Echinopora fruticulosa

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

Echinopora fruticulosa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Merulinidae
Genus: Echinopora
Species:
E. fruticulosa
Binomial name
Echinopora fruticulosa

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 but not 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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