Энциклопедия кораллов

One of the most common corals on shallow Red Sea reefs. Tapered finger-like branches rise vertically and shelter many small fishes and crustaceans. A frequent target of Cliona boring sponges and crown-of-thorns starfish.

It forms a flat horizontal table up to two metres across. Branches face the light; fishes shelter beneath. Large tables may be 20–50 years old.

A Red Sea endemic named for its discovery there. Fine interlocking branches form dense coral thickets of high diversity. Listed as vulnerable from bleaching and collection pressure.

It resembles a human brain in maze-like folds from polyps that stay joined. Growth is slow but colonies live for centuries and take heat better than Acropora.

Dome or massive colonies covered in regular stars, each a polyp. A major reef-builder that forms a hard base for other animals.

Among Earth’s longest-lived animals — huge masses reach 500–1000 years. Dull brown-yellow with a grainy surface. They handle sharp environmental swings and bleach less than most.

Clear columnar growth, sometimes a metre high, forming underwater stone thickets that shelter small reef fishes.

Dense cauliflower-like branches; an early coloniser of hard surfaces. Bleaching-sensitive but it recolonises relatively fast.

Tapered barley-like branches in pink or pale brown. Among the commonest corals on shallow reefs.

Among the brightest reef animals — swollen trees in red, orange, purple, and pink. They inflate in current and shrink without it. No zooxanthellae; they filter plankton. They often cloak reef walls in vivid colonies.

A fan or mesh held across the current to filter plankton. A flexible axial skeleton is covered in coloured tissue. Colonies live for decades and host specialised fishes and crustaceans.

Mushroom or cap-shaped: a smooth disc with short polyps. Colour runs brown to green to white with zooxanthellae density. Chemicals slow neighbouring hard coral — quiet competition.

The preferred host of Red Sea clownfish Amphiprion bicinctus. Balloon-tipped tentacles are the giveaway. Colour shifts purple, brown, or green with site and zooxanthellae.

One of the world’s largest anemones — a 50 cm foot disc and tentacles to 10 cm. White or purple with coloured spots. The “Rita” anemone of Finding Nemo. It can host several clownfish species.

Zooxanthellae (Symbiodinium and allies) are single-celled algae in coral tissue supplying 70–90% of its food. Above a heat threshold (often 1°C over the usual maximum) they harm the coral and are expelled. The white skeleton is limestone with no living tissue.