Australian Biological Resources Study

Australian Faunal Directory

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME) Taxa Classification Guide

Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME) Taxa Classification Guide

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Genus Errina Gray, 1835

Hydrocoral, Lace Coral

Introduction

Errina is listed as a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem indicator taxon. Deep sea reefs are often dominated by a single structural genus and Errina has been identified as a structural component of Antarctic reefs. Three circum-Antarctic species of Errina, E. fissurata Gray, 1872, E. laterorifa Eguchi, 1964, E. antarctica (Gray, 1872), have been collected in the Australian Antarctic Territory (Bax & Cairns, 2014).

Errina fissurata is normally the dominant coral component of the Errina assemblages. However, it is often collected with another orange species, E. laterorifa, and on occasion a white morphotype representing either Inferiolabiata labiata, or E. gracilis (Bax pers. obs.). E. fissurata and E. laterorifa are morphologically similar and often occur in sympatry (Cairns, 1983a, 1983b). These species have very few morphological characters to differentiate them from one another without detailed microscopic examination, and even then some confusion can remain depending on the quality of the preserved sample (Bax pers. obs.). Errina species have been identified as bi-mineralic by Cairns & MacIntyre (1992), with some species containing mostly calcite, while some contain mostly aragonite. Most of the field-forming species in Antarctica have a calcite mineralogy (Cairns & MacIntyre, 1992; Riddle pers. com.).

 

Distribution

Other Regions

Australian Antarctic Territory

Distribution References

Ecological Descriptors

Hydroid and medusa stages: colonial (host(s): polychaete worm; Pedicularia sea snail).

 

History of changes

Note that this list may be incomplete for dates prior to September 2013.
Published As part of group Action Date Action Type Compiler(s)
HYDROZOA Owen, 1843 30-Jun-2017 ADDED Dr Narissa Bax