Zootaxa<\/i><\/a>\u00a0and Zoological Studies<\/i>, respectively.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
First new hard coral species discovered
\nand named in Hong Kong in the past two decades<\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
The
\nnew coral species belongs to the genus Tubastraea<\/i>, which is commonly
\nknown as sun coral due to its bright orange polyps (individuals making up the
\ncolony) and the circle of tentacles that surround its mouth. HKBU biologists
\ndiscovered the new species while conducting underwater surveys at the Breaker
\nReef in the eastern waters of Hong Kong in the summer of 2020.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The
\nteam named the coral Tubastraea megacorallita<\/i><\/b>, with “mega<\/i>” and “corallite<\/i>” meaning “big” and “skeletal cup”, respectively. The
\nspecies name reflects the fact that it has the biggest and most structurally
\ncomplex corallite among the eight recognised
\nTubastraea<\/i> species around the world. This species forms small colonies of between
\nthree and 12 polyps, and they share a common calcareous skeleton. <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sun
\ncorals are different from most reef-building corals, as they do not host
\nsymbiotic algae that produce energy via photosynthesis. Instead, these corals
\ngain energy and nutrients by capturing small animals called zooplankton from seawater
\nusing their tentacles. While reef-building corals in Hong Kong typically
\ninhabit shallower waters up to a depth of 10 metres, sun corals live in deeper
\nwaters at a depth of between 10 and 30 metres.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
“Although
\n98 species of hard coral have been recorded in Hong Kong, the last time a new
\ncoral species discovered in Hong Kong waters was in 2000. It is in over around
\n20 years a new hard coral species discovered and named in Hong Kong,” said
\nProfessor Qiu.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Two new nudibranch species <\/b><\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nudibranchs,
\ncommonly known as sea slugs, are gastropod molluscs that only have a shell
\nduring their larval stage. They are eye-catching animals, and they can often be
\nspotted on coral reefs due to their vivid body colour patterns.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The
\nHKBU team also discovered in Hong Kong waters two coral-eating species of
\nnudibranch, both belonging to the genus Phestilla
\n<\/i>that has only nine recognised species prior to these discoveries. <\/i>One of them, named Phestilla
\ngoniophaga<\/i><\/b>, was collected from Sharp Island and Chek Chau. The word <\/i>“goniophaga”<\/i>
\nderives from the name of the host coral, “Goniopora<\/i>“,
\nwhich is commonly known as flowerpot coral, and the Latin word “phaga<\/i>“, which means “eat”. <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
Phestilla goniophaga<\/i> is
\nrather big, and its body is around three centimetres long. It can be
\ndistinguished from other species of the genus by the large number of long
\nfinger-like, brown and white striped projections called cerata, and the white
\nrounded hump on its back. The hump resembles the host coral’s mouth, while the
\ncerata resemble the coral’s tentacles. This mimicry makes it difficult for its
\npotential predators, such as fish, to spot them. Its egg masses, however, are bright
\norange in colour and they can normally be found glued to the coral skeleton.<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The other newly discovered nudibranch
\nspecies is smaller in size, and its
\nbody is less than one centimetre long. It lays eggs and feeds on the tissue of
\nthe leaf coral Pavona decussata<\/i>. It
\nhas a white body with brown stripes and exhibits excellent mimicry against the
\ncolour pattern of its coral host. It was named Phestilla fuscostriata<\/b><\/em>, <\/em>with the species epithet adopting the
\nLatin words “fuscus” <\/em>and “striatus”, <\/em>which mean “brown” and “streaky”.<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
This new species was discovered while culturing
\nthe leaf coral samples collected from Sharp Island during a study of coral
\nbleaching mechanisms. The HKBU team discovered the new nudibranch species and
\nits crescent-shaped white egg masses after noticing the wounds on the coral
\nsurface caused by its feeding. <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
While
\nthe seas around Hong Kong are only 1,651 square kilometres in size, the territory has around
\nsix thousand marine species \u2013 one-quarter of all the marine species recorded in
\nChina. <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
The
\nwork conducted by Professor Qiu’s team highlights the rich biodiversity found in
\nHong Kong, and reflects the urgent need to train local young talent to
\nimplement the Hong Kong Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. <\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"HONG
KONG SAR –\u00a0Media OutReach\u00a0– 25 October 2021 –\u00a0Biologists from
Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) have discovered in Hong Kong waters a new species of hard coral and two new
species of nudibranch, a type of marine mollusc, that have never been
identified anywhere else in the world. The discoveries of new species from these
…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":18328,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[60],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18327"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18327"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18327\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18328"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18327"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18327"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/eodishasamachar.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18327"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/p>\n