Scleractinian Corals of Kuwait

A survey was made of the coral reefs of Kuwait to compile a species list of scleractinian corals. Twenty-eight hermatypic and six ahermatypic coral species are listed in systematic order, and a brief description is provided for each. A new species of Acropora is described. The Kuwait fauna is a small subset of the over 500 Indo-Pacific species. Several species show a higher degree of intraspecific variation than they exhibit in other locations. A range extension is reported for Acanthastrea maxima Sheppard & Salm, previously recorded from Oman (north and south coasts). A common species in the Arabian Gulf, Porites compressa Dana, has a disjunct distribution; it has not been found in the western Pacific, but occurs in the Red Sea, northern Indian Ocean, and Hawai'i. It is possible that the Gulf is one of the few places where Siderastrea and Pseudosiderastrea co-occur. A SURVEY WAS MADE of the coral reefs of Kuwait for the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research (KISR). K.c. conducted numerous coral reef and reef fish surveys between 1988 and August 1990, when the Gulf War interrupted work. K.C. escaped from occupied Kuwait; however, almost all KISR photographs and the coral reference collection, including type specimens and computer records pertaining to this study, were destroyed. Additional coral specimens were eventually obtained from Saudi Arabia in 1993, and finally in 1994 some new specimens were collected in Kuwait, and a few photographs were salvaged. G.H. made intensive coral reef surveys with K.C. in May 1990. The primary survey sites were the reefs associated with Qaru and Kubbar islands and three isolated 1 This research was funded by the Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research. Manuscript accepted 1 September 1994. 2 Coastal Systems Research, GPO Box 3534, Hong Kong. 3 Mariculture and Fisheries Department, Kuwait Institute of Scientific Research, P.O. Box 1638, Salmiya, Kuwait. Current address: Fisheries Department, F-225, Food and Agriculture Organization, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. reefs, Qit' at Urayfijan, Taylor's Rock, and Mudayrah (Figure 1). K.c. also surveyed soft-bottom habitats near pearl oyster beds located 1-4 km off the coast between Mina al Ahmadi and Ras J'Leya. The need for a detailed taxonomy of Arabian Gulf (also known as the Persian Gulf) marine life has been increased by the environmental damage caused by the Gulf War (Fadlallah et al. 1992, Greenpeace 1992). The purpose of this paper is to provide a complete list of species found in Kuwait along with notes on taxonomic variation and geographical distribution. A more detailed treatment is planned for the future. In the interim, detailed taxonomic information for most species may be obtained by consulting standard taxonomic works such as the series on Scleractinia of eastern Australia by Veron, Pichon, Wallace and Best (1976-1984) and the revision of the suborders, families, and genera of the Scleractinia by Vaughan and Wells (1943). Several coral taxonomists such as H. M. Bernard and J. S. Gardiner collected corals from or worked on corals collected from the Arabian Gulf in the early 1900s. They had the disadvantage of not being able to see the corals living underwater. More recent work