Orange Cup Coral

Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1829

Tubastraea coccinea Lesson. 1829:93.—Wells, 1982:216; 1983:243–244, pl. 18: figs. 1, 2 [synonymy and discussion].—Prahl, 1987:230–231, fig. 8.

Astropsammia pedersenii Verrill, 1869:392.—Pourtalès, 1875:283.—Hertlein, 1939: 369.

Placopsammia darwini Duncan, 1876:441.

Tubastraea tenuilamellosa.—Durham, 1947:38–39, pl. 11: figs. 1, 2, 4, 9, pl. 12: figs. 6, 7.—?Durham and Barnard, 1952:105–106, pl. 12: fig. 50d.—Durham, 1962:46,54.—Hertlein, 1963:232.—Durham, 1966:125.

Lobopsammia darwini.—Durham and Barnard, 1952:2, 11.—Durham, 1966:125.

DESCRIPTION.—Colonies roughly spherical, up to 12 cm in diameter, and firmly attached to substrate. Corallites closely spaced, for the most part originating extratentacularly from intercorallite coenosteum. Adult corallites 10–13 mm in greater calicular diameter and project up to 12 mm above coenosteum; calices elliptical. Costae equal in width and usually finely granular, separated by equally wide, porous intercostal grooves.

Septa hexamerally arranged in four complete cycles. S1–2 nonexsert and equal in size, much larger than other higher cycle septa, their inner edges vertical and straight, attaining the columella. Faces of S1–2 bear very fine granules and, at low magnification, appear smooth. S3 rudimentary, with laciniate inner edges. S4 approximately same size and shape as S3, except in larger corallites, where pairs of larger S4 unite before adjacent S3 and extend toward columella as a porous lamella. Fossa moderately deep. Columella large, composed of a mass of slender, irregularly shaped, crispate elements.

Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1829

Tubastraea coccinea Lesson, 1829:93.—Wells, 1983:243–244, pl. 18: figs. 1, 2 [synonymy].—Prahl, 1987:230–231, fig. 8.—Wilson, 1990:137–138, fig. 1.—Cairns, 1991a:26–27, pl. 12: figs. c–e [synonymy].—Cairns and Keller, 1993:282–284 [synonymy].

Lobopsammia aurea Quoy and Gaimard, 1833:195.

Astropsammia peterseni Verrill, 1869:392.

Dendrophyllia aurea.—Eguchi, 1934:367.

Tubastraea tenuilamellosa.—Durham, 1947:38–39, pl. 11: figs. 1, 2, 4, 9; pl. 12: figs. 6, 7.—Durham and Barnard, 1952:105–106, pl. 12: fig. 50d.

Tubastraea aurea.—Squires, 1959:427–428.—Utinomi, 1965:257–258; 1971:220–221.—Eguchi, 1965:295, 1 fig.; 1968:C68–70, pl. C16: figs. 5, 6; pl. 17: fig. 17; pl. C26: figs. 2, 3 [synonymy].—Kikuchi, 1968:9.—Eguchi and Miyawaki, 1975:54, pl. 7: fig. 3.—?Song, 1982:139–140, pl. 3: figs. 11, 12; 1991:137–138.—Tribble and Randall, 1986:159.

Dendrophyllia coccinea.—Eguchi, 1965:296, 1 fig.—Utinomi, 1965:257.

?Dendrophyllia sibogae.—Kikuchi, 1968:9.

?Tubastraea coccinea.—Eguchi, 1968:C70–71. pl. C2: fig. 3; pl. C14: figs. 4, 5, 8, 9.—Kikuchi, 1968:9, pl. 5: fig. 4.—Utinomi. 1971:221, pl. 13: fig. 5a,b.—Eguchi and Miyawaki, 1975:54, pl. 7: fig. 2.

Not Tubastraea coccinea.—Song, 1982:140, pl. 4: figs. 7, 8 [= Dendrophyllia]; 1988:29–30; 1991:138.

DESCRIPTION.—Mature colonies roughly spherical, the corallites closely spaced in a plocoid arrangement. Corallites bud extratentacularly at colony edge and between older corallites, thus maintaining a plocoid structure as colony increases in size. Calicular edges often directly adjacent to one another, but occasionally corallites project 1–10 mm above basal coenosteum. Corallites circular to slightly elliptical in shape, the largest examined being about 13 mm in GCD, but most are only 7–9 mm in GCD. Costae equal in width (0.30–0.35 mm) and coarsely granular, separated by wide (0.15–0.20 mm), very deep intercostal furrows that are highly porous. Corallum white; coenosarc orange.

Septa hexamerally arranged in 4 cycles. S1–2 virtually equal in size, but S1 slightly thicker and wider, penetrating farther into the columella than S2. Upper edges of S1–2 nonexsert and slightly tapered, reaching their greatest width 3–4 mm into fossa, where they have vertical, smooth inner edges. S3 much smaller than S1–2, only 0.2–0.3 mm in width, or about 15%–20% width of an S1–2. Inner edges of S3 dentate to highly laciniate from top to bottom. S4 rudimentary or of same size as the S3, 1 or both lacking from each half-system. Inner edges of S4 also laciniate, occasionally loosely fused to adjacent S3. Fossa moderate to deep, containing a columella of variable size, but usually containing a rather large, spongy columella.

Orange cup coral (Tubastraea coccinea) belongs to a group of corals known as large-polyp stony corals. This non-reef building coral extends beautiful translucent tentacles at night. Tubastraea coccinea is heterotrophic and does not contain zooxanthellae in its tissues as many tropical corals do, allowing it to grow in complete darkness as long as it can capture enough food.

azooxanthellate

0-110 m