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| hard corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Zoantharia/Hexacorallia > Order Scleractinia > Family Dendrophyllidae |
| Cave
corals Tubastrea and Dendrophyllia sp. Family Dendrophylliidae updated Nov 11 Where seen? These small hard corals grow in dark places. Tiny colonies were seen at Raffles Lighthouse, as well as at Changi! It is difficult to tell apart Tubastraea and Dendrophyllia corals without a very close look at the corallite structure. Features: Colony small, about 2-4cm in diameter, with a few large corallites often arranged like a bouquet of flowers. Often in shady places in shallow water, e.g., under overhangs, at the entrances of underwater caves, but also in other places with strong currents that bring in lots of plankton and nutrients. Corallites long and tubular. The polyps are large (1-2cm), fleshy with many tentacles. May be orange-yellow or brown. The polyps lack symbiotic algae (zooxanthallae) and usually only expand at night to feed on plankton. Cave corals produce among the most dense skeletons of hard corals and can grow quite fast in good conditions. Human uses: Tubastraea corals are among the first to have their bioactive compounds isolated. One compound called tubastrine was found to have anti-viral properties. The coral also produces substances that are toxic to the larve of other hard corals, probably preventing these from settling near them. Status and threats: None of the cave coral recorded for Singapore are listed as globally threatened by the IUCN. But like other creatures of the intertidal zone, they are affected by human activities such as reclamation and pollution. Trampling by careless visitors, and over-collection also have an impact on local populations. |
 Raffles Lighthouse, Jul 06  |
 Keppel Bay, Oct 09 |
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Cave corals on Singapore shores
 Raffles Lighthouse, May 04 |
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 East Coast Park, Aug 09 |
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Dendrophyllia and Tubastraea species recorded for Singapore * from Wee Y.C. and Peter K. L. Ng. 1994. A First Look at Biodiversity in Singapore.
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Links
References
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Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia. 3 volumes.