Current status of the distribution of the coral-encrusting cyanobacteriosponge Terpios hoshinota in southern Japan

Incursion of killer spongeTerpios hoshinotaon the coral reefs of Lakshadweep archipelago

“…Our findings confirm that the infestation of T.hoshinota on the coral colonies of Lakshadweep is currently limited to only Bangaram and Thinnakara atoll as it was not observed in other islands surveyed. There is although a possibility that the killer sponge could invade nearby atolls as seen in other regions 1,25 . Our observation is indeed the first documentation of T.hoshinota on the reefs of Lakshadweep and can be regarded as a baseline for subsequent studies in the islands.…”

First Report of the Coral-Killing Sponge Terpios hoshinota Rützler and Muzik, 1993 in Western Australia: A New Threat to Kimberley Coral Reefs?

“…Terpios hoshinota is widespread in the Indo-Pacific ( Figure 1). It has been reported from Micronesia and the Northern Mariana Islands, Taiwan, and Japan [7][8][9]; the Great Barrier Reef [10]; American Samoa, the Philippines, and the South China Sea [11]; Papua New Guinea [12]; and Indonesia [13][14][15][16]. It was first reported in the Indian Ocean in 2014 (the Maldives; [17]), and has since been recorded from Mauritius [18] and Palk Bay in India [6].…”

“…It was first reported in the Indian Ocean in 2014 (the Maldives; [17]), and has since been recorded from Mauritius [18] and Palk Bay in India [6]. Terpios hoshinota has been associated with areas of high turbidity and degraded reefs [7], but also occurs in relatively pristine and low turbidity environments, including Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef [10] and the Ryukyu Islands, Japan [9]. Prior to this report, T. hoshinota had not been recorded from Western Australia.…”

“…Terpios hoshinota encrusts numerous coral genera including Acropora, Porites, Montipora, Merulina, Goniastrea, Lobophyllia, Favia, Goniopora, Leptastrea, Stylophora, Astreopora and Oulophyllia [7,9,19]. It has also been observed on octocoral and hydrozoan species including Tubipora musica, Heliopora coerulea and Millepora spp.…”

“…It has also been observed on octocoral and hydrozoan species including Tubipora musica, Heliopora coerulea and Millepora spp. [19]; on the zoantharian Palythoa tuberculosa [9]; on shells of living Tridacna spp. including T. squamosa [7,9]; and on red calcareous algae and Halimeda gigas [19].…”