV CNI2076, off Manaure, calicular and lateral views, both x 4.5; U–W, Heterocyathus antoniae, INV CNI740, holotype, off Santa Marta (Neguanje Bay): U, basal view showing sipunculid holes, V, calicular view, and W, lateral view, all x 4.5. Scale bars for A–C, M, R = 1 cm; D–L, N–Q, S–W = 5 mm.