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(38354). Type Locality: La Paz, Gulf of California, depth
unknown.
DISTRIBUTION.—As discussed above, T. coccinea is a
circumtropical shallow-water species. In the northeastern
Pacific its northen limit is at the border of the tropical/warm
temperate region, being found in the Gulf of California, but
only to Cabo San Lucas on the Pacific side of Baja California
Sur (Wilson, 1990). In the northwest Pacific, however, records
extend into the warm temperate region as far north as Sagami
Bay. It also occurs in the Kii and Bungo Straits; Osumi Shoto,
northern Ryukyu Islands; off the Amakusa Islands; and East
China Sea off Cheju Do, South Korea; 0-15 m. Elsewhere:
0-110 m.
Schizopsammia, gen. nov.
DIAGNOSIS.—Dendroid colonies formed exclusively by
equal, intratentacular budding. Pourtales Plan poorly developed.
Pali absent; columella spongy. Tabular endothecal
dissepiments present
TYPE SPECIES.—Schizopsammia songae, herein designated.
DISCUSSION.—Only three dendrophylliid genera form colonies
by intratentacular division: Lobopsammia Milne Edwards
and Haime, 1848b; Stichopsammia Felix, 1885; and Reussopsammia
Wells, 1937, all three of which are known only from
the Eocene to Oligocene of Europe. One Recent species of
Eguchipsammia, E. gaditana, is also known to bud intratentacularly,
but only as a rare secondary mode, its primary mode
being extratentacular. Schizopsammia differs from Stichopsammia
in having monostomadeal, not polystomadeal, budding; it
differs from Reussopsammia in having a weak Pourtales Plan,
not a normal septal insertion. Schizopsammia, however, is quite
similar to Lobopsammia in coral I urn shape, size, and septal
arrangement, but differs in having tabular endothecal dissepiments.
The colony shape of Schizopsammia that results from equal
intratentacular budding and the presence of tabular endothecal
dissepiments resembles that of Solenosmilia, a deep-water
azooxanthellate genus in the suborder Caryophylliina.
ETYMOLOGY.—The genus name Schizopsammia (Greek
schizo, meaning "to split" + Greek psammos, meaning "sand,"
a common suffix used in dendrophylliid generic names) refers
to the equal intratentacular division found within the genus.
Gender feminine.
DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from the Western Channel of
the Korea Strait off South Korea; depth unknown.
Schizopsammia songae, sp. nov.
PLATE A0a-e
DESCRIPTION.—Corallum dendroid, dichotomously branching
in three dimensions with no branch anastomosis. Holotypic
SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ZOOLOGY
colony 46 mm in height and 43 mm broad, with a broken basal
pedicel 6-7 mm in diameter that supports a colony of 16
corallites. Branches circular in cross section and fairly uniform
in diameter (cylindrical), both corallites and branch diameters
ranging from 5-7 mm. Calices in process of intratentacular
division quite common. Intratentacular budding initiated by the
enlargement of 2 opposing lateral S,, which eventually fuse
across center of calice and form a thin wall between the two
daughter corallites. Eventually small septa begin to form
perpendicular to the faces of the bridging Sv Synapticulotheca
thick (1.2-1.4 mm), and porous only within 4-8 mm of the
calice; otherwise, theca solid. Costae poorly delineated, each
costa bearing numerous small, low (40-50 |im) granules
arranged 4 or 5 across a costa. Intercostal regions porous, the
pores usually circular and quite deep. Corallum white.
Septa hexamerally arranged in essentially 4 cycles; however,
just before intratentacular division a corallite is often elongate
and may have more than 48 septa, whereas just after division
corallites usually have fewer than 48 septa. S, nonexsert and
rather narrow, with straight, vertical, smooth inner edges that
extend to the columella. S2 about three-quarters width of an S1
and also have smooth inner edges, but do not extend to the
columella. S3 rudimentary, each flanked by a pair of S4 not
much wider than an S3 in upper fossa, but which fuse before the
S3 lower in fossa and have extremely laciniate inner edges.
Long (up to 1.5 mm), narrow extensions of lower, inner edges
of S4 intermingle with columellar elements. Fossa deep,
containing a small, loose, trabecular columella. Tabular
endothecal dissepiments present every 1.5-4.0 mm within
branches, producing a relatively low density corallum.
DISCUSSION.—See "Generic Discussion."
ETYMOLOGY.—This species is named in honor of Jun-Im
Song, the first to review the South Korean coral fauna.
MATERIAL EXAMINED/TYPES.—Holotype: 1 colony,
USNM 15847 (Plate 40a-e). Paratypes: 10 colony fragments
from type locality, USNM 92910, 1 branch, ORI. Type
Locality: Western Channel of Korea Strait, off Pusan, South
Korea; depth unknown. Collected by P.L. Joey and received by
USNM in January 1887. Reference Specimen: Lobopsammia
cariosa (Goldfuss, 1827) from Eocene of France, USNM
64630.
DISTRIBUTION.—Known only from the type locality.
NOTE.—When this paper was in galley stage (May, 1994), I
received a reprint from J.-I. Song (Song, 1994) published in
April, 1994, in which she described a new genus and species of
dendrophylliid from the Korean Strait: Dichopsammia granulosa.
Her species is the same as my Schizopsammia songae,
described herein, and therefore must be considered as the senior
synonym. Her type series of three specimens also came from
off Pusan, Korea, at a depth of 20-30 m. She considered this
species to be hermatypic (zooxanthellate).