New Scleractinian corals (Cnidaria: Anthozoa) from Sabah, North Borneo. Description of one new genus and eight new species, with notes on their taxonomy and ecology

Eight new species and one new genus of Scleractinian corals from Darvel Bay, North-western Borneo are described and illustrated. Enigmopora darveliensis, Acropora ridzwani, Lithophyllon ranjiti, Pectinia crassa, Mycedium spina, Plerogyra multilobata, Plerogyra diabolotus, and Plerogyra cauliformis. The evolutionary and distributional significance of the species is discussed. Borneo’s unique equatorial location and stable geological history are held responsible for its high diversity of corals with a number of unique species. The morphology of Enigmopora darveliensis is discussed and compared to other supposedly primitive extant corals. The endemic status of most of the Plerogyra species, with their unusually large polyps, is due to their narrow ecological niche; lower, extremely protected slopes with high contents of humic substances. Most of the species have fragile structures. The role of Borneo as a centre of diversity is discussed in relation to species variability and distribution.