Cladocora arbuscula ( Lesueur, 1821 )

Reyes, Javier, Santodomingo, Nadiezhda & Cairns, Stephen, 2009, Caryophylliidae (Scleractinia) from the Colombian Caribbean, Zootaxa 2262 (1), pp. 1-39 : 15

Cladocora arbuscula ( Lesueur, 1821)

Fig. 3A

Caryophyllia arbuscula Lesueur, 1821: 275 , pl.15, fig.2.

Cladocora arbuscula Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a: 307 .— Agassiz, 1880, pl. 3, figs. 1–7.— Quelch, 1886: 70.— Vaughan, 1901: 298, pl. 2, figs. 3–3a.— Duerden, 1902: 558–563, pls. 6–7, figs. 48–63.— Vaughan, 1919: 362.— Thiel, 1941: 14–15.— Smith, 1948. 87–88, pl. 22.— Almy & Carrión-Torres, 1963: 153–154, pl. 13a.— Roos, 1971: 65, pl. 22a–b.— Olivares, 1971: 75, Lam. 1, figs. A–B.– Weisbord, 1974: 372–375, pl. 40, figs. 1–2. Zlatarski & Martínez, 1982: 115–116, 125–126, pl. 39–40.— Cairns, 1982: 287, fig. 128a.

Remarks: C. arbuscula is one of the two zooxanthellate caryophylliids occurring in Colombian Caribbean waters. This species is present in shallow reefs lagoons or seagrass beds. Colombian samples are small bushy colonies. They do not have significant differences with the previous species revision by Cairns (1982).

Distribution: Caribbean Sea; 0.5– 27 m depth ( Zlatarski & Martínez 1982). In Colombia, C. arbuscula is known from remote oceanic coral reefs (Serranilla Bank), and along the Colombian Caribbean coast off Rosario Islands ( Pfaff 1969), San Bernardo Islands ( Erhardt & Meinel 1975), Santa Marta ( Geyer 1969; Erhardt 1974), Palomino and La Guajira Peninsula.

Material: USNM 94683, Serranilla Bank; USNM 158293, Serranilla Bank; INV CNI 83, 1 colony fragment, P-979; INV CNI 215, 1 colony fragment, E120; INV CNI 2195, 4 colony fragments, E202; INV CNI 2198, 1colony fragment, E201; INV CNI 2299, 1 colony fragment, E240; INV CNI 2300, 1 colony fragment, E214.

Figures

FIGURE 3. A, Cladocora arbuscula, INV CNI215, off Santa Marta (Cinto Bay), colony, x 1.5; B, Polycyathus mayae, INV CNI797, off San Bernardo Islands, oblique lateral view, x 10; C–D, Deltocyathus calcar, D17 MARCORAL, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and basal views, both x 4.4; E–F, Deltocyathus sp. cf. D. italicus, INV CNI711, off Cartagena, lateral and calicular views, both x 3; G–H, Deltocyathus eccentricus, INV CNI721, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and lateral views, both x 4.2; I–J, Stephanocyathus (S.) diadema, INV CNI329, off Gulf of Uraba, calicular and basal views, both x 0.7; K–L, Stephanocyathus (S.) paliferus, INV CNI388, off Barranquilla, calicular and basal views, both x 1; M–N, Stephanocyathus (O.) coronatus INV CNI324, Venezuela, Cariaco Basin, calicular and lateral views, both x 1; O–P, Stephanocyathus (S.) isabellae INV CNI694, holotype, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and basal views, both x 2.6; Q–R, Stephanocyathus (S.) isabellae, INV CNI2076, paratype, off San Bernardo Islands, calicular and basal views, both x 2.7; S, Thalamophyllia riisei, INV CNI676, off San Bernardo Islands, branching pattern, x 1.4; T, Eusmilia fastigiata; colony from calicular view, x 0.9. Scale bars for A, I–T = 1 cm; C–H = 5 mm; B = 1 mm.