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Corals in the Saudi Arabian Gulf Area
Pocilloporidae
Pocillopora damicornis (L)
Stylophora pistillata Esper
Astrocoeniidae
Madracis kirbyi Veron and Pichon
Plate 5.45 Coral grouper, Cephalopholis hemistiktos .
Acroporidae
Montipora circumvallata (Ehrenberg) **
Montipora spumosa (Lamarck)*
Acropora clathrata (Brook)
Acropora pharaonis (Edwards and Haime)
Acropora valenciennesi (Edwards and Haime)
Acropora horrida (Dana)
Acropora downingi Wallace
Poritidae
Porites compressa Dana
Porites lutea Edwards & Haime
Porites murrayensis Vaughn*
Porites nodifera Klunzinger
Porites harrisoni Veron
Plate 5.46 Psammocora sp.
Siderastreidae
Siderastrea savignyana Edwards and Haime
Pseudosiderastrea tayamai Yabe and Sugiyama
Anomastrea irregularis Marenzeller
Psammocora haimeana Edwards and Haime
Psammocora contigua (Esper)
Coscinaraea monile (Forskål)
Agariciidae
Pavona cactus (Forskål)
Pavona diffluens (Lamarck)
Pavona explanulata (Lamarck)
Pavona varians (Verrill)
Pectiniidae
Echinophyllia aspera (Ellis and Solander)
Mussidae
Blastomussa merleti Wells
Acanthastrea echinata (Dana)
Plate 5.47 Platygyra coral.
Merulinidae
Hydnophora exesa (Pallas)
Faviidae
Favia favus (Forskål)
Favia pallida (Dana)
Favia speciosa Dana*
Favites chinensis (Verrill)
Favites pentagona (Esper)
Platygyra daedalea (Ellis & Solander)
Platygyra sinensis (Edwards & Haime)
Plesiastrea versipora (Lamarck)
Leptastrea inaequalis Klunzinger*
Leptastrea purpurea (Dana)
Leptastrea transversa Klunzinger
Cyphastrea micropthalma (Lamarck)
Cyphastrea serialia (Forskål)
Plate 5.48 Soft coral, Goniopora djiboutensis.
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Plate 5.49 Porites coral.
Rhizangiidae
Culicia rubeola (Quoy and Gaimard)
Caryophylliidae
Paracyathus sp Edwards & Haime
Heterocyathus aequicostatus Edwards and Haime
Dendrophylliidae
Tubastraea aurea (Quoy and Gaimard)
Turbinaria mesenterina (Lamarck)
Turbinaria peltata (Esper)
Psammoseris sp Edwards and Haime
The following are listed in Veron’s distribution
diagrams as occurring in the Arabian Gulf.
Conditions in the extreme East of the Gulf and
Musandam are more favorable for corals than
locations further West (such as Saudi Arabia).
While several of these are possible for Saudi
Arabia, especially in the offshore islands, most
have no confirmed records.
Pocillopora verrucosa (Ellis and Solander)
Seriatopora subseriata (Ehrenberg)
Seriatopora caliendrum Ehrenberg
Montipora foliosa (Pallas)
Montipora aequituberculata Bernard
Montipora monasteriata (Forskål)
Montipora tuberculosa (Lamarck)
Montiopora efflorescens Bernard
Montipora mollis Bernard
Montipora venosa (Ehrenberg)
Montipora verrucosa (Lamarck)
Acropora nasuta (Dana)
Acropora valida (Dana)
Astreopora expansa Bruggemann
Astreopora myriophthalma (Lamarck)
Stylocoeniella guentheri Basset Smith
Madracis kirbyi Veron and Pichon
Porites solida (Forskål)
Porites lobata Dana
Porites lichen Dana
Gonopora djiboutiensis Vaughan
Goniopora lobata Milne Edwards & Haime
Goniopora columna Dana
Goniopora somaliensis Vaughan
Goniopora tenuidens (Quelch)
Coscinaraea columna (Dana)
Pavona fromdifera (Lamarck)
Pavona venosa (Ehrenberg)
Pavona decussata (Dana)
Pavona duerdeni Vaughan
Leptoseris solida (Quelch)
Leptoseris mycetoseroides Wells
Leptoseris foliosa Dinesen
Gardinoseris planulata (Dana)
Galaxea fasicularis (L)
Cycloseris curvata (Hoeksema)
Oxypora lacera (Verrill)
Acanthastrea maxima Sheppard and Salm
Symphyllia radians Milne Edwards and Haime
Symphyllia agaricia Milne Edwards and Haime
Hydnophora microconos (Lamarck)
Favia rotumana (Gardiner)
Favites abdita (Ellis and Solander)
Favites complanata (Ehrenberg)
Platygyra lamellina (Ehrenberg)
Leptoria phrygia (Ellis and Solander)
Parasimplastrea sheppardi Veron
Echinopora lamellosa (Esper)
Echinopora gemmacea Lamarck
Euphyllia glabrescens (Chamisso and Eysenhardt)
Physogyra lichensteini (Milne Edwards and Haime)
Turbinaria reniformis Bernard
Heteropsammia cochlea (Splenger)
* Records from Burchard but not from Sheppard & Sheppard
** listed previously but doubtful
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Special aspects to Gulf reefs
There are several important constraints on reef development in the Gulf. The coral reefs in the Arabian
Gulf are unique in that they are made up of coral species (e.g., Acropora clathrata, Porites cf. compressa,
P. nodifera, Cyphastrea microphthalma, Platygyra daedalea, and Siderastrea savignyana) capable
of withstanding wide fluctuations in temperature and high salinities, sometimes greater than 45‰
(Kinsman, 1964; Shinn, 1976; Coles, 1988; Sheppard and Sheppard, 1991; KFUPM/RI 1988, 1990). They
are routinely exposed to annual ranges of temperature that exceed the temperature extremes reported
for the same coral species in any other reef area in the world (Coles, 1988; Coles and Fadlallah, 1991).
