Rarity of Nanipora kamurai (Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Helioporacea) at its type locality

The recently described aragonite skeleton-forming octocoral species Nanipora kamurai (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Octocorallia: Helioporacea) is known from only one locality in Okinawa, Japan. This locality, Ama Beach on Zamami Island, is a shallow (1 to 1.5 m deep) sandy reef moat popular with recreational swimmers and snorkelers during summer months. Additionally, the species has been reported to be rare at this site, although no concrete survey data existed. This study quantitatively investigated the rarity of N. kamurai at this site via examining all rocks and rubble within a transect survey (n = 6) of 2400 m 2 . Our results show that N. kamurai is indeed low in number, with only eight colonies found over the entire survey area. Of coral rubble and rocks examined, only slightly more than 1 % of rocks had N. kamurai colonies (8/739 rocks), for a density of 0.003 colonies per m 2 . As this species is low in abundance and known from only Ama Beach, local management to ensure the designated recreational swimming area at this location should be undertaken.