Cyphastrea kaustiis a newly described species from the Red Sea, present in the central and northern parts but seemingly absent from the south end of the Red Sea. The new speciesC. kaustiis readily distinguished from all other species ofCyphastreaby having eight primary septa, instead of six, ten or twelve that you would expect from a good card carryingScleractinia.In this regard,Cyphastrea kaustiis somewhat like the unusualEuphyllia baliensiswhich also deviates from the mathematics of stony corals and has only four primary septa.
Perhaps even more interesting is the re-assertion that the genusCyphastrea不再列为Faviid,或与之相关的the ubiquitous moon corals such asFaviaandMontastrea. Cyphastreaas a whole is now considered to be nested withinMerulinidaemaking it more closely related toMerulinaalthough many ex-Faviidssuch asFavitesandEchinoporaare also part of this gang.
Being the coral junkies that we are, it’s super exciting to see new species of corals, especiallyScleratinia, even if the pictured specimens aren’t exactly winning any beauty pageants. It almost seems like in recent years the pace of new stony coral descriptions has increased, perhaps due to renewed interest, or new techniques, but best of all we hope it means that there’s lots more new and unexpected discoveries waiting to be made in the future. [Zookeys]
