366 
S.D. Caims 
The specimens on which this study was based 
originated primarily from the collections of the 
Western Australian Museum; however, additional 
Western Australian corals were studied from the 
NTM, SAM, NMV, AMS, and NMNH. In addition, 
the historical collection reported by Folkeson (1919) 
was borrowed from the SMNH. Approximately 
1725 specimens from 333 stations (many listed in 
Appendix) were used in the study. From this 
material, additional specimens of 98 of the 105 
known Western Australian azooxanthellate species 
were obtained (Table 1). Seventy of the 105 species 
known from Western Australia are new records for 
the state (Table 1, * and *’), 57 of which are new 
records for Australia (Table 1, **). 
Synonymies are intended to be complete only for 
Australian records; otherwise, a reference is 
included that contains a description of the species 
and a fuller synonymy. Only new and previously 
poorly-known species are described and figured, 
as well as those that show unusual variation or are 
of doubtful identity. The scanning electron 
photomicrographs were taken by the author on an 
Hitachi S-570. In cases in which specimens lacked 
sufficient contrast for conventional photography, 
the corallum was stained with black cloth dye and 
coated with a thin layer of sublimed ammonium 
chloride. 
A station list to all specimens reported follows 
the Reference section, except for localities listed as 
"other records" in the species accounts, which are 
given in full where listed. 
ZOOGEOGRAPHY/DISTRIBUTION 
Many authors (summarized in Wilson and Allen 
1987; Morgan and Wells 1991) now recognize two 
marine biogeographic provinces for Western 
Australia: a Northern Australian Tropical Province 
and a Southern Australian Warm Temperate 
Province, with a broad overlap zone extending 
from North West Cape to as far south as Rottnest 
Island or even Cape Leeuwin. In a comprehensive 
analysis of shallow-water reef corals, Veron and 
Marsh (1988) and Veron (1995) suggested that the 
southern boundary of the tropical coral province 
extends to the Houtman Abrolhos Islands offshore 
but slightly more northerly on the mainland, i.e. 
Port Gregory. This cross shelf discrepancy is due 
to the offshore position of the warm, southward 
flowing Leeuwin Current and the coastal position 
of the colder, northward flowing Leeuwin 
Countercurrent (Hutchins 1994: 32). Veron (1993 
and 1995) has shown that the number of reef corals 
dramatically drops from 201 at the Houtman 
Abrolhos Islands to 36 or less at and south of Port 
Gregory. It is acknowledged that many of the 
Western Australian azooxanthellate corals (which 
have a depth range of 0-1011 m, 46 of which are 
found exclusively deeper than 200 m) are outside 
the influence of tire Leeuwin Current are thus not 
subject to the same physical conditions as the 
inshore benthic fauna on which most 
zoogeographic conclusions have been based. And, 
according to Wilson and Allen (1987:43): "There is 
very little information available on the benthic 
fauna of the continental shelf and beyond". 
Nonetheless, the distributional patterns and 
affinities of azooxanthellate corals are remarkably 
similar to those of shallow-water faunas, as shown 
below. For the purpose of scoring Tables 1-2 and 
further zoogeographic discussion, the boundaries 
between the tropical and warm temperate 
provinces suggested by Veron and Marsh (1988) 
are used: the Houtman Abrolhos Islands (offshore) 
and Port Gregory (coastal). 
Tropical West Australian Fauna.-As reviewed by 
Wilson and Allen (1987) and Morgan and Wells 
(1991), the northwestern coast of Western Australia 
is one of the southern extensions of the large Indo- 
West Pacific tropical realm. Of the 105 Western 
Australian azooxanthellate species, 87 (Table 1: 
column 4) are known from the Northern Australian 
Tropical Province, 69 (Table 2: patterns 1A-E) of 
which are considered to be restricted to tropical 
Table 2 Categorization of Distribution Patterns and 
Number of Species among the Western 
Australian Azooxanthellate Scleractinia. 
Species characterizations listed in Table 1 
(Four species not scored). 
1. Species restricted to tropical regions (69 species): 
A. Circumtropical in distribution or very 
widespread, including lndo-West Pacific and 
eastern Pacific and sometimes Atlantic Ocean: 6 
species. 
B. Found throughout tropical lndo-West Pacific, 
sometimes including the Ryukyu Islands, 
Kermadec and Norfolk Islands, Northern 
Territory and Queensland, and sometimes 
Hawaiian Islands: 23 species. 
C. Found throughout Western Pacific: 29 species. 
D. Amphi-Indian Ocean: 2 species. 
E. Endemic to Western Australia (Northern 
Australian Tropical Province): 9 species. 
2. Species that occur in tropical and warm temperate 
regions (20 species): 
A. Species with a distribution beyond that of 
Western Australia: 19 species. 
B. Endemic to western coast of Western Australia: 1 
species. 
3. Species endemic to temperate regions (12 species): 
A. Temperate southern Australia only (Southern 
Australian Warm Temperate Province): 11 
species. 
B. Temperate southern Australia and South Africa: 
1 species. 
