The Extant Scleractinian Corals of New Zealand

Subfamily Desmophyllinae Vaughan & Wells, 1943 — Genus Desmophyllum Ehrenberg, 1834 — Desmophyllum cristagalli Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848. Plate III, figures 1-10. J Map symbol □

Subfamily Desmophyllinae Vaughan & Wells, 1943

Genus Desmophyllum Ehrenberg, 1834

Desmophyllum cristagalli Milne-Edwards and Haime, 1848. Plate III, figures 1-10. J Map symbol □

1848.

Desmophyllum cristagalli Milne-Edwards and Haime, p. 253, Pl. 7, fig. 10.

Corallum medium to large in size, often quite tall. The calice expands rapidly from a relatively narrow stalk and is surmounted by high, closely spaced, greatly page 10 exsert septa, frequently expanded laterally many millimeters beyond the edge of the wall. The septa are smooth, often porcellaneous, on both the lateral and proximal margins. No columella is formed, the edges of the septa descending nearly vertically into the central pit of the calice. The outside of the corallum is usually smooth and ornamented by small granules. Flange-like costae may be developed in older specimens, and these are often discontinuous vertically.

Perhaps no other species of solitary coral has been as broadly conceived as this, for it is considered world-wide in distribution and long-ranging as a fossil. Until most of the specimens are redescribed, there is little hope of monographing the genus. The name is applied, with some misgivings, to occurrences of Desmophyllum in New Zealand. It is interesting to note that, in the scanty collections now available, there are distinct differences between the specimens from northern and southern New Zealand. Northern forms are small and delicate, more nearly resembling the usual concept of D. cristagalli, while those from southern waters, particularly from off the coast of Otago, are much larger and more massively constructed.

Moseley (1881) described Desmophyllum ingens, from the fiords of western Patagonia, which, although adjudged by Moseley to be closely related to D. cristagalli, was separated from that species because of its larger size. Later authors (e.g., Hoffmeister, 1933) have tended to minimise the difference and to confuse the two species. The distinction between the two species, if there is a distinction, is important zoogeographically. D. ingens may be taken as characteristic of the southerly, cold subantarctic region, while D. cristagalli may well be more equatorial in distribution.

In view of the problems of identification of the two species, one of us (D.F.S.) has examined the collections of Desmophyllum made by the Endeavour, described by Hoffmeister (1933) in the Australian Museum, and of specimens of D. ingens collected by the Albatross, now housed in the United States National Museum. While many individuals in the latter collection may be assigned readily to one or the other species, others demonstrate that the characters used in the identification of the species are subject to great ontogenetic variation. Long, slender, rather massive corallites possessing continuous costae may, suddenly, and without organic discontinuity, become corallites having no costae and expanded calices with highly exsert septa. The same phenomena have been observed in the collections of the Endeavour (cf. Hoffmeister, 1933, Pl. 2, fig. 2). Until the ontogeny is completely understood, no appropriate definition or set of distinguishing characters can be offered for these two species.

Occurrence: West of New Plymouth, 700-800 fathoms. One specimen taken alive from a cable. Cook Strait. Deep water. One specimen taken alive from a cable. (Auckland Museum, Coral Collection.)

Off Banks Peninsula, 44° 15′ S., 173° 13′ E., 80 fathoms. Three specimens taken alive from a sandstone block, associated with numerous young specimens. Island Bay, Cook Strait, 100 fathoms. One young specimen taken alive. White Island, Bay of Plenty, 60 fathoms. One specimen, immature. Island Bay, Cook Strait, 120 fathoms. Two specimens alive. 60 miles west of Farewell Spit, 350 fathoms. One specimen alive taken from a cable. Off Muriwai Beach, Auckland. 36° 42.4′ S., 173° 53′35" E., 300 fathoms. One large specimen taken alive. (Dominion Museum, Coral Collection.) East north east of Otago Heads, 275 fathoms. Four specimens taken dead and worn. (Portobello Marine Biological Station, Dunedin.)

Distribution: Cosmopolitan.

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Plate 1

Figs. 1–5.—Culicia rubeola (Quoy & Gaimard). (Figs. 1–4 × 2; Fig. 5 nat. size).

Fig. 6.—Culicia smithii (Milne-Edwards and Haime), nat. size.

Fig. 7.—Oculina virgosa Squires, × 2.

Figs. 8–11.—Caryophyllia profunda Moseley, × 2.

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Plate 2

Figs. 1 and 2.—Caryophyllia cf. C. maculata (Pourtalès), × 2.

Figs. 3 and 4.—Paracyathus conceptus Gardiner, × 3.

Figs. 5 and 6.—Kionotrochus (Kionotrochus) suteri Dennant, × 5.

Figs. 7 and 8.—Sphenotrochus n.sp. B. (Fig. 7, × 4; Fig. 8, × 5).

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Plate 3

Figs. 1–10.—Desmophyllum cristagalli Milne-Edwards and Haime, nat. size.

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Plate 4

Fig. 1.—Goniocorella dumosa (Alcock), nat. size.

Figs. 2–6.—Stenocyathus decamera n.sp. (Figs. 2 and 3 × 8; Figs. 4 6 × 4).

Figs. 7 and 8.—Flabellum deludens von Marenzeller, nat. size.

Figs. 9 and 10.—Flabellum gracile (Studer), × 3.

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Plate 5

Figs. 1–18.—Flabellum rubrum Quoy and Gaimard, nat. size. Lateral and surface view of coralla to show variation.

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Plate 6

Figs. 1–9. —Flabellum rubrum Quoy and Gaimard. (Fig. 1, F. "rugulosum", × 2; Figs. 2 and 3, nat. size; Figs. 4 and 5, F. "harmeri" after Gardiner (1929); Fig. 6. surface view; Fig. 7, side view of F. rubrum with broad attaching base. × 2; Figs. 8 and 9—F. rubrum surface view to show undulations of lateral walls, × 1.5).

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