Heliopora coerulea
Blue Coral
©Anne Hoggett: A branching colony of Blue Coral (Heliopora coerulea) about 1 metre across at Lizard Island.
©Anne Hoggett: A branch of Heliopora coerulea at Lizard Island, polyps retracted, numerous fine hairs visible (enlarge the image).
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Cnidaria
Class
Anthozoa
Order
Scleralcyonaceae
Family
Helioporidae
Genus
Heliopora
Species
Heliopora coerulea
Status
vulnerable
Colours
Distinguishing features
Colonies can be branching, plate-like or columnar and reach several metres across. The blue skeleton is usually visible but can be hidden by brown-grey tissue. Small (1 mm) polyps with eight tentacles are surrounded by even smaller pores which may bear hairs.
During the day, polyps are usually retracted; close examination of the skeleton will reveal the fine hairs. The colony looks markedly different when the white polyps are extended.
Size
- Size data has not been obtained.
Synonyms
Distribution
©Atlas of Living Australia: Australian distribution
