PDF - Eprints@CMFRI

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S 8398 is only pan of a colony. It is a fused mass of branches in the form of an inverted cone,
almost similar to BERNARD 's M. edwardsi. The sides of the cone are mostly smooth. The papillae are
very conspicuous at the top of the cone, between them minute calices (OJ to 0.5 mm) are seen.
Material:
Gulf of Suez: T . Aviv NS 8398 , 8399,8405 (Ras Matarma); 8462 (EI Bilaiyim); 8198 (Ras el
Kanisa).
Gulf of Aqaba: Jerus. SLR 379 (Marsa Murach).
T. Aviv NS 1351,6343 (Eilat) ; 1934 (Marsa Murach).
Northern R. 5. : USNM Wa 105 (Ghardaqa).
HLM EC 422 ( Koseir); 246,247 (without exact locality).
Southern R. S.: HLM X2 : 13 - 2, 3, 4 (Sarso Isl.).
EC 356 , 357 , 359 (Massawa).
Without local. : HLM EC 167 (Red Sea).
Dis t rib uti 0 n: Red Sea; Philippines.
Rem ark s: The following species with arborescent or tufted corallum and papillae are known from
Red Sea: M. abrotanoides, M. circumva//ata (EHRENBERG 's type in Berlin Museum is No. 931), M. crista
galli, M. densa , M. edwardsi, M. graci/is, M. nudiceps and M. spongiosa. Among these M. spongiosa has
large corallites that are wide apart with foveolare coenenchyme along with papillae. The affinity of M.
spongiosa as far as the calicular derails are concerned is more with M. meandrina. In fact some of the
specimens which we place under M. meandrina could form a link between M. spongiosa and meandrina.
Only further observations in the field will settle their status. M. abrotanoides (= M. nudiceps DANA) is a
little known species. BERNARD'S description is positively fitting with some of our specimens described
here, and we take this as the same as M. circumvallata. MARENZELLER (1906) has already merged M.
crista galli with M. circumva//ata. We put also with some doubts MARENZELLER 'S M. densa (No . 4486 in
Berlin Museum) to rhe present species. We have described two specimens under the name graci/is maintaining
the distinction pointed out by KLUNZINGER . However, it is likely that M. graci/is should fall
within the skeletal range of M. circumvallata. Vet another species that merits consideration here is
M. edwardsi BERNARD. Though we have recognized it here as valid species, its status is not beyond doubt.
M. edwardsi could be an extreme fo rm of growth of M. circumva//ata. The squeezing out of the papillae
at t he top of rhe fused cones in M. edwardsi, which BERNARD stresses very much, can be d ue to the
fusion of the growing edges of the branches, whereas the papillae are better developed in M. circumval/ata
.
NEMENZO (1967 ) described so me new species closely related to M. circumvallata from the Philippine
waters, such as M. coa/ita, M. hirsuta, M. inconstans, M. ma/ampaya and M. strigosa. The differences among
themselves appear to be only mere skeletal variations which should be expected in two different coralla
of the same species. We think aU the above mentioned species of NEMENZO are only variations of o ne
species which is the same as M. circumvallata , rhough we have not studied any of his type specimens.
C. Tuberculate species of Montipora.
Porites
Marlopom
Monripora
stiJOSD
Sli/oSQ
stiloSD
Montipora sti/osa (EHRENBERG). 1834
(Plate 11, Figs.. 3- 7)
1834. EHRENBERG, 142 (Type lOCality: Red Sea).
1846. DANA. 500.
1860. MIl.'IE EDWARDS (& HAIME). 21t.
1879. KLUNZINGER 2. lO , pi,. 517 , 615 , 10/1.
1888. OR TMANN. 156.
1897. BERNARD. 115.
1974, MERGN ER & SC HUHMACHER, 265.
1980. HEAD. 149 , 447.
The type of this species is No . 95 1 in Berlin Museum. EC 59 in HLM is from Koseir, one of KLUN­
ZI GER'S duplicates labelled M. sty/osa. It is an encrustation. EC 292 is abou 18 cm in greater spread.
The surface rises into hillocks or gibbosities. SLR 648 is a multi-layered encrustation.