Greg McFall/NOAA, USA
Info
Oculina arbuscula Agassiz, 1864
Very special thanks for the first photo of this uncommon coral to Greg McFall (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Seattle, USA.
Oculina is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Oculinidae.
These corals are mostly found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda but some species occur in the east Pacific Ocean. They occur at depths down to 1000 metres.
Some species contain symbiotic microalgae called zooxanthellae.
The color of the encrusting coral is a yellow-brown tone.
A feature that facilitates the spread of this coral is the fact that the animal is zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate, depending on the circumstances it lives on its photosynthetic active endosymbionts or actively feeds by ingesting plankton.
Normally these corals occur up to about 40 meters, however some report that they can occur up to 1000 meters.
Systematik: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Cnidaria (Phylum) > Anthozoa (Class) > Hexacorallia (Subclass) > Scleractinia (Order) > Oculinidae (Family) > Oculina (Genus)
Very special thanks for the first photo of this uncommon coral to Greg McFall (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), Seattle, USA.
Oculina is a genus of colonial stony corals in the family Oculinidae.
These corals are mostly found in the Caribbean Sea, the Gulf of Mexico and Bermuda but some species occur in the east Pacific Ocean. They occur at depths down to 1000 metres.
Some species contain symbiotic microalgae called zooxanthellae.
The color of the encrusting coral is a yellow-brown tone.
A feature that facilitates the spread of this coral is the fact that the animal is zooxanthellate and azooxanthellate, depending on the circumstances it lives on its photosynthetic active endosymbionts or actively feeds by ingesting plankton.
Normally these corals occur up to about 40 meters, however some report that they can occur up to 1000 meters.
Systematik: Biota > Animalia (Kingdom) > Cnidaria (Phylum) > Anthozoa (Class) > Hexacorallia (Subclass) > Scleractinia (Order) > Oculinidae (Family) > Oculina (Genus)
