WoRMS

Scleractinia taxon details

Merulina Ehrenberg, 1834

Syntype of Merulina scabricula Dana

AphiaID

206610 (urn:lsid:marinespecies.org:taxname:206610)

Classification

Status

accepted

Rank

Genus

Typetaxon

Madrepora ampliata Ellis & Solander, 1786 accepted as Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) (type by original designation)

Typetaxon of

Merulinidae Verrill, 1866
Merulinidae Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857

Parent

Merulinidae Milne Edwards & Haime, 1857

Original name

Merulina Ehrenberg, 1834

Synonymised names

Clavarina Verrill, 1864 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym

Paraclavarina Veron, 1985 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym

Scapophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848 · unaccepted > junior subjective synonym

Direct children (24)

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Species Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786)
Species Merulina amplita (Ellis & Solander, 1786) accepted as Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) (unaccepted > misspelling - incorrect subsequent spelling)
Species Merulina crispa Dana, 1846 accepted as Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina cylindrica (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849)
Species Merulina cylindricus (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) accepted as Merulina cylindrica (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) (unaccepted > misspelling - incorrect original spelling)
Species Merulina folium (Lamarck, 1816) accepted as Hydnophora exesa (Pallas, 1766) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina isseli (Prever, 1922) †
Species Merulina laxa Dana, 1846 accepted as Hydnophora rigida (Dana, 1846) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina lobata (Studer, 1880) (uncertain > taxon inquirendum)
Species Merulina menzelensis (Chevalier, 1962) †
Species Merulina prolifera Quelch, 1886 accepted as Hydnophora rigida (Dana, 1846) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina ramosa Milne Edwards & Haime, 1851 accepted as Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina regalis Dana, 1846 accepted as Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina rigida Dana, 1846 accepted as Hydnophora rigida (Dana, 1846) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym, basionym)
Species Merulina rotunda Nemenzo, 1959
Species Merulina scabricula Dana, 1846
Species Merulina scheeri Head, 1983
Species Merulina sheeri Head, 1983 accepted as Merulina scheeri Head, 1983 (unaccepted > misspelling - incorrect subsequent spelling)
Species Merulina sinuosa (Lamarck, 1816) (uncertain > taxon inquirendum)
Species Merulina speciosa Dana, 1846 accepted as Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina studeri Bedot, 1907 accepted as Merulina cylindrica (Milne Edwards & Haime, 1849) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)
Species Merulina togianensis Umbgrove, 1940 (uncertain > taxon inquirendum)
Species Merulina triangularis (Veron & Pichon, 1980)
Species Merulina vaughani Van der Horst, 1921 accepted as Merulina ampliata (Ellis & Solander, 1786) (unaccepted > junior subjective synonym)

Environment

marine, ~~fresh~~, ~~terrestrial~~

Fossil range

recent + fossil

Original description

Ehrenberg, C. G. (1834). Beiträge zur physiologischen Kenntniss der Corallenthiere im allgemeinen, und besonders des rothen Meeres, nebst einem Versuche zur physiologischen Systematik derselben. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin. 1: 225-380., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29725862 [details]

Descriptive notes

Description 'Fere pedalis, frondibus liberis, subflabellatis, e ramulis coalitis dichotome colliculatis, collibus lamelloso-serratis,...

Description 'Fere pedalis, frondibus liberis, subflabellatis, e ramulis coalitis dichotome colliculatis, collibus lamelloso-serratis, asperrimis, vix lineam altis, stellis in seriebus dichotomis saepe confluentibus positis, sulcis lineam latis, parietibus turgidis, 2''' distantibus.' (Ehrenberg, 1834: 328) [details]

Taxonomic citation

Hoeksema, B. W.; Cairns, S. (2024). World List of Scleractinia. Merulina Ehrenberg, 1834. Accessed at: https://www.marinespecies.org/scleractinia/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=206610 on 2024-11-09

Taxonomic edit history

Date

action

1997-02-03 14:17:27Z

created

Vanden Berghe, Edward

2000-07-18 15:57:33Z

changed

Vanden Berghe, Edward

2006-09-25 06:54:45Z

changed

Martinez, Olga

2013-09-07 20:44:15Z

changed

Hoeksema, Bert

2019-10-12 13:55:21Z

changed

Hoeksema, Bert

2021-04-28 05:39:27Z

changed

Hoeksema, Bert

2022-05-15 06:23:49Z

changed

Hoeksema, Bert

2022-11-25 10:16:10Z

changed

Hoeksema, Bert

[taxonomic tree]

original description Ehrenberg, C. G. (1834). Beiträge zur physiologischen Kenntniss der Corallenthiere im allgemeinen, und besonders des rothen Meeres, nebst einem Versuche zur physiologischen Systematik derselben. Abhandlungen der Königlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Berlin. 1: 225-380., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/29725862 [details]

original description (of Paraclavarina Veron, 1985) Veron JEN. (1985). New Scleractinia from Australian coral reefs. Records of the Western Australian Museum. 12: 147-183. [details]

original description (of Clavarina Verrill, 1864) Verrill, A. E. (1864). List of the polyps and corals sent by the Museum of Comparative Zoology to other institutions in exchange, with annotations. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 1: 29-60., available online at https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/6587563 [details]

original description (of Scapophyllia Milne Edwards & Haime, 1848) Milne Edwards, H.; Haime, J. (1848). Note sur la classification de la deuxième tribu de la famille des Astréides. Comptes rendus hebdomadaires des séances de l'Académie des sciences, Paris. 27: 490–497., available online at https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.part.29692 [details]

basis of record Veron JEN. (1986). Corals of Australia and the Indo-Pacific. Angus & Robertson Publishers. [details]

additional source Neave, Sheffield Airey. (1939-1996). Nomenclator Zoologicus vol. 1-10 Online. [Online Nomenclator Zoologicus at Checklistbank. Ubio link has gone]. , available online at https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/126539/about [details]

additional source Randall RH. (2003). An annotated checklist of hydrozoan and scleractinian corals collected from Guam and other Mariana Islands. Micronesica. 35-36: 121-137.
page(s): 134 [details]

additional source Veron JEN, Pichon M. (1980). Scleractinia of Eastern Australia – Part III. Family Agariciidae, Siderastreidae, Fungiidae, Oculinidae, Merulinidae, Mussidae, Pectinidae, Caryophyllidae, Dendrophylliidae. Australian Institute of Marine Science Monograph Series. 4: 1-459. [details]

additional source Veron JEN. (2000). Corals of the World. Vol. 1–3. Australian Institute of Marine Science and CRR, Queensland, Australia. [details]

additional source Budd AF, Fukami H, Smith ND, Knowlton N. (2012). Taxonomic classification of the reef coral family Mussidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 166 (3): 465-529., available online at https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1096-3642.2012.00855.x [details]

additional source Matthai G. (1928). A Monograph of the Recent meandroid Astraeidae. Catalogue of the Madreporarian Corals in the British Museum (Natural History). 7: 1-288, pls. 1-72. [details] Available for editors

additional source Huang D, Benzoni F, Fukami H, Knowlton N, Smith ND, Budd AF (2014) Taxonomic classification of the reef coral families Merulinidae, Montastraeidae, and Diploastraeidae (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Scleractinia). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 171: 277–355. [details]

additional source Duncan PM (1884) A revision of the families and genera of the sclerodermic Zoantharia, Ed. & H., or Madreporaria (M. Rugosa excepted). Journal of the Linnean Society of London, 18: 1-204. [details]

additional source Khalil HM, Fathy MS, Al Sawy SM. (2021). Quaternary corals (Scleractinia: Merulinidae) from the Egyptian and Saudi Arabian Red Sea Coast. Geological Journal. , available online at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/gj.4145?af=R [details]

additional source Dunn, D. F. (1982). Cnidaria. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York and other cities., volume 1, pp. 669-706
page(s): 702 [details]