While remarkable in itself, this does mean that the diversity of corals on them and the general abundance
of reefs themselves, is greatly restricted. On the other hand, this does greatly add to their scientific interest.
Other physical conditions that affect coral reef distribution, structure, and composition include
sedimentation, tidal action, and light (Basson, et al., 1977; IUCN, 1988; KFUPM/RI, 1990). The extreme
nature of these physical conditions is the greatest limiting factor of coral reef growth, distribution, and
species diversity in the region (Basson, et al., 1977; IUCN, 1988). Because these conditions are more
severe bordering the mainland, the majority of the coral reefs occur on offshore islands (Basson, et al.,
1977; Coles, 1988; IUCN, 1988).
High rates of sedimentation in areas of silty substrate limit coral reef distribution by burying the coral
polyps that are needed for filter feeding. The effect of tidal action on coral reefs is reflected in reef structure
and species composition (Basson, et al., 1977; Sheppard, et al., 1992). Coral reefs growing on the leeward
side of islands typically are steep and vertically compressed; whereas reefs located on the windward side
are gradually sloping (Basson, et al., 1977). Light availability plays an important role in coral reef formation.
Offshore in the Arabian Gulf, 15-18 meters is the depth limit for continuous coral cover. Where the water
is more turbid, for example along the mainland, the depth limit is 10 meters or less (Basson, et al., 1977).
This depth limit is due to the light requirement of hermatypic (i.e., true reef forming) corals.
Plate 5.50 Sea anemone (Phylum Cnidaria).
Plate 5.51 Red coral crab.
Plate 5.52 Pharaon cuttlefishes, Sepia pharaonis
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Plate 5.53 Oyster, Family Pectinidae.
Oyster Beds
Pearl oysters have been fished in the Gulf since ancient times and in the past have been an important
component of the economy of the areas in which they occurred, which are primarily the areas along
the Arabian side. Wellstead (1838) estimated that at his time of writing (1838), and at the height of each
season, over 30.000 people were employed in the collection of oysters for their pearls. By the late 1800s,
over 80.000 people were engaged in pearling in the Gulf in one way or another, and an inevitable collapse
from over collection then occurred. The year 1917 was the peak for the increasingly industrialized pearling
industry, a time which also coincided with the success of the cultured pearl from Japan.
Plate 5.54 Oyster in rocks.
Plate 5.55 Oyster in sand.
Their biology is unusual for bivalve molluscs, because other species of oysters usually form dense reefs,which
themselves produce substantial carbonate structures, this is not exactly the case for Pearl oysters which,
when mature, live on hard substrates in a more scattered, dispersed way. There are several species present
in the region but two are the mainstay of the pearl fishery in the Gulf: Pinctada margaritifera and Pinctada
radiata. Pearl oysters are a little unusual in that, while most hard substrate dwelling bivalves remain
attached to the same substrate throughout life (unlike several soft substrate species which can flap their
valves and move), pearl oysters are capable of some movement when young. In the Western Gulf,
settlement of juveniles takes place mainly into seagrass beds in late spring and they also attach in large
numbers onto macroalgae, especially onto the large brown algae. On blades of these plants they may be
seen in enormously high densities in the form of small but expanding white discs, and they remain on
the algae or in the seagrass beds until they are about 5 mm diameter. When the algae or seagrass die
they may attach to other living blades or fronds, until eventually they migrate or are tumbled down the
slopes into deeper water where they then attach to hard substrates for the rest of their adult lives. There
they grow until mature or until collected.
Reasons for the decline in the natural pearls include a mass mortality from unknown causes which
wiped out most of the stock in the late 1960s (Head, 1987), over collecting and, of course competition
with cultured pearls from other countries. Nevertheless, pearl fishing has long been part of the
heritage and culture of several countries of the Arabian Gulf which have, therefore, taken steps to
preserve this tradition.
