Montipora

Samiei, Jahangir Vajed, Dab, Koosha, Ghezellou, Parviz & Shirvani, Arash, 2013, Some scleractinian corals (Scleractinia: Anthozoa) of Larak Island, Persian Gulf, Zootaxa 3636 (1), pp. 101-143 : 106-107

Montipora c.f. danae (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851)

( Fig. 5 )

Material: ZUTC Cnid. 1004, two colony fragments, Larak Island, 26° 53' 14.4" N, 56° 23' 43.4" E, Coll. J. Vajed Samiei, November 2010.

Taxonomic note: This species has many forms and shares many similar characteristics with M. danae , M. meandrina (Ehrenberg, 1834) and M. saudii (Turak, De Vantier and Veron, 2000) (see: Veron, 2000). This species has been called M. danae in another local study (Claereboudt, 2006).

Identification guide: Veron (2000)

Notes for local identification: Colonies are encrusting, cabbage form or finger-like (in colonies infected by polychaetes). They are brown with white or purple polyps which are mostly extended during the day. The surface is covered with verrucae larger than the diameter of the corallites. Corallites are immersed between the verrucae and mostly fill the space in between (i.e. the size of one corallite is the same as the space between verrucae).

Abundance: Common.

Depth of occurrence: About 3 m.

Figures

FIGURE 5. Montipora cf. danae, a, exoskeleton; b, close up of corallites; c, underwater photograph of the colony; d, underwater photograph of polyps.