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| hard corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Zoantharia/Hexacorallia > Order Scleractinia > Family Poritidae |
| Boulder
pore coral Porites sp.* Family Poritidae updated Nov 2019 Where seen? This boulder-shaped hard coral with tiny corallites and polyps is commonly seen on many of our shores. Large colonies can sometimes be seen especially on our Southern shores. Features: Colonies 10-20cm, sometimes much larger, boulder-shaped sometimes with bumps or hillocks. Corallites tiny (0.1-0.2cm) hexagonal, packed close to one another. The tiny corallites are shallow and don't stick out of the surface. The surface thus often appears smooth with many tiny pores. Polyps are very tiny (0.1-0.2cm) with short body columns and short tentacles that are usually only extended at night. Colour usually a chocolate brown, also greenish. Usually the colony is of one uniform colour. Sometimes, colonies are seen with pink patches, which appear to be the result of some sort of animal burrowing into the living colony. Pore corals are among the intetidal corals that form a typical ring called micro atolls due to the low water level on the intertidal which restricts upward growth. Sometimes, another colony of corals may grow in the space within the ring. |
 Pore coral forming a ring-shaped microatoll with another colony in the middle. Cyrene Reef, Jul 11 |
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 St. John's Island, Aug 08 |
 Tiny hexagonal corallites. |
 Tiny polyps. |
 St. John's Island, Aug 08  A burrowing animal? |
 Sisters Island, May 12  A bristleworm? |
 South Cyrene, Oct 10  Marks made by fishes grazing on the coral. |
 Sisters Island, Jan 06  |
 Pulau Semakau, Feb 08  |
*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display.
| Boulder pore corals on Singapore shores |
On wildsingapore
flickr
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| Other sightings on Singapore shores |
 Pulau Biola, Dec 09  |
 Pulau Pawai, Dec 09  |
 Terumbu Berkas, Jan 10  |
 Terumbu Berkas, Jan 10  |
 Pulau Senang, Aug 10  |
 Terumbu Salu, Jan 10  |
 Terumbu Salu, Jan 10  |
 Pulau Salu, Aug 10 |
 Pulau Senang, Aug 10 |
 Pulau Berkas, May 10 |