| Title | South African records of azooxanthellate Scleractinians (i.e., stony cold-water corals) |
|---|---|
| Authors |
Filander, Zoleka Kitahara, Marcelo Cairns, Stephen Sink, Kerry J. Lombard, Amanda |
| Publisher | Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (2026) |
| Contributors |
Contact Person: Filander, Zoleka |
| Abstract | South African azooxanthellate Scleractinia have not been comprehensively reviewed since Boshoff’s 1980 study, despite decades of additional sampling and scattered regional reports. This study updates the country’s coral species inventory by examining museum collections, particularly from the Iziko South African Museum and the Smithsonian Institution, alongside historical imagery, recent survey data, and existing literature. The results increase the known diversity from 77 to 108 species across eleven families, including 28 new national records, three new species, and one newly described genus. |
| Methods | Specimens were collected over multiple decades through research surveys and museum acquisition processes, using standard benthic sampling methods such as dredging and trawling. The study area spans the South African continental margin, from the Namibian to Mozambican borders. Sampling occurred opportunistically across multiple surveys rather than at fixed temporal intervals. The dataset is primarily based on azooxanthellate Scleractinia housed in the Iziko South African Museum and the National Museum of Natural History, comprising more than 600 samples collected during six historical expeditions. Additional material includes 38 samples from the Oceanographic Research Institute, Durban, 71 from the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (Deep-Secrets and Imida surveys), 31 from Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment / South African Environmental Observation Network demersal surveys, ten from the 2018 Nansen survey, and five from offshore benthic surveys. In total, the dataset comprises approximately 3,100 specimens. All material examined was analysed and morphological descriptions follow the Cairns (1989a, b, 1997, 2001) and Cairns & Kitahara (2012) terminology consists of preserved physical specimens curated within institutional collections. Specimens were maintained according to standard museum protocols (typically dry or in ethanol), and catalogue records and sample identifiers were used to ensure traceability. 1. Cairns S. (1989a) A revision of the ahermatypic Scleractinia of the Philippine Islands and adjacent waters, Part 1: Fungiacyathidae, Micrabaciidae, Turbinoliinae, Guyniidae, and Flabellidae. Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 486: 1–136. 2. Cairns S. (1989b) Discriminant analysis of Indo-West Pacific Flabellum. In Memoir Association of Australian Paleontologists. Fifth International Symposium on Fossil Cnidaria, Brisbane, 8: 61–68.3. Cairns S. (1997) A generic revision and phylogenetic analysis of the Turbinoliidae (Cnidaria: Scleractinia). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 591: 1–55.4. Cairns S. (2001) A generic revision and phylogenetic analysis of the Dendrophylliidae (Cnidaria: Scleractinia). Smithsonian Contributions to Zoology 615: 1–75. |
| Data | |
| Temporal extent | 11 May 1873 – 31 Mar 2019 |
| Geographic extent |
South African Exclusive Economic Zone, excluding the sub-Antarctic waters
North: -26.8817 |
| Keywords | African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP) Deep Secrets , African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP) Imida, Nansen East Coast Project , BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION , BIOLOGICAL RECORDS , biota , Cape Canyon Science Expedition , Data status: completed , Hard coral cover and composition , HARD OR STONY CORALS , INDIAN OCEAN , Integrated Ecosystem Programme , SOUTH ATLANTIC OCEAN , Species distributions , textTable , WGS84 |
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