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The Extant Scleractinian Corals of New Zealand
Subfamily Turbinoliinae Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1857
Subfamily Turbinoliinae Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1857
Genus Kionotrochus Dennant, 1906
Kionotrochus (Kionotrochus) suteri Dennant. 1906. Plate II, figures 5 & 6. Map symbol Δ
| 1906. | Kionotrochus suteri Dennant, p. 155, Pl. V, figs. 5a & 5b. |
| 1960. | K. (Kionotrochus) suteri Dennant, Squires, p. 285, figs. 1-11. |
Specimens of this handsome turbinoliid coral range in size from a few millimeters to up to 5 millimeters in height. Shape is variable from conical to nearly tympani-form. Three cycles of septa, delicately spinose laterally, extend towards the columella. Third cycle septa join the second cycle before the columella, giving rise to a circlet of rod-like pali which are situated very close to, and may not be distinguished from the columella. The columella may be narrowly rod-like and exsert, or may be broad, stout and prominent within the calice.
Although numerous specimens of this species have been distributed throughout the major museums of the world, the absence of pali noted by Dennant in his original description, and shown in his illustration, has not been challenged although incorrect. The genus has not been recorded with certainty from outside New Zealand. Fossil specimens referred to Kionotrochus by Wells (1937) are better placed in Cylindrophyllia. Durham and Barnard (1952) have described several species from the Eastern Pacific which are quite doubtfully placed in the genus.
Within its range of distribution, the genus is often exceedingly abundant. Mud bottoms are its most favoured habitat and dredge hauls from 30 to 110 fathoms on these bottoms may yield hundreds of specimens.
Occurrence: Off Great Barrier Island, 36° 08′ S., 176° 00′ E., 109 fathoms. Many specimens, taken alive. One and a half miles northeast of Mayor Island, Bay of Plenty, 84 fathoms. Many specimens taken alive. Halfway between Outer Chicken Island and Mokihinau Island, 62 fathoms. Abundant live specimens. Two miles east of Little Barrier Island towards Flat Island, Great Barrier Island, 24 fathoms. Many dead specimens. Off Poor Knights Island, 60 fathoms. Abundant live specimens. Hen and Chicken Islands, 30 fathoms. Abundant live specimens (Auckland Museum, Coral Collection.)
Off Hen and Chicken Islands, 26-30 fathoms. Many specimens, taken alive. (Victoria University, Zoology Department Coral Collection.) Off Mayor Island, page 9
Bay of Plenty, 37° 22.5′ S., 176° 22′ E., 113-120 fathoms. Abundant live specimens. One and a half to two miles south of Hen and Chicken Islands, 26-30 fathoms. Numerous live specimens (Dominion Museum, Coral Collection.)
Off Great Barrier Island, 110 fathoms. Topotypes. Numerous specimens. Off Cuvier Island, 38 fathoms. Topotypes. Numerous specimens (Geological Survey, Coral Collection.)
Distribution: New Zealand.
Genus Sphenotrochus Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848
Sphenotrochus n.sp. B. Plate II, figures 7 & 8. Map symbol О
| 1939. | ? Sphenotrochus intermedius (Munster) Gardiner, p. 333. |
A small coral distinctly flattened laterally so that broad, and narrow sides are clearly recognisable. Corallum 8.5 mm high, and with an elongate oval calice 5.0 mm by 3.5 mm in diameter. The base of the corallum terminates in a tiny sharp spine. The angle formed by the lateral edges of the corallum is approximately 45°. Costae are very well-developed; a few costae particularly on the broad sides possess a slight median ridge, costae bordered laterally by well-formed more or less evenly spaced dome-shaped granules. Some costae on both narrow and broad sides discontinuous and not reaching the base of the corallum. Septa 32 in number, exert, arranged in four cycles, the first two only reaching the columella, and the fourth cycle incomplete. Lateral and marginal surfaces of septa sparsely covered with tiny spines. Columella lamellar, and with a row of six tubercular pieces at the surface.
Specimens of living Sphenotrochus are separable into two great groups based upon the character of the upper surface of the columella. The first group, that in which the upper surface of the columella appears to be lamellar, includes Sphenotrochus intermedius Duncan, S. auranticus Marenzeller, S. auritus Pourtales, and S. excavatus Tenison-Woods. The second group, composed of species having the upper surface of the columella composed of discrete trabeculae includes Sphenotrochus rubescens (Moseley), S. gardineri Squires and the present species. The first group shows little geographic separation, having representatives from both the North and South Atlantic as well as Australia included in it. The latter, much more restricted in content, is known from the Patagonian region, the Kei Islands, and now New Zealand. As noted by Squires (1961), S. gardineri and the specimens described by Gardiner from New Zealand, and the present species are quite similar except that S. n.sp. B is larger than S. gardineri.
A fossil species, S. aschistus Squires, 1958, of generally similar flattened wedge-shape has been described from the Kapitean in New Zealand. The corallum of the present specimen, however, taken alive from off Great Barrier Island has a much more acute angle of divergence from base to margin, the columella has two more surface pieces, and a greater number of costae are continuous from the margin to the base than in S. aschistus.
Occurrence: Off Cape Barrier, Great Barrier Island, 30 fathoms. One specimen, alive (Auckland Museum, Coral Collection.)