Tubastraea micranthus ( Ehrenberg, 1834 )

Cairns, S. D., 2004, The Azooxanthellate Scleractinia (Coelenterata: Anthozoa) of Australia, Records of the Australian Museum 56, pp. 259-329 : 319

Tubastraea micranthus ( Ehrenberg, 1834)

Oculina micranthus Ehrenberg, 1834: 304 .

Dendrophyllia nigrescens Dana, 1846: 387 .– Vaughan, 1918: 143– 144, pl. 60, figs. 1, 1a (Qld).–Stephenson & Wells, 1956: 55 (listed).– Wells, 1964: 108 (listed).

Dendrophyllia micranthus .– Crossland, 1952: 171–172 (remarks).– Stephenson & Wells, 1956: 55 (listed).

Dendrophyllia micranthus var. grandis Crossland, 1952: 173 , pl. 55, fig. 1, pl. 56, fig. 1 (Qld).

Tubastrea [sic] micrantha .– Wells, 1964: 108 (listed).

Tubastraea micrantha .– Veron, 1986: 580, 583 (fig. 3, Qld), 585 (figs. 3, 7).

Tubastraea micranthus .–Cairns & Zibrowius, 1997: 195–196 (synonymy, description).– Cairns, 1998: 410 (WA).

New records. QUEENSLAND: northwest side Murray Island , 33 m, 4 branches, USNM 45507 ( Vaughan, 1918) ; Piper Island , 5.5 m, 3 colonies, USNM 83682 and 78549; Lizard Island , 4–20 m, 13 colonies, USNM .

Types. Type not traced. Type Locality: Unknown.

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Misidentified, Undocumented, and Dubious Records of Azooxanthellates from Australia

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1. Tenison Woods (1878b: 325) described Cylicia (= Culicia ) magna from shallow waters of the Gulf of St. Vincent, South Australia. Totten (1952) also listed the record. This species was later shown by Squires (1966) and Veron & Pichon (1982) to be a junior synonym of the zooxanthellate species Scolymia australis (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) . See also Cairns & Parker (1992) for an account of this species, and Stranks (1993) for the type deposition.

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2. Culicia smithi (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) , doubtful record

Angia smithi Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849: 177 ( NZ).

Cylicia [sic] smithi .–Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857: 608.

Cylicia [sic] smithii .– Tenison-Woods, 1878b: 325 (“? Australia ”).

Culicia smithii .– Squires & Keyes, 21–22, pl. 1, fig. 2 ( NZ, description, synonymy, types, fig.).– Cairns, 1995: 39 (“ NZ ”, remarks) .

Culicia smithi .– Veron, 1986: 600 (listed).

Types. Holotype reputedly deposited at the Otago Museum (Squires & Keyes, 1967). Type Locality: “Nouvelle- Zélande ”, depth unknown.

Remarks. Tenison-Woods (1878b) is responsible for the original listing of C. smithi from Australia, the Australian record being reiterated only once more by Veron (1986). I can find no basis for the Australian record of this species, and indeed, Tenison-Woods (1878b: 325) stated in reference to the Australian Culicia : “There is evidently some confusion about both the species and the habitats which I have not been able to clear up.”

3. Culicia verreauxii (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) , species dubium

Angia verreauxii Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849: 177 (“ Australia ”).

Cylicia [sic] verreauxi .–Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857: 608.– Duncan, 1876: 440 (remark).–? Tenison-Woods, 1878b: 325 (SA fossil).

Culicia verreauxi .– Wells, 1955: 15 (Qld).–Stephenson & Wells, 1956: 55 (listed). Wells, 1964: 109 (listed).– Veron, 1986: 600 (listed).

Types. Cannot be found at BM . Type Locality: “Nouvelle- Hollande ”, depth unknown .

Remarks. The original description of C. verreauxii is inadequate to distinguish it from other species or identify it with any of the other four Culicia known from Australia. Furthermore, the type cannot be located. Although it may be a senior synonym of one of the other species, this cannot be established with certainty, and thus the species is treated herein as a species dubium.

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4. Madrepora porcellana ( Moseley, 1881) , undocumented record

Neohelia porcellana Moseley, 1881: 176–177 , pl. 10, figs. 7, 7a.

Madrepora porcellana .– Wells, 1984a: 207 (WA).– Veron, 1986: 599 (listed).– Cairns, 1999a: 62–63 (remarks, synonymy).

Neohelia sp. cf. N. porcellana .–Cairns & Zibrowius, 1997: 84– 85, figs. 5c–e, g,h (synonymy, description).

Remarks. Wells (1984a: 207) reported this species from “northwestern Australia, 140–141 m, 20.7°C”, but no documentation exists for this record (Cairns & Zibrowius, 1997) at AIMS, AM or any other Australian Museum. It is therefore considered to be an invalid or undocumented record for Australia.

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5. Wells (1964: 108) listed Paracyathus lifuensis Gardiner, 1899 as an “unpublished record” from the Great Barrier Reef, but no specimen can be found in any Australian museum or USNM, to which Wells donated most of his coral specimens. This record is thus considered to be doubtful.

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6. The specimen reported as Paracyathus profundus Alcock, 1898 by Folkeson (1919) from off Western Australia is a poorly-preserved specimen of an indeterminate rhizangiid ( Cairns, 1998).

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