Scapophyllia, MILNE EDWARDS & HAIME, 1848

GENUS SCAPOPHYLLIA MILNE EDWARDS & HAIME, 1848 View in CoL A: 492 ( FIG. 25 View Figure 25 )

Type species

Scapophyllia cylindrica View in CoL Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278, vol. 10, pl. 8: figs 8, 8a; subsequent designation, Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278.

Original description

‘Polypier cylindrique, dressé et composé de séries intimement unies par les murailles. Columelle tuberculeuse. Cloisons extrêmement épaisses et fortement granulées.’ ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848a, vol. 27: 492).

Subsequent descriptions

Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 277, 278; Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857, vol. 2: 386; Quenstedt, 1881: 1011; Duncan, 1884: 95; Delage & Hérouard, 1901: 627; Matthai, 1928: 259; Yabe et al., 1936: 42; Vaughan & Wells, 1943: 191; Alloiteau, 1952: 632; Wells, 1956: F416; Chevalier, 1975: 226; Veron & Pichon, 1980: 228, 229; Wood, 1983: 190, 191; Veron, 1986: 440; Chevalier & Beauvais, 1987: 721; Veron & Hodgson, 1989: 269; Sheppard, 1990: 14; Best & Suharsono, 1991: 334; Veron, 2000, vol. 2: 383.

Diagnosis

Colonial, with intracalicular budding only. Corallites monomorphic and uniserial; monticules absent. Walls fused. Calice width small ( 4 mm), with low relief ( 3 mm). Costosepta confluent. Septa in three cycles (24–36 septa). Free septa present but irregular. Septa spaced six to 11 septa per 5 mm. Costosepta equal in relative thickness. Columellae trabecular but compact (one to three threads), 1/4 of calice width, and continuous amongst adjacent corallites. Paliform (uniaxial) lobes well developed. Epitheca absent and endotheca sparse ( Fig. 25A, D View Figure 25 ).

Tooth base at midcalice circular. Tooth tip at midcalice irregular; tip orientation perpendicular to septum. Tooth height low (< 0.3 mm) and tooth spacing narrow (< 0.3 mm), with> six teeth per septum. Granules scattered on septal face; irregular in shape. Interarea palisade ( Fig. 25B, E View Figure 25 ).

Walls formed by strong abortive septa and partial septotheca; trabeculothecal elements may be present. Thickening deposits fibrous. Costa centre clusters weak; < 0.3 mm between clusters; medial lines weak. Septum centre clusters weak; < 0.3 mm between clusters; medial lines weak. Transverse crosses absent. Columella centres clustered ( Fig. 25C, F View Figure 25 ).

Species included

Scapophyllia cylindrica View in CoL Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278, vol. 10, pl. 8: figs 8, 8a; holotype: MNHN IK-2010-715 (dry specimen; Fig. 25A, D View Figure 25 ); type locality: ‘les mers de la Chine?’ ( Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849a, vol. 11: 278); phylogenetic data: molecular and morphology.

Taxonomic remarks

Scapophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848a View in CoL , vol. 27: 492, is a monotypic genus that is often regarded as a close relative of Merulina View in CoL . Their taxonomic histories have overlapped substantially, being placed together in Merulinidae View in CoL for the most part (e.g. Vaughan & Wells, 1943: 190; Wells, 1956: F416; Veron, 2000, vol. 2: 363). It has been described as another genus only once, not surprisingly as a Merulina View in CoL – Merulina studeri Bedot, 1907: 214 View in CoL , pl. 31: figs 156, 160. Molecular phylogenies demonstrate this affiliation, with these two genera forming a well-supported clade (subclade A) along with some Goniastrea spp. ( Fukami et al., 2008; Huang et al., 2011).

Scapophyllia View in CoL is distributed on reefs of the Central Indo-Pacific, and along the coasts of India and Sri Lanka.

Morphological remarks

No apomorphies have been uncovered for Scapophyllia as yet. It shares all but one morphological character with Merulina , and they are distinguishable based on septal count – Scapophyllia with the plesiomorphy of septa in three cycles (24–36 septa), and fewer for Merulina . Loss of epitheca (likelihood of 0.66 based on the Mk1 model) and sparse endotheca (likelihood 0.67) occur at the base of the Merulina + Scapophyllia clade, setting Goniastrea apart from them. All subcorallite characters are shared with most of Goniastrea .