Hedgehog
corals
Echinopora sp.*
Family Faviidae
updated
Nov 11
Where
seen? These delicate plate hard corals with little bumps
are rarely encountered, so far only on our undisturbed Southern islands.
Features: Colonies 20-30cm. May
be boulder-shaped, branching or form plates. Those seen were mostly
encrusting thin plates often with wavy edges. Small corallites (less
than 0.5cm) that form prickly bumps with characteristic prickly ridges
in the spaces between the corallites. Polyp tentacles are only extended
at night. Colours seen include brown, yellow, blue and purple.
Status and threats: Some of the
Hedgehog corals recorded for Singapore are listed as globally Near
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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Raffles Lighthouse,
Jul 06

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Raffles Lighthouse,
Jul 06
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Hedgehog
corals on Singapore Shores

Raffles Lighthouse, May 04
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Terumbu Raya,
Jul 11
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Pulau Semakau,
Aug 08
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Raffles
Lighthouse, Aug 06
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more photos of hedgehog
corals on Singapore shores
part 1 | part
2 | part 3
*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of
display.
Echinopora
species recorded for Singapore
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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Echinopora
gemmacea**
Echinopora hirsutissima
Echinopora horrida (Near
Threatened)
Echinopora lamellosa**
Echinopora pacificus**
(Near Threatened) |
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Links
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.
- 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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