Pinnigorgia flava (Nutting, 1910)

Williams, Gary C., 2018, Illustrated Key and Synopses of Shallow-water Gorgonians and Pennatulaceans of the Central Philippines, Part 2 (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia), Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences 64 (13), pp. 361-398 : 367

Pinnigorgia flava (Nutting, 1910)

Figures 19 , 20 , 21

MATERIAL EXAMINED.— CASIZG 201640; Philippines, Luzon, Batangas Province, Calatagan (13.92°N 120.60°E); 8 m depth; 19 May 2014; coll. G.C. Williams; three partial colonies wet-preserved in 95% ethanol. CASIZG 201407; Philippines, Lubang Island (13.78°N 120.10°E); 12 m depth; 30 May2014; coll. G.C. Williams; one partial colony wet-preserved in 95% ethanol. CASIZG 222415; Philippines, Romblon Province, Cobrador Island (12.65°N 122.23°E); 11 m depth; 6 April 2017; coll. G.C. Williams; one whole colony wet-preserved in 95% ethanol.

REMARKS.— The colonies are richly-branched, the branches are planar and pinnate, and the tissues harbor zooxanthellae. The Philippine material exhibits similarities to the description of Pinnigorgia flava provided by Grasshoff and Alderslade (1997), in that the sclerites are relatively elongate — often>0.1 mm in length and somewhat curved. Color of the colonies in life as well as wet-preserved varies from cream-white or pale yellow to tan.

SPECIES.— There are two other described species in the genus besides Pinnigorgia flava ‒ Pinnigorgia perroteti (Stiasny, 1940) and Pinnigorgia platystoma (Nutting, 1910) .

OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION.— The genus is known from the tropical western Pacific Ocean — the Philippines, Sabah, Indonesia, and Palau. Pinnigorgia flava in the Philippines occupies shallow-water reef flats or gentle slopes, usually not in areas with consistenly strong bottom currents.

REFERENCES.— Grasshoff and Alderslade (1997); Fabricius and Alderslade (2001).

Figures

FIGURE 19. Pinnigorgia flava. Underwater images. A. Coral reef with numerous colonies, Lubang Island, 14 m depth. B. A single colony, Lubang Island, 12 m depth.

FIGURE 20. Pinnigorgia flava. Wet-preserved colonies (CASIZG 201640). A. Scale bar = 20 mm. B. Scale bar = 25 mm. C. Scale bar = 10 mm.

FIGURE 21. Pinnigorgia flava. Scanning electron micrographs of coenenchymal sclerites, scale bar = 0.08 mm.