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Muddy and Sandy Substrates
Muddy substrates and sandy patches occupy the greater part of the Gulf,
mostly below about 6-7 m depth. The coarsest sands and rubble are
commonly seen at the foot of reefs and in areas where strong local currents
cause sorting of particle size. These habitats support a much lower diversity
than do coral reefs but may have an equally high productivity from those species
which are found there. In areas where light is sufficient, mostly shallower
than 6-7 m depth, there may be substantial seagrass beds, but in deeper water,
where light is too dim to support seagrass, secondary productivity is dominant
and high. Depending on the coarseness of the grain size, oxygen may not
penetrate deeper than a very thin surface film. In sand, the oxygenated layer
may penetrate several centimeters deep but in finer mud this is reduced to as
little as 1- 2 mm.
In general, the deeper the water the finer will be the particles making up the
soft sediments, but there are some striking examples in the Gulf where sand
deposits occur at considerable depths, at least 30 m, which occur partly
because of their proximity to sources of sand, such as reefs, and partly because
of strong currents which occur around them. Likewise mud may occur in
shallow water, for example adjacent to large muddy tidal flats.
Where there is sufficient light there is usually a film of photosynthesizing
microalgae on it: diatoms and blue-greens (cyanophytes) which contribute
substantial primary production and commonly nitrogen fixation as well.
Where light is insufficient, no photosynthesis occurs, and the rain of plankton
from the water column above together with organic material brought by
currents, provide the primary food source for the sometimes very abundant
animal life. Polychaetes worms, crustaceans, molluscs and echinoderms may
be locally very abundant. In many areas the dominant species are burrowing
forms, such as sand dollars and heart urchins, both of which are echinoderms.
Many animals in this area are tiny such as one kind of small clam which may
be little bigger than the sand grains it occupies. Others burrow forming
tunnels and chambers, whose excavations form small mounds or “volcanoes”
covering the seabed. On muddy substrates, bivalves, such as cockles, may live
in high density, as do many vast communities of brittle stars.
Because of the very high densities of animals that can be found on such
substrates, coupled with the fact that these provide substantial food sources for
many other species including fish which are of direct interest to humans, it is
a mistake to consider the muddy and sandy deeper substrates as being any less
important in an ecological sense than the more spectacular shallow systems. They
are by no means less important in the total ecosystem of the Gulf. The area of
such habitats is vast in comparison to reefs and seagrass areas. These habitats
have sometimes been commonly neglected in environmental assessments, for
example, perhaps because they are not as attractive or obviously productive
as other Gulf benthic habitats, but they are at least as important and provide
much of the foundation for the marine life of the Gulf. It is the sum of all
these components, hard substrate and soft, which contribute to the rich and
integrated ecosystems of the Arabian Gulf.
Plate 5.56 Muddy and sandy substrate in Jubail.
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Plate 5.58 Coral grouper, Cephalopholis hemistiktos.
Plate 5.59 Cardinalfish, Apogon sp.
Plate 5.57 Round coral, Acropora sp.
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Plate 5.60 Stone crab, Carpilus convexus.
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Plate 5.61 Moon wrasse, Thalassoma lunare.
Plate 5.62 Blackspotted rubberlip, Plectorhinchus gaterinus.
Plate 5.63 Persian cardinalfish, Cheilodipterus persicus.
Plate 5.64 Red Sea Surgeonfish, Acanthurus shoal.
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Plate 5.65 Wrasse fish occur over coral reefs.
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Plate 5.66 Coral grouper, Cephalopholis hemistiktos.
Plate 5.67 Sebae clown fish, Amphiprion sebae, resting on sea anemone tentacle tips.
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Plate 5.68 Lionfish, Pterios miles, Arabic “Deesh”.
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Plate 5.69 Pharaon cuttlefish, Sepia pharaonis.
Plate 5.70 Spotted sole fish.
Plate 5.71 Hermit crab.
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Plate 5.72 Arabian butterfly fish, Chaetodon melapterus.
Plate 5.73 Black-spotted butterfly fish, Chaetodon nigropunctatus and a lined wrasse.
Plate 5.74 Grouper, Subfamily: Epinephelinae, Family: Serranidae.
Plate 5.75 Sebae clown fish, Amphiprion sebae.
Plate 5.76 Yellowbar angel fish, Pomacanthus maculosus.
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Plate 5.77 Sea Star, Pentaceratser regulus.
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Map 5.1 Subtidal Habitats of the Northern Region.
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Map 5.2 Subtidal Habitats of the Southern Region.
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Map 5.3 Subtidal Habitats of the Tanajib-Manifa Embayment.
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Map 5.4 Subtidal Habitats of Tarut Bay.
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Map 5.5 Subtidal Habitats of Abu Ali Embayment.