Author: Andrew Baird The Exmouth Navy Pier is often ranked as one of the 10 best shore dive sites, famous for its fish life and invertebrates such as nudibranchs, octopus, and harlequin shrimp. However, what it is not so well known for its corals, indeed, about 5 minutes into our dive I thought I had … Continue reading Corals of the Exmouth Navy Pier
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Red Sea Acropora Workshop at Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
Most of the Australia based contingent of Project Phoenix (PP) has just returned from a workshop on the taxonomy of the Red Sea Acropora hosted by Professor Francesca Benzoni of the Red Sea Research Center at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia. The primary aim of the workshop was to revisit the status … Continue reading Red Sea Acropora Workshop at Red Sea Research Center, King Abdullah University of Science and Technology
The Coral Fauna of Aceh, Indonesia
Author: Andrew Baird Andrew Baird has recently returned from a research trip to Aceh, Indonesia. The aims of the trip were to present some of Project Phoenix’s results to colleagues at Syiah Kuala University (Universitas Syiah Kuala; USK) in Banda Aceh and to curate the coral specimens collected on previous trips to Aceh. The results … Continue reading The Coral Fauna of Aceh, Indonesia
Wonders of Ogasawara Islands
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
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
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