Madrepora oculata

Madrepora oculata L., 1758

(Tables 1−3)

Madrepora oculata: Zibrowius 1980: 36, pl. 13, figs. A–P.—Zibrowius 1985: 313, tab. 2.—Aguirrezabalaga et al. 1987: 123.— Altuna & García Carrascosa 1990: 56.—Ramil Blanco & Fernández Pulpeiro 1990: 26.—Álvarez Claudio 1993: 417.— Altuna Prados 1994a: 450.—Altuna Prados 1994b: 55.—Altuna Prados 1994c: 78 (fig. 1).—Altuna Prados & Álvarez Claudio 1994: 9, 13.—Álvarez Claudio 1994a: 264.—Álvarez Claudio 1994c: 466.—Altuna 1995: 87.—Álvarez Claudio 1995c: 88.—Cairns & Chapman 2001: 36 (tab.1).—Lavaleye et al. 2002: 464.—Jarms et al. 2003: 3.—Reveillaud et al. 2008: 322 (tab. 1), 325 (fig. 4).—Fiege & Barnich 2009: 155, 157.—Altuna 2010: 20.—Copard et al. 2010: 2 (tab. 1).— Louzao et al. 2010: S1.

Material examined. Le Danois Bank, 2008: Stn. D 4V, 1084 m, three dead fragments, eroded; Stn. R1R 1, 746 m, three dead fragments; Stn. R1R 2, 751 m, small dead fragment; Stn. R1R 8, 677 m, two dead fragments. Avilés Canyon system: Stn. R 1, 500 m, numerous fragments alive and dead. Galicia Bank: Stn. G 5, 859 m, numerous fragments; Stn. G 6, 761 m, numerous fragments; Stn. V 5, 877 m, numerous fragments, alive and dead; Stn. V 6, 766 m, small subfossil fragment; Stn. V 8, 780 m, numerous colonies and fragments; Stn. R 2, 614 m, small dead fragments.

Remarks. Madrepora oculata is a very abundant coral in the Galicia Bank and the Avilés Canyon system but is very rare in Le Danois Bank. It co-occurs with Lophelia pertusa (L., 1758) in several stations (D 4V, G5, G6, V5, V6, V8, R1) forming white coral banks. The coral banks were mapped in the Bay of Biscay and nearby areas by Joubin (1922a, 1922b) and Le Danois (1948), with further information in Zibrowius (1980) and Reveillaud et al. (2008).

The global distribution of the species is detailed by Zibrowius (1980), with additional data in Cairns (1982, 1991, 1994, 1995, 2004) and Kitahara (2007). This is one of the most widely distributed deep-sea scleractinian.

Species Avilés Canyon system Le Danois Bank Galicia Bank Nº Aulocyathus atlanticus Zibrowius - 3 1 2 Balanophyllia cellulosa Duncan - 1, 3 - 1 Balanophyllia thalassae Zibrowius - 1, 3 1 2 Caryophyllia abyssorum Duncan 5, 10 1 - 2 Caryophyllia ambrosia Alcock - 3 - 1 Caryophyllia calveri Duncan 1 1, 3 1 3 Premocyathus cornuformis (Pourtalès) 5, 10 3, 4 - 2 Caryophyllia cyathus (Ellis &Solander) 10 - - 1 Caryophyllia sarsiae Zibrowius - 1, 3 - 1 Caryophyllia seguenzae Duncan - 1, 3 - 1 Caryophyllia smithii Stokes & Broderip 5, 10 8, 9 - 2 Deltocyathus eccentricus Cairns - - 1 1 Deltocyathus moseleyi Cairns 5, 10 1, 3 1 3 Dendrophyllia alternata Pourtalès - - 1 1 Dendrophyllia cornigera (Lamarck) 5, 10 2 - 2 Desmophyllum cristagalli Milne Edwards & Haime 1, 5 1, 4, 8, 9 1 3 Eguchipsammia cornucopia (Pourtalès) 5, 10 1, 3 - 2 Enallopsammia marenzelleri Zibrowius 10 - - 1 Enallopsammia rostrata (Pourtalès) 5, 10 3 - 2 Flabellum alabastrum Moseley 5, 10 4 - 2 Flabellum chunii Marenzeller - - 1 1 Flabellum macandrewi Gray - 1, 3 - 1 Lophelia pertusa (L.) 1, 5, 10 1, 8, 9 1, 6, 7 3 Madrepora oculata L. 1, 5, 10 1 1, 6, 7 3 Paracyathus pulchellus (Philippi) 5, 10 - - 1 Solenosmilia variabilis Duncan - 3, 4 - 1 Stenocyathus vermiformis (Pourtalès) 5, 10 3 - 2 Stephanocyathus crassus (Jourdan) - - 1 1 Stephanocyathus moseleyanus (Sclater) 5, 10 1, 3 - 2 Turbinoliidae sp. - - 1 1 Vaughanella concinna Gravier 5 3 - 2 Total 18 23 12 -