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| hard corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Zoantharia/Hexacorallia > Order Scleractinia > Family Poritidae |
| Pore
corals Porites sp. Family Poritidae updated Oct 08 Where seen? These large corals with tiny corallites and polyps are among the most commonly encountered hard corals on many of our shores, including our Northern shores. Features: Colony 10-20cm, sometimes quite large. Polyps are very VERY small (0.1-0.2cm or less). The tiny corallites are shallow and don't stick out of the surface. The surface thus often looks like it has tiny pores. The polyps have short tentacles that are usually only extended at night. To get rid of excessive sediments, the corals may produce slime that traps sediments. The slime layer is then shed like a skin. Colonies are generally boulder shaped with a smooth surface or with smooth bumps or hillocks. But the colonies can also be encrusting, lobed and branching. The different species of pore corals are hard to distinguish in the field. Colours seen include yellow, brown, green, blue, purplish and even pink. Usually the colony is of one uniform colour. Pore coral colonies are long-lived and can grow very large. The colonies produced by these tiny polyps can be more than 5m across! They can grow rapidly in ideal conditions. They are usually found in shallow, sunlit places