The first comprehensive Taiwan coral field guide, covering 558 species of hard coral across 24 families
Coral is a group of primitive, highly diverse cnidarians that have existed for millions of years, including what are commonly known as hard corals, soft corals, gorgonians / sea fans, precious corals, black corals, and hydrocorals. Coral reefs are formed by multiple coral colonies and are the most life-sustaining environments in the ocean — often called the "tropical rainforests of the sea" — representing a vast and complex ecosystem.
Among all corals, only the order Scleractinia (hard corals) forms solid calcium carbonate skeletons, making them the primary reef-building coral. This book covers every species of hard coral found in the waters surrounding Taiwan, and is also the world's first hard coral field guide to simultaneously document both shallow-water and deep-water species.
Hexacorals and octocorals featured in the Taiwan Coral Field Guide
A leading marine biologist's 40-year survey of Taiwan's corals — the definitive collection
The principal author of this book is Taiwan's foremost authority on coral research, Professor Chaolun Allen Chen of the Institute of Oceanography at National Taiwan University. Beginning in 1979, he has conducted underwater explorations throughout Taiwan's waters — from the southernmost reaches of our territorial sea at Itu Aba and Dongsha Atoll, to the northernmost islands of Pengjiayu, Mianhuayu, and Huapingyu — venturing into waters few have ever entered. Over more than 40 years, he has produced detailed descriptions and classifications of every hard coral species found in Taiwan's seas.
Professor Chen wrote this book as a reference for those who love marine life and wish to deepen their understanding of coral. It represents the complete body of his hard coral research in Taiwan, encompassing 24 families and 558 species — nearly double the count in his previous work, A Monograph of Scleractinian Corals of Taiwan (12 families, 281 species) — and remains the only comprehensive hard coral field guide written entirely in Chinese.
Shallow-water corals and hard corals featured in the Taiwan Coral Field Guide
Species ordered according to WoRMS, the latest marine taxonomy system — scan in-book QR codes to view hard coral videos
This book adopts WoRMS (World Register of Marine Species), the latest taxonomic system dedicated to marine organisms, using mitochondrial gene sequences to re-establish the classification relationships among hard corals. The many species of hard coral are documented one by one according to the morphologies commonly observed in Taiwan's waters, with descriptions of each species' fundamental characteristics. In addition, microscopic photographs of coral skeletons taken in the laboratory present rare documentation of deep-sea coral.
The author also provides an in-depth general introduction covering essential knowledge about hard corals, including a new taxonomic tree, variations in fine skeletal structures, the relationship between shallow-water and deep-sea hard corals, symbiotic algae and life cycles, coral reef ecosystems, coral reef communities in Taiwan's waters, observation and documentation methods, taxonomic systems, and more. Also included are 36 invaluable coral footage videos — covering spawning, colony formation, symbiosis, coral bleaching, and mortality across different taxonomic groups — offering a complete introduction to this remarkable group of organisms that gives the ocean its life.
Coral reproductive behaviour featured in the Taiwan Coral Field Guide
Introduction to coral reef ecosystems in the Taiwan Coral Field Guide
Porites corals featured in the Taiwan Coral Field Guide
Family Dendrophylliidae featured in the Taiwan Coral Field Guide
Family Fungiidae featured in the Taiwan Coral Field Guide
Header image credit: Photo by Daniel Öberg on Unsplash
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