Echinopora fruticulosa

Echinopora fruticulosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Subclass: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Merulinidae
Genus: Echinopora
Species: E. fruticolosa
Binomial name
Echinopora fruticulosa
Klunzinger, 1879

Echinopora fruticulosa is a species of stony coral in the Merulinidae family.[1]

Description

Colonies of Echinopora fruticulosa form dome-shaped clumps reaching a maximum diameter of 2 metres (6 ft 7 in) and height of 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in). It is an entirely ramose species, with single tubular corallites of about 5–8 millimetres (0.20–0.31 in) in diameter, developed all around the branches. The basic color of these corals is pinkish-brown with pale corallites. [1][2]

Distribution and habitat

These widespread bur non very common corals can be found in the Red Sea, the southwestern Indian Ocean, Madagascar and Comoros, usually in reefs close to sandy patches, at a depth of 4–20 metres (13–66 ft).[1][3]

References


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