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Cyphastrea serailia

Lesser Knob Coral

Multimedia & Additional Resources

Type	Description	Download
Image:	Colony & corallite skeletal detail, Rarotonga	62KB
Image:	Skeleton showing corallite detail, Cook Islands	61KB
Image:	Skeleton showing corallite detail, Cook Islands	58KB

General Information

COMMON NAMES: Lesser Knob Coral, Knob Coral

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION: NATIVE e.Africa - French Polynesia

COOK ISLANDS STATUS: Native; S.Group (RR, ?Outer Islands); ?N.Group; Marine, near-shore, outer reef-slope, reef flat, moat, reef-flat lagoon

KEY FEATURES: Corallites have own walls. Calices small, round, circular, 2-3mmØ. Coenosteum blistered.

SIMILAR SPECIES: Cyphastrea chalcidicum has conical, alternating costae visible in situ (vs equal costae in Cyphastrea serailia). Cyphastrea micropthalma has 10 primary septa (vs 12 primary septa).

Cook Islands Distribution

View Distribution Map

Southern Group: Present Makatea:
RR	MG	AT	MK	MT	AK	PL	TK	MN
+++	P		P	P	P

Northern Group:
TN	MH	RK	PK	NS	SW

Key to Symbols

blank	no data
-	absent	L	localised
X	extinct 'naturally'	W	widespread
XQi	quarantine intercepted	R	recent
XQe	eradicated	?	query preceding category
P	present	T?	taxonomic query
S	seasonal	nn	present, said to have no name
O	occasional	?1	present, name not investigated
++++	very common	?2	presence not verified, no name recorded
+++	common	N/A	absent, name not expected
++	uncommon
+	rare
Cook Islands islands: RR =Rarotonga, MG = Mangaia, AT =‘Ātiu, MK=Ma‘uke, MT=Miti‘āro, AK=Aitutaki, PL=Palmerston, PN=Penrhyn, MN=Manuae, TK=Takūtea, TN=Tongareva (TS=Tongaleva Spoken, TW=Tongareva Written, they say "el" but write "r"), MH=Manihiki, RK=Rakahanga, PK=Pukapuka, NS=Nassau, SW=Suwarrow. After a Polynesian name: ^=orthography query. Countries and other: FIJ=Fiji, WT=Wallis & Futuna, SAM=Samoa, TON=Tonga, NIU=Niue, CK=Cook Islands, CKM=Cook Islands Māori, FP=French Polynesia, AUS=Australs, SOC=Societies, TAH=Tahiti, TUA=Tuamotus, MQS=Marquesas, MNG=Mangareva, PIT=Pitcain group, EAS=Easter Island, HAW=Hawai‘i, NZ=New Zealand, NZM=New Zealand Māori

Scientific Taxonomy

Cyphastrea serailia (Forskal, 1775)
TAXONOMY: ANIMALIA; CNIDARIA (=Coelenterates); ANTHOZOA; ZOANTHARIA (=Hexacorallia); Scleractinia (=Madreporaria); FAVIIDAE

More Information

IDENTIFICATION: COLONY knobbly, encrusting. Colour mottled or uniform brown, cream or grey. CORALLITES circular, well-spaced, walls protrude 0.5mm. CALICES 2-3mmØ. SEPTA, 2 orders, 12 in each, margins & sides granulated, toothed. Septal teeth irregular, long, inwardly projecting. COLUMELLA, a few upward projecting dentate rods. COSTAE dentate, do not adjoin across the coenosteum. COENOSTEUM blistered with thin, teeth-like tips. REPRODUCTION extra-tentacular.

Vouchers & References

Vouchers:
Rarotonga: specimen+photo, Muri lagoon, S.Miller (2001) ID per Veron (AIMS Mono Series), NHP#SM033; CK- specimens, G.McCormack (1980s?), NHP#065 - 067.

References:
Special Reference: Veron, J.E.N., Pichon, M. & Wijsman-Best, M. (1977). Scleractinia of Eastern Australia. Part II Families Faviidae, Trachyphylliidae. Australian Institute of Marine Science Monograph Series 3. p 169-173.

Data Update History (information):
zTX, zB02, zM02, zD02

Web Resources

Citation Information

McCormack, Gerald (2007) Cook Islands Biodiversity Database, Version 2007.2. Cook Islands Natural Heritage Trust, Rarotonga. Online at http://cookislands.bishopmuseum.org.
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