Paragoniastrea australensis

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Paragoniastrea australensis
Faviidae - Goniastrea australensis.JPG
From the Eritrean coast of the Red Sea
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Merulinidae
Genus: Paragoniastrea
Species:
P. australensis
Binomial name
Paragoniastrea australensis
(Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1857) [2]
Synonyms
List
  • Coeloria australensisMilne Edwards, 1857
  • Goniastrea australensis(Milne Edwards, 1857)
  • Goniastrea benhamiVaughan, 1917
  • Prionastraea australensisMilne Edwards, 1857

Paragoniastrea australensis, also known as the Lesser star coral, is a species of stony corals in the family Merulinidae. [3] [4] It occurs in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region.

Description

Colonies of Paragoniastrea australensis can be massive, submassive or encrusting. The corallites are arranged in deep valleys with steep walls. The valleys are meandroid and may be short or long, depending on the habitat in which the coral grows. The septa are even and regularly spaced and extend over the valley walls into the next valley. They are finely toothed and have paliform lobes, and the columella are large. This coral is quite variable in colour, most often being some shade of green or brown, with the valley floor often contrasting with the rest of the surface. [5]

Distribution and habitat

This widespread and common species can be found in shallow or clear waters in the Indo-West Pacific (Red Sea, Gulf of Aden, Indian Ocean, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan and China Sea). [6]

Biology

Paragoniastrea australensis is a zooxanthellate species of coral. [2] It obtains most of its nutritional needs from the symbiotic dinoflagellates that live within its soft tissues, supplementing this with the planktonic organisms caught by the polyps. [7]

Status

This coral is a common species with a wide range and large total population size which makes it more resilient than some other species of coral. The main threats faced by corals are related to the mechanical destruction of their coral reef habitats and climate change; these include increasing damage from extreme weather events, rising sea water temperatures and ocean acidification. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed the conservation status of this species as being of "least concern". All corals receive protection by being listed on CITES Appendix II. [1]

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<i>Coelastrea aspera</i> Species of stony coral

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<i>Platygyra daedalea</i> Species of coral

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<i>Platygyra lamellina</i> Species of coral

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<i>Goniastrea favulus</i> Species of coral

Goniastrea favulus, also known as the lesser star coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It occurs in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. This is an uncommon species of coral and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being "near threatened".

<i>Goniastrea stelligera</i> Species of coral

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<i>Platygyra contorta</i> Species of coral

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<i>Montipora grisea</i> Species of coral

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Favites spinosa is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region, its range extending from the eastern coast of Africa through the Indian Ocean to the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.

<i>Dipsastraea pallida</i> Species of coral

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<i>Montipora flabellata</i> Species of coral

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<i>Australogyra</i> Species of coral from the Indo-Pacific

Australogyra zelli is a species of stony coral native to the Central Indo-Pacific. It is the only species in the genus Australogyra. They are uncommon corals found in tropical waters to a range of up to 30 m (98 ft) deep. They can occur as branching growths or as hemispherical shapes reaching up to 2 m (6.6 ft) in diameter. Their color ranges from gray-green to a yellowish purple-brown. They are also sometimes known as the branching moon coral or the branching brain coral in the aquarium trade. The species is classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Their range includes Australia, the Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, southern China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, and Malaysia.

References

  1. 1 2 DeVantier, L.; Hodgson, G.; Huang, D.; Johan, O.; Licuanan, A.; Obura, D.O.; Sheppard, C.; Syahrir, M.; Turak, E. (2014). "Goniastrea australensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T132883A54154226. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T132883A54154226.en .
  2. 1 2 Hoeksema, Bert (2018). "Paragoniastrea australensis (Milne Edwards, 1857)". WoRMS. World Register of Marine Species . Retrieved 2018-08-09.
  3. ↑ Biolib
  4. ↑ Catalogue of life
  5. ↑ 台灣石珊瑚誌. 國立臺灣大學出版中心. 2009. p. 109. ISBN   978-986-01-8745-8.
  6. ↑ DeVantier, L.; Hodgson, G.; Huang, D.; Johan, O.; Licuanan, A.; Obura, D.O.; Sheppard, C.; Syahrir, M.; Turak, E. (2014). "Goniastrea australensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T132883A54154226. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-1.RLTS.T132883A54154226.en . Retrieved 11 November 2021.
  7. ↑ Ruppert, Edward E.; Fox, Richard, S.; Barnes, Robert D. (2004). Invertebrate Zoology (7th ed.). Cengage Learning. p. 122. ISBN   978-81-315-0104-7.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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