Present

Inaccurate

Introduced: alien

Containing type locality

From editor or global species database

Comparison Only one synapomorphy has been found for Merulina: septa in < 3 cycles (< 24 septa). It shares all other analyzed characters with Scapophyllia. The loss of epitheca and sparse endotheca occur at the base of the Merulina + Scapophyllia clade on the morphology tree, and all subcorallite character transitions occur at or before the most recent common ancestor of Merulina, Scapophyllia and Goniastrea. They are therefore plesiomorphic with respect to Merulina. Examination of the type material of Merulina scheeri at the Natural History Museum, London, suggests that this species shares all macromorphological characters with the other species in the genus, except for a thick thecal structure on the underside of the corallum. While the number of septa often exceeds 24, they clearly form two alternating cycles and the lower range is under 24. With its molecular phylogenetic affinity unknown, we hereby preserve its generic placement. [details]

Diagnosis Colonial, with intracalicular budding only. Corallites monomorphic and uniserial; monticules absent. Walls fused. Calice width small (< 4 mm), with low relief (< 3 mm). Costosepta confluent. Septa in < 3 cycles (< 24 septa). Free septa present but irregular. Septa spaced 6–11 septa per 5 mm. Costosepta equal in relative thickness. Columellae trabecular but compact (1–3 threads), < 1/4 of calice width, and continuous among adjacent corallites. Paliform (uniaxial) lobes well developed. Epitheca absent and endotheca sparse. Tooth base at mid-calice circular. Tooth tip at mid-calice irregular; tip orientation perpendicular to septum. Tooth height low (< 0.3 mm) and tooth spacing narrow (< 0.3 mm), with > 6 teeth per septum. Granules scattered on septal face; irregular in shape. Interarea palisade. Walls formed by strong abortive septa and partial septotheca; trabeculothecal elements may be present. Thickening deposits fibrous. Costa center clusters weak; < 0.3 mm between clusters; medial lines weak. Septum center clusters weak; < 0.3 mm between clusters; medial lines weak. Transverse crosses absent. Columella centers clustered. [details]

Remark The genus was first described as part of the family Daedalina Ehrenberg 1834: 315, and subsequently Astraeidae Dana, 1846: 154, which incorporated a diversity of genera including Lobophyllia de Blainville, 1830: 321, Favia Milne Edwards and Haime, 1857, vol. 2: 426, and Mycedium Milne Edwards and Haime, 1851, vol. 15: 130. The designation of Merulina as the type of Merulinidae Verrill, 1865, was unclear since the family name was only listed and not defined (Verrill, 1865: 146), but this had thereafter been assumed. Even as Daedalina's constituent genera were redistributed into newly-erected families such as Mussidae Ortmann, 1890: 315, Faviidae Gregory, 1900: 29, Trachyphylliidae Verrill, 1901: 84, and Pectiniidae Vaughan and Wells, 1943: 196, the placement of Merulina remained ambiguous according to some authors (Vaughan, 1918; Hoffmeister, 1925), while Hickson (1924), Faustino (1927) and Matthai (1928) continued to recognize Dana's (1846) Astraeidae. The separation of Merulina from Faviidae Gregory, 1900, was only complete in the comprehensive treatise by Vaughan and Wells (1943). Molecular data supports Merulina as nested within the largest clade of Goniastrea but the latter is not monophyletic as it minimally excludes G. aspera and G. palauensis (Fukami et al., 2004, 2008; Kitahara et al., 2010; Huang et al., 2011; Huang 2012; Arrigoni et al., 2012). In contrast, the morphological tree supports Merulina as sister taxon to Scapophyllia, which together are sister group to the main clade of Goniastrea that includes G. retiformis, its type species. [details]

Unreviewed

Remark Type species: Madrepora ampliata Ellis & Solander, 1786 (Veron, 1986). [details]

Definitions

[show lower level...]

Language	Name
English	pillar coral [from synonym]night-blooming Australogyra [from synonym]lettuce coralhorn coral [from synonym]cabbage coralbrain coral [from synonym]	[details]
Japanese	サザナミサンゴ属オオサザナミサンゴ属 [from synonym]	[details]