Dr. Marzia Bo, Italien
Info
We would like to thank Dr. Marzia Bo from Italy for the first two photos of this black coral.
Dr. Bo discovered and first described this coral species in the Bunaken Marine Park in the Celébessee.
Black corals are generally considered to be difficult to preserve, as it was previously assumed that these animals did not have zooxanthellae.
However, this previous knowledge has now been updated, at least in part, to the effect that there are indeed black corals that have formed a symbiosis with zooxanthellae:
See:
Wagner, D., Pochon, X., Irwin, L., Toonen, R. J., & Gates, R. D.
(2010). Azooxanthellate? Most Hawaiian black corals contain Symbiodinium.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, rspb20101681.
Bo, M., Baker, A. C., Gaino, E., Wirshing, H. H., Scoccia, F., &
Bavestrello, G. (2011). First description of algal mutualistic endosymbiosis in a black coral (Anthozoa: Antipatharia). Marine
Ecology Progress Series, 435, 1-11. species
It is also interesting to note that the shrimp Pontonides unciger, as an epibiont, protects itself by perfect mimicry in the coral, adopting the color patterns of the polyps.
Pseudocirrhipathes mapia is one of the few species to have so-called cleaning polyps (see first description).
Very special thanks for the frist two photos of Pseudocirrhipathes mapia to Dr. Mazia Bo, Italy.
Dr. Bo discovered and first described this coral species in the Bunaken Marine Park in the Celébessee.
Black corals are generally considered to be difficult to preserve, as it was previously assumed that these animals did not have zooxanthellae.
However, this previous knowledge has now been updated, at least in part, to the effect that there are indeed black corals that have formed a symbiosis with zooxanthellae:
See:
Wagner, D., Pochon, X., Irwin, L., Toonen, R. J., & Gates, R. D.
(2010). Azooxanthellate? Most Hawaiian black corals contain Symbiodinium.
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, rspb20101681.
Bo, M., Baker, A. C., Gaino, E., Wirshing, H. H., Scoccia, F., &
Bavestrello, G. (2011). First description of algal mutualistic endosymbiosis in a black coral (Anthozoa: Antipatharia). Marine
Ecology Progress Series, 435, 1-11. species
It is also interesting to note that the shrimp Pontonides unciger, as an epibiont, protects itself by perfect mimicry in the coral, adopting the color patterns of the polyps.
Pseudocirrhipathes mapia is one of the few species to have so-called cleaning polyps (see first description).
Very special thanks for the frist two photos of Pseudocirrhipathes mapia to Dr. Mazia Bo, Italy.
