Davao Gulf is a gulf situated in the southeastern portion of Mindanao in the Philippines. It has an area of 5,200 km2 (2,000 sq mi) or about 520,000 hectares. Davao Gulf cuts into the island of Mindanao from the Philippine Sea. It is surrounded by all five provinces in the Davao Region. The largest island in the gulf is Samal Island. Davao City, on the gulf's west coast, is the largest and busiest port on the gulf. The Bagobo and the Kaagan / Kalagan, who are the indigenous lumad tribes endemic in Davao, are known inhabitants of the said gulf.
Zoanthids are an order of cnidarians commonly found in coral reefs, the deep sea and many other marine environments around the world. These animals come in a variety of different colonizing formations and in numerous different colors. They can be found as individual polyps, attached by a fleshy stolon or a mat that can be created from small pieces of sediment, sand and rock. The term "zoanthid" refers to all animals within this order Zoantharia, and should not be confused with "Zoanthus", which is one genus within Zoantharia.
The wildlife of Cape Verde is found across its archipelago of ten islands and three islets, albeit in smaller numbers of species than mainland Africa. Each volcanic island within the archipelago is unique, and each of them have parks under their jurisdiction, by decree promulgated by the Cape Verde government. Located just off the west coast of Africa, the total land area of the island nation is 4,564 square kilometres (1,762 sq mi).
With the exception of bats, there are no truly endemic species of mammal on Cabo Verde; historically, the archipelago was only accessible to creatures with the ability to fly or swim, or to be brought by humans. The islands were first explored in 1456, but not actually settled until 1462; humans brought their livestock with them, including donkeys, pigs, cattle and goats—many of the latter are now so wild, they resemble mainland ibex, and are considered endemic “by default”.
In the centuries since settlement began, more mainland species would make their way with waves of settlers. There are no snakes present on the archipelago, which has allowed for the proliferation of many other species of other herpetiles, such as geckos, frogs and lizards. The main predators of these reptiles and amphibians would be the various birds of prey and raptors present, including the Egyptian vulture, Eurasian buzzard, kestrel, osprey, peregrine falcon, and the rare Cape Verde kite. This kite species is currently threatened by extinction but may yet be observed on Boa Vista and Maio.
Corallimorpharia is an order of marine cnidarians closely related to stony or reef building corals (Scleractinia). They occur in both temperate and tropical climates, although they are mostly tropical. Temperate forms tend to be very robust, with wide and long columns, whereas tropical forms tend to have very short columns with a wide oral disc and very short tentacles. The tentacles are usually arranged in rows radiating from the mouth. Many species occur together in large groups, although there are recorded instances of individuals. In many respects, they resemble the stony corals, except for the absence of a stony skeleton. Morphological and molecular evidence suggests that they are very closely related to stony corals.
Cephalopholis taeniops, the African hind, bluespotted sea bass or spotted grouper, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a grouper from the subfamily Epinephelinae which is in the family Serranidae which also includes the anthias and sea basses. This species occasionally makes its way into the aquarium trade and is a target for local fisheries. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
The barred hogfish is a species of wrasse native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean, where it occurs around the Macaronesian island groups of the Azores, Madeira, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde. This species occurs on rocky reefs at depths of 20 to 200 m. It can reach a length of 43 cm (17 in), though most do not exceed 30 cm (12 in). It is of minor importance to local commercial fisheries. This species was formally described as Labrus scrofa in 1839 by Achille Valenciennes with the type locality given as the Cape Verde Islands.
The magnificent frigatebird is a seabird of the frigatebird family Fregatidae. With a length of 89–114 centimetres and wingspan of 2.17–2.44 m it is the largest species of frigatebird. It occurs over tropical and subtropical waters off America, between northern Mexico and Perú on the Pacific coast and between Florida and southern Brazil along the Atlantic coast. There are also populations on the Galápagos Islands in the Pacific and the Cape Verde islands in the Atlantic.
Didogobius is a genus of small marine fish in the family Gobiidae, the true gobies. They are native to the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The name of the genus is a compound noun made up of Dido, the mythical founder and first queen of Carthage, and the Latin gobius meaning "goby".
Dendrophylliidae is a family of stony corals. Most members are azooxanthellate and thus have to capture food with their tentacles instead of relying on photosynthesis to produce their food. The World Register of Marine Species includes these genera in the family:
The Atlantic trumpetfish, also referred to as Atlantic coronetfish, is a species of trumpetfish in the family Aulostomidae. It is a tropical marine fish found in shallow coastal waters in the eastern Atlantic Ocean from Mauritania to Namibia. Like other trumpetfish, they eat mainly small fish and often shadow other piscivores while hunting.
Apletodon is a genus of marine fish in the family Gobiesocidae (clingfishes). The genus was first named by John Carmon Briggs in 1955.
Stegastes imbricatus, commonly called the Cape Verde gregory, is a damselfish of the family Pomacentridae. It is native to the tropical eastern Atlantic Ocean.
Leptopsammia pruvoti, the sunset cup coral, is a solitary stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae. It is an azooxanthellate species, meaning its tissues do not contain the symbiotic unicellular algae (zooxanthellae) of the genus Symbiodinium, as do most corals. It is native to the Mediterranean Sea. The species was described by Henri de Lacaze-Duthiers in 1897 and named to honor the French marine biologist Georges Pruvot.
Dendrophyllia is a genus of stony cup corals in the family Dendrophylliidae. Members of this genus are found at depths down to about 900 metres (3,000 ft). They are azooxanthellate corals, meaning that they do not contain symbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellates as do many species of coral.
Holacanthus africanus, the Guinean angelfish or West African angelfish, is species of marine ray-finned fish, a marine angelfish belonging to the family Pomacanthidae. It is found in the warmer sections of the eastern Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.
Baía de Tarrafal or Tarrafal Bay is a bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the northwest coast of the island of Santiago in Cape Verde. The town of Tarrafal lies at its southeastern shore, and 643 m high Monte Graciosa rises from its northern shore. Most of its coast is rocky, but there is a stretch of beach near the city. The headland Ponta Preta marks the northwestern limit of the bay; there is a lighthouse on it.
Liopropoma emanueli, the Cape Verde basslet, is a species of marine ray-finned fish, related to the groupers and classified within the subfamily Epinephelinae of the family Serranidae. It is endemic to the Atlantic waters around Cape Verde, western Africa where it is found in rocky areas at depths of 20 to 36 metres. Its length is 10 to 12 cm.
Tubastraea tagusensis is a hard coral species in the family Dendrophylliidae. The species is azooxanthellate, thus does not need sunlight for development, and does not form reefs. It is native to the Galapagos Islands but has become invasive along the Atlantic coast of South America.
The Gorean snapper is a species of marine ray-finned fish, a snapper belonging to the family Lutjanidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean.
