Pachyseris rugosa
©Andy Lewis: A small colony of Pachyseris rugosa at Watson's Bay showing the typical convoluted sub-massive morphology
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Hexacorallia
Order
Scleractinia
Family
Scleractinia incertae sedis
Genus
Pachyseris
Species
Pachyseris rugosa
Status
near threatened
Colours
Distinguishing features
A species that forms convoluted sub-massive colonies comprising irregular bifacial plates. In deeper water, the colony may form large mounds more than 5m in diameter.Corallites are not discernable. Colonies are usually brown in colour.
Size
- Size data has not been obtained.
Synonyms
Comments
The genus Pachyseris was formerly ascribed to the family Agariciidae but molecular evidence shows that is not the case. The genus is regarded as Scleractinia incertae sedis according to WORMS (accessed 30 June 2018).
by Anne Hoggett
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
Distribution and habitat preferences
Sheltered back reef and lagoonal habitats.
Can be found in most reef habitats around Lizard Island.
Behaviour
Web resources
References
- Babcock, R.C., G.D. Bull, P.L. Harrison, A.J. Heyward, J.K. Oliver, C.C. Wallace and B.L. Willis (1986). Synchronous spawnings of 105 scleractinian coral species on the Great Barrier Reef, Marine Biology, 90: 379-394. LIRS catalog number 300.
- Dinesen, Z.D. (1983). Shade-dwelling corals of the Great Barrier Reef, Marine Ecology Progress Series, 10: 173-185. LIRS catalog number 157.
- Domm, S.B. and W. Deas (1976). Corals of the Great Barrier Reef Ure Smith, Sydney. LIRS catalog number 5.
- View all references