GULF OF MEXICO 



293 



Table 1. — Western Atlantic hermatypic species of corals 

 (F indicates recorded trom Florida; V indicates recorded from Veracrui] 



SUBOJlDER ASTROCOENIIDA 



Family Astro coeniidae 



1. .ls(rocof?iio pectinata Pourtales F 



2. Slephanocoenitt michelini Edwards and Haime 



Seriatoporidae 



3. Madrach decactis (Lyman) F 



ACROPOBIDAE 



4. Acropora cenncoruis (Lamarck) - F 



5. A. pal mat a (Lamarck) FV 



6. A. prolifera (Lamarck) FV 



Suborder FUNOIIDA 



Agariciidae 



7. Agaricia agaricites (Linnaeus) F 



8. A.fragilh Dana - - F 



9. A. tiobitis Verrill F 



Siderastreidae 



10. Siderastrea radians (Pallas) _ F 



n. S. aiderta (Ellis and Solander) FV 



12. S. atellala Verrill 



PORITiriAE 



13. Poriles astreoides Lamarck. FV 



14. P. branneri Rathbun... 



15. P. divarkata LeSueur F 



16. P.furcata Lamarck FV 



17. P. poriles (Pallas) F 



18. P. verrilli Rehberg 



Suborder FAVIIDA 



Favudae 



19. Fnvia con/erta Verrill 



20. F. /rajiim (Esper) F 



21. F. gravida Verrill 



22. F. kptophylla Verrill 



23. Diploria divosa (Ellis and Solander). F 



24. D. labyrinthifoTmis (Linnaeus) FV 



25. D. singosa (Dana) FV 



26. ColpophyUia amarauthus (Muller) F 



27. C Nalans (Muller) F 



28. Majiicina areotata (Linnaeus) F 



29. M. mayori Wells F 



30. Ctadocora arftuscula LeSueur FV 



31. Solenastrea bournoni Edwards and Haime.. F 



32. .S. hyades (Dana) F 



33. Montastrea annularis (Ellis and Solander).. FV 



34. A/, braziliana (Verrill).. .- 



35. M. cavernosa (Linnaeus) FV 



Astranghdae 



36. Astrangia solilarja (LeSueur) F 



OCt'LINIDAE 



37. Oculina diffusa Lamarck __ FV 



38. O. valenciennesi Edwards and Haime 



39. O. varicosa LeSueur F 



Trochosmiuidae 



40. Meandrina m«aHdri/w (Linnaeus) F 



41. M. brasiliensis (Edwards and Haime) F 



42. i)icAococ/)ja sfokf^ii Edwards and Haime F 



43. Dendrogyra cylindrus Ehrenberg... F 



Mussidae 



44. Mussismilia brasiliensis (Verrill) 



45. .\/. harm (Verrill) 



46. Mussa angulosa (Pallas).. F 



47. Isophyllastrea rigida (Dana) F 



48. A/j/ce/opAy/^ia Zamarcfcana (Edwards and Haime) F 



49. Isophyllia sinuosa (Ellis and Solander) F 



50. /. mutti/iora Verrill... F 



Suborder CARYOPHYLLIIDA 



Cartophtluidae 



51. Eusmilia fastigiata (Pallas)... _ F 



The West Indian fauna includes species belong- 

 ing to the Astrocoeniidae, Acroporidae, Agariciidae 

 Siderastreidae, Poritidae, Faviidae, Oculinidae, 



Trochosmiliidac, Mussidae, and Caryopiiylliidae. 

 None of the Fungiidae are represented and onlj' 

 Madracis among the Seriatoporidae. Montipora, 

 Atttreopora, Goniopora, and TrachyphyUia, all of 

 which e.xist as fossils of the Caribbean iXeogene, 

 are now absent. Genera known only to the West 

 Indian fauna are Colpophyllia, Dendrogyra, Mean- 

 drina, Aluasa, Mycetophyllia, Alanicina, Iso- 

 phyllia, hophyllastrea, Eusmilia, Dichocoenia, 

 and Agaricia. All of the West Indian genera 

 occur on the Florida reefs. Their absence from 

 other parts of the Gulf of Mexico must be ascribed 

 to the existence of unfavorable temperature 

 conditions which permit only the more hardy 

 to live there since their presence on the Florida 

 reefs, their known length of larval life, and the 

 existence of favorable currents are sufficient for 

 dispersal throughout the area. 



The ahermatypic corals are much less restricted 

 by geographical boundaries than the hermatypic 

 forms since the required conditions for their 

 existence are widespread throughout the deeper 

 waters of the ocean. The extent of distribution 

 of any species depends partly upon the depth 

 range inasmuch as the deeper the normal habitat, 

 the greater the continuity of suitable environ- 

 ments. On account of the generalized distribution 

 of ahermatypic corals and the lack of adequate 

 surveys of the greater part of the deeper waters 

 of the Gulf of Mexico, it has seemed more useful 

 to provide a list of ahermatypic corals known 

 from the West Indies together with their tempera- 

 ture and depth ranges. It is reasonable to expect 

 that where the proper temperature, depth, and 

 bottom conditions exist in the Gulf, the ap- 

 propriate West Indian species may be found 

 eventually. Existing accounts of Gulf of Mexico 

 corals are mainly confined to those of Pourtales 

 dealing with the deep-water fauna of the Florida 

 Keys and between Dry Tortugas and the 

 Campeche Bank. 



Descriptions of West Indian ahermatypic species 

 are to be found in Agassiz (1888), Pourtales (1868, 

 1871, 1874, 1879, 1880), and Verrill (1883, 1908). 

 A key to Western Atlantic genera is given in Smith 

 (1948). A list of West Indian genera with 

 temperature and depth ranges is given in table 2, 

 compiled from data in Vaughan and Wells (1943). 



