Dr. Stephen D. A. Smith, Australien
Info
Coral-boring bivalves of the genus Lithophaga Röding, 1798 are commonly observed in association with a variety of coral species.
Because of their ability to bore into coral skeletons, lithophagous bivalves are important contributors to bioerosion in many reef environments.
In contrast to predictions based on studies of low-latitude reefs, where densities are higher near shore, they increased with distance from shore, such as densities at Heron Island and an order of magnitude higher than at Solitary Islands Marine Park.
A host of the date mussel known in New South Wales, southeast coast of Australia, is the stony coral Pocillopora damicornis.
Studies showed that robust colonies with few branches provide less suitable settlement sites for larvae and thus host fewer Leiosolenus lessepsianus than colonies with the same displacement volume but a more branched morphology (i.e., higher volume ratio).
In addition to Pocillopora damicornis, other host corals of this clam borer include the following species:
Danafungia horrida
Halomitra pileus
Herpolitha limax
Lithophyllon undulatum
For details see under further links in "The mushroom coral as a habitat"
and Stylophora pistillata (see Strahler Ordering Analyses on Branching Coral Canopies: Stylophora pistillata as a Case Study).
Leiosolenus lessepsianus is also observed in symbiosis with a sipunculid worm, as a worm as it is in the Wandering Coral,
Heteropsammia cochlea.
See this: http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_summary/heteropsammia-cochlea/
Similar species: Leiosolenus simplex
Unfortunately, an initial description of the species has not been documented, and the occurrence of the borer shell is not yet fully known.
Etymology:
The species name "lessepsianus" refers to its distribution in both the Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, as the species migrated from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, a process known as the "lessepsian migration".
Synonyms:
Lithodomus lessepsianus Vaillant, 1865.
Lithophaga (Leiosolenus) lessepsiana (Vaillant, 1865)
Lithophaga lessepsiana (Vaillant, 1865)
Because of their ability to bore into coral skeletons, lithophagous bivalves are important contributors to bioerosion in many reef environments.
In contrast to predictions based on studies of low-latitude reefs, where densities are higher near shore, they increased with distance from shore, such as densities at Heron Island and an order of magnitude higher than at Solitary Islands Marine Park.
A host of the date mussel known in New South Wales, southeast coast of Australia, is the stony coral Pocillopora damicornis.
Studies showed that robust colonies with few branches provide less suitable settlement sites for larvae and thus host fewer Leiosolenus lessepsianus than colonies with the same displacement volume but a more branched morphology (i.e., higher volume ratio).
In addition to Pocillopora damicornis, other host corals of this clam borer include the following species:
Danafungia horrida
Halomitra pileus
Herpolitha limax
Lithophyllon undulatum
For details see under further links in "The mushroom coral as a habitat"
and Stylophora pistillata (see Strahler Ordering Analyses on Branching Coral Canopies: Stylophora pistillata as a Case Study).
Leiosolenus lessepsianus is also observed in symbiosis with a sipunculid worm, as a worm as it is in the Wandering Coral,
Heteropsammia cochlea.
See this: http://www.coralsoftheworld.org/species_factsheets/species_factsheet_summary/heteropsammia-cochlea/
Similar species: Leiosolenus simplex
Unfortunately, an initial description of the species has not been documented, and the occurrence of the borer shell is not yet fully known.
Etymology:
The species name "lessepsianus" refers to its distribution in both the Red Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, as the species migrated from the Red Sea into the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, a process known as the "lessepsian migration".
Synonyms:
Lithodomus lessepsianus Vaillant, 1865.
Lithophaga (Leiosolenus) lessepsiana (Vaillant, 1865)
Lithophaga lessepsiana (Vaillant, 1865)
