Author: Andrew Baird The Ogasawara Archipelago is a group of approximately 30 islands in the northern Pacific. The islands are part of the territory of Japan. The Ogasawara Islands are an important location in terms of taxonomy because they are the type location for nine nominal species. The islands were visited by the US Northern … Continue reading Wonders of Ogasawara Islands
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Coral Taxonomy Workshop 2022
Project Phoenix, funded by the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies at James Cook University, has just completed a Coral Taxonomy Workshop at Orpheus Island Research Station on Goolboddi. The workshop included 13 participants from six different countries, eight different institutions and seven PhD students. The primary aim of the workshop was to produce … Continue reading Coral Taxonomy Workshop 2022
Boninastrea boninensis, Yabe and Sugiyama 1935
Author: Andrew Baird Species: Boninastrea boninensis, Yabe and Sugiyama 1935 This almost mythical coral has only been collected twice according to Corallosphere; once at the type location in the Ogasawara Islands (also known as the Bonin Islands) and once in Indonesia. The Ministry of the Environment in Japan has formally classified it as extinct. The … Continue reading Boninastrea boninensis, Yabe and Sugiyama 1935
Acropora tanegashimensis Veron, 1990
Author: Andrew Baird Species: Acropora tanegashimensis Veron, 1990 Acropora tanegashimensis was named by Veron for a species of table coral from Tanegashima, a subtropical island just south of Kyushu and the site of the northern-most coral reef in Japan. There has long been some confusion as to how to identify this species in the field. The … Continue reading Acropora tanegashimensis Veron, 1990
Ishigaki and the fabled Sekisei lagoon and Kabira Bay
Author: Andrew Baird I have just returned from Ishigaki where I dived in the fabled Sekisei lagoon and close to Kabira Bay (Fig. 1) to track down 10 or so topotypes from the Yaeyama Islands, Japan. My host for this trip was Dr. Go Suzuki who has done great work on the population ecology of … Continue reading Ishigaki and the fabled Sekisei lagoon and Kabira Bay
August 2022 Shikoku and Kyushu
Author: Andrew Baird In August I had the pleasure and privilege of diving with Dr. Takuma Mezaki of the Kuroshio Biological Research Institute on the rocky reefs of Misaki, Japan. The area is the type location for a number of nominal coral species, including Lobophyllia robusta Veron 1990 and Cyphastrea japonica Yabe & Sugiyama, 1932 but the area is … Continue reading August 2022 Shikoku and Kyushu
July 2022 Amami Islands
Author: Andrew Baird Project Phoenix’s hunt for topotypes continued in the magical Amami-Oshima Island in the Ryukyu Archipelago in Japan. In 1856, the ships of the Northern Pacific US exploring expedition anchored in the south of 'Amami-Ousima' (as written in ships log and associated expedition texts) and collected a number of coral specimens that served … Continue reading July 2022 Amami Islands
Coral Bleaching on Ishigaki, Japan, August 2022
The coral assemblages of the north coast of Ishigaki were not overly affected by coral bleaching in 2016 that devastated many reefs in the Yaeyama Islands. The last major disturbance on the north coast of Ishigaki was a crown of thorns outbreak about 12 years ago, according to Dr. Go Suzuki who has been working … Continue reading Coral Bleaching on Ishigaki, Japan, August 2022
The peculiar case of Porites spumosa Lamarck, 1816
Author: Andrew Baird Species: Porites spumosa Lamarck, 1816 Porites spumosa was described by Lamarck in 1816. In his original description, he refers to a drawing in Knorr (1772; Plate 1A, Fig. 4; reproduced in Fig. 1c in present article). Lamarck (1816) also describes details of the specimen that are not apparent in the drawing, so it is likely … Continue reading The peculiar case of Porites spumosa Lamarck, 1816
Acropora teres
Author: Andrew Baird Species: Acropora teres (Verrill 1866) This species has confounded coral researchers for many years. The holotype (Fig. 1a) was collected from Amami-Ousima Island in the Ryukyus Archipelago in Japan in 1856 on the US Northern Pacific Exploring Expedition and described as Madrepora teres by Verrill in 1866. The distinctive features of the species are … Continue reading Acropora teres
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