JanM
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Description: Colonies are composed of long tubular corallites which bifurcate at irregular intervals, and which face upward. Corallites are round, 10-14 millimetres diameter, and have well developed septa arranged according to Pourtalès plan. Columellae are broad and deep seated. Walls are composed of porous coenosteum. Tentacles are extended day and night and may form a continuous mat concealing the shape of the underlying colony.
Color: Green or blue-grey.
Habitat: Usually occurs in water over 20 metres deep, attached to a solid substrate but in areas where soft sand predominates.
Abundance: Rare but conspicuous.
Similar Species: Tubastrea species have similar corallites, but are azooxanthellate.
Occurrence: North around Australia (from Perth via Darwin to Brisbane / ind. Ocean / Timor Sea/ Arafura-Sea / Gulf of Carpentara / Coral-Sea ) and in the South China Sea north of Borneo to south of Taiwan.
Mostly visible from 20m and below, but rare.
Recommended by Tom Vonlanthen.
This rather rare large polyp stony coral, with its very massive skeleton, is described in science and literature as an intermediate link between zoo and azooxanthellate corals.
It belongs to the family Dendrophylliidae and shows great similarities to the Tubastreas.
The difference is that this coral has zooxanthellae, but these are not sufficient to feed the massive and large polyps when the light is too low.
It is therefore dependent on floating food (zooplankton), which helps to cover the energy requirements of the coral with its greenish shimmering polyps and supports the nutrition with the zooxanthellae.
The advantage over the Tubastrea corals is that during the day the polyps are expanded to allow the existing symbiotic algae as much light as possible.
Those colonies which live in deeper zones or in light-averse places have very few or no zooxanthellae and show a behaviour like the Tubastrea corals which open their bluish shimmering polyps at night when the plankton rises.
Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Cnidaria (Phylum) > Anthozoa (Class) > Hexacorallia (Subclass) > Scleractinia (Order) > Dendrophylliidae (Family) > Duncanopsammia (Genus)
Color: Green or blue-grey.
Habitat: Usually occurs in water over 20 metres deep, attached to a solid substrate but in areas where soft sand predominates.
Abundance: Rare but conspicuous.
Similar Species: Tubastrea species have similar corallites, but are azooxanthellate.
Occurrence: North around Australia (from Perth via Darwin to Brisbane / ind. Ocean / Timor Sea/ Arafura-Sea / Gulf of Carpentara / Coral-Sea ) and in the South China Sea north of Borneo to south of Taiwan.
Mostly visible from 20m and below, but rare.
Recommended by Tom Vonlanthen.
This rather rare large polyp stony coral, with its very massive skeleton, is described in science and literature as an intermediate link between zoo and azooxanthellate corals.
It belongs to the family Dendrophylliidae and shows great similarities to the Tubastreas.
The difference is that this coral has zooxanthellae, but these are not sufficient to feed the massive and large polyps when the light is too low.
It is therefore dependent on floating food (zooplankton), which helps to cover the energy requirements of the coral with its greenish shimmering polyps and supports the nutrition with the zooxanthellae.
The advantage over the Tubastrea corals is that during the day the polyps are expanded to allow the existing symbiotic algae as much light as possible.
Those colonies which live in deeper zones or in light-averse places have very few or no zooxanthellae and show a behaviour like the Tubastrea corals which open their bluish shimmering polyps at night when the plankton rises.
Classification: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Cnidaria (Phylum) > Anthozoa (Class) > Hexacorallia (Subclass) > Scleractinia (Order) > Dendrophylliidae (Family) > Duncanopsammia (Genus)
