PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS MADE BY MR. S. HAMAHIRA ON THE GROWTH OF A GIANT COLONY OF THE MADREPORARIAN CORAL PAVONA FRONDIFERA LAMARCK, FOUND IN A COVE ON THE SOUTHWESTERN COAST OF SIKOKU ISLAND

摘要

This paper is to introduce preliminarily the observations of Mr. Sei-ichi HAMAHIRA made on the growth of a giant colony of the madreporarian coral found in MinokosiWan, a cove of Tatugusi Bay on the southwestern coast of Sikoku Island, Japan. Tatugusi Bay is located 16.2 km west-northwest of Cape Asizuri, the southwest point of Sikoku Island, and famous for its attractive sights along the coast line and also for the coral fauna on the sea floor, which is evidently remarkable for so high latitudinal situation of the bay. Minokosi-Wan is a small cove located on the west shore and near the tip of Cape Tihiro-Misaki embracing the east ofTatugusi Bay, approximately at 32°46'18"N × 132°52'14"E. The cove is about 360 m wide at the maximum, about 300m from the mouth to the head, and with 800 m coast line; the mouth is about 100m wide. The water is 4 to 5 m deep. The colony of the coral referred to in this paper is identified by Prof. M. EGUCHI of Tohoku University as Pavona frondifera LAMARCK, as carinae are more developed and septa are more numerous in this than in P. decussata DANA. The colony is situated, as shown in Text-fig.1D, along the northern coast of the cove, which is extended roughly from the west to the east.