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The stony coral of the genus Astrangia Milne Edwards & Haime 1848 is a scleractinian genus that lives either solitary or colonial, azooxanthellate or facultatively zooxanthellate, usually found on natural and artificial substrates in biofouling communities, in deep to shallow waters and in a wide range of temperatures.
In Todos-os-Santos Bay in the state of Bahia, polyps were observed settling on live barnacles and oysters in a biofouling community on a pier together with other exotic invertebrates, such as the bryozoan Triphyllozoon arcuatum (MacGillivray, 1889) and the "sun coral" (Tubastraea spp. Lesson1830).
A second population was discovered in November 2022 at another pier (Marina de Itaparica Pier) on the island of Itaparica.
"Blue corals" are a small group of Helioporidae Moseley, 1876, the only known reef-building octocorals
with blue aragonite bases, which is due to the incorporation of iron salts into the skeleton
Scleractinians have white aragonite skeletons, most of which are covered by transparent tissue. In shallow and deep-water corals, different color patterns normally occur, which are due to the presence of endosymbiotic microalgae, zooxanthellae and/or carotenoid pigments.
Due to its blue color, the new Astrangia was associated with the Wells species early on. In contrast to Astrangia solitaria and Astrangia rathbuni, the new species is difficult to detect in its natural habitat - it is darker, a perfect camouflage to keep the polyps unnoticed, and likely to spread somewhere else
Ecology: This species behaves epibiotically and is mainly observed on carbonate shells (mussels and barnacles) Shells (mussels and barnacles)
A single coral or groups of two, three or more individuals can colonize the same basibiont.
Only a few corals have been observed growing directly on artificial substrates such as polystyrene oats.
Named after Dr. Michel Pichon (Museum of Tropical Queensland, Australia) and as a contribution to the global inventory of Astrangiidae corals, a new blue scleractinian lineage, Astrangia pichoni sp. nov. Serra, Neves, Alves & Johnsson, 2023, described from the southwestern Atlantic.
Literature reference:
A new blue astrangiid coral from the Southwestern Atlantic: coral diversity under globalization
Authoren: Elizabeth Neves, Jessika Alves, Rodrigo Johnsson
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2626418/v1
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
In Todos-os-Santos Bay in the state of Bahia, polyps were observed settling on live barnacles and oysters in a biofouling community on a pier together with other exotic invertebrates, such as the bryozoan Triphyllozoon arcuatum (MacGillivray, 1889) and the "sun coral" (Tubastraea spp. Lesson1830).
A second population was discovered in November 2022 at another pier (Marina de Itaparica Pier) on the island of Itaparica.
"Blue corals" are a small group of Helioporidae Moseley, 1876, the only known reef-building octocorals
with blue aragonite bases, which is due to the incorporation of iron salts into the skeleton
Scleractinians have white aragonite skeletons, most of which are covered by transparent tissue. In shallow and deep-water corals, different color patterns normally occur, which are due to the presence of endosymbiotic microalgae, zooxanthellae and/or carotenoid pigments.
Due to its blue color, the new Astrangia was associated with the Wells species early on. In contrast to Astrangia solitaria and Astrangia rathbuni, the new species is difficult to detect in its natural habitat - it is darker, a perfect camouflage to keep the polyps unnoticed, and likely to spread somewhere else
Ecology: This species behaves epibiotically and is mainly observed on carbonate shells (mussels and barnacles) Shells (mussels and barnacles)
A single coral or groups of two, three or more individuals can colonize the same basibiont.
Only a few corals have been observed growing directly on artificial substrates such as polystyrene oats.
Named after Dr. Michel Pichon (Museum of Tropical Queensland, Australia) and as a contribution to the global inventory of Astrangiidae corals, a new blue scleractinian lineage, Astrangia pichoni sp. nov. Serra, Neves, Alves & Johnsson, 2023, described from the southwestern Atlantic.
Literature reference:
A new blue astrangiid coral from the Southwestern Atlantic: coral diversity under globalization
Authoren: Elizabeth Neves, Jessika Alves, Rodrigo Johnsson
https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-2626418/v1
License: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License
