Polyp-canal reconstruction reveals evolution towards complexity in corals (Dataset Part 40)

There are 17 files in this dataset. This is the 40th part of this dataset. The <em>A. millepora</em>, <em>A. muricata</em>,<em> C. vaughani</em>,<em> M. capricornis</em>, <em>M. foliosa</em>,<em> P. damicornis</em>, <em>P. meandrina</em>,<em> P. verrucosa</em>, and<em> S. pistillata</em> samples were collected from the Xisha Islands (2018); the <em>A. digitifera</em>, <em>F. speciosa </em>(2008), and<em> M. turgescens</em> (2017) samples were collected from the Nansha Islands; the <em>P. lutea</em> samples were collected from the Weizhou Islands (2017); the <em>G. fascicularis</em>, and<em> M. stellata </em>samples were collected from the Gaven Reef (2017); the <em>A. myriophthalma</em> samples were collected from the Reed Tablemount (2017); the <em>P. sinensis</em> samples were collected from the Subi Reef (2017). All samples, which occurred in large arborescent colonies forming thickets, were found in tropical shallow reefs of the marine neritic zone, from depths of about 5 to 10 m. The daily mean temperature was between 23.2 and 29.2°C. The coral samples were kept whole and housed in our laboratory coral tank, where all conditions were simulated to reflect those of their habitat in the South China Sea. These samples were kept in the tank for about one to three months before HRCT analysis.