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Euphyllid
corals
Family Euphyllidae
updated
Nov 11
Where
seen? These hard corals are sometimes seen on some of our
Southern shores. Some species have tentacles with a distinctive U-shaped
tip, others lack this.
Features: While most hard corals
are best identified by looking at details of their skeleton, members
of the Family Euphyllidae are more easily told apart by looking at
the structure of their tentacles.
The Family Euphylliidae was only established in 2000. Euphyllia
was originally included in Family Carophyllidae. Physogyra
and Plerogyra species are not encountered in the intertidal
area but are often seen by divers in our Southern Islands. These hard
corals are unique in having large bubbles that obscure their skeleton.
These are possibly modified tentacles that inflate during the day.
These sacs contain symbiotic algae (zooxanthallae) and the expanded
surface area probably helps increase photosynthesis activity. At night,
the sacs deflate and the long tapered tentacles of the polyp emerge.
The corallites of Physogyra and some Plerogyra species
form large brain-like meandering valleys (flabello-mendroid) while
those of Plerogyra species may also be made up of long, tubular
corallites (phaceloid).
What do they eat? All members
of Family Euphyllidae harbour microscopic, single-celled symbiotic
algae (zooxanthallae) within their bodies. The algae undergo photosynthesis
to produce food from sunlight. The food produced is shared with the
host, which in return provides the algae with shelter and minerals.
It is believed this additional source of nutrients from the zooxanthellae
help hard corals produce their hard skeletons and thus expand their
size faster.
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and threats: All Euphyllid corals recorded for
Singapore are listed as globally threatened by
the IUCN. 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. |
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Family
Euphyllidae recorded for Singapore
from
Danwei Huang, Karenne P. P. Tun, L. M Chou and Peter A. Todd. 30 Dec
2009. An inventory of zooxanthellate sclerectinian corals in Singapore
including 33 new records **the species found on many shores in
Danwei's paper.
in red are those listed as threatened
on the IUCN global list.
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Euphyllia
sp. (Anchor corals) with
list of species recorded for Singapore.
Physogyra lichtensteini
(Vulnerable)
Plerogyra sinuosa** (Near Threatened) |
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Links
- Family
Euphyllidae
(select species from list) on Corals of the World online on the
Australian Institute of Marine Science website: Technical fact
sheet.
- Family
Euphyllidae
on Reef Corals of the Indo-Malayan Seas, the Marine Species Identification
Portal: Technical fact sheet.
- Family
Euphyllidae (enter Euphyllidae in search bar) on the IUCN
Red List of Threatened Species website: Technical fact sheet.
References
- Danwei Huang,
Karenne P. P. Tun, L. M Chou and Peter A. Todd. 30 Dec 2009. An
inventory of zooxanthellate sclerectinian corals in Singapore
including 33 new records (pdf). Raffles Bulletin of Zoology
Supplement No. 22: 69-80.
- Veron, Jen.
2000. Corals
of the World
Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia. 3 volumes.
- Chou, L.
M., 1998. A
Guide to the Coral Reef Life of Singapore. Singapore Science
Centre. 128 pages.
- Chou Loke
Meng. 1989. Hard corals of Singapore. Reef Ecology Study
Team, the National University of Singapore. A set of 4 posters.
- Erhardt,
Harry and Daniel Knop. 2005. Corals:
Indo-Pacific Field Guide
IKAN-Unterwasserachiv, Frankfurt. 305 pp.
- Borneman,
Eric H. 2001. Aquarium
Corals: Selection, Husbandry and Natural History
T.F. H Publications. 464 pp.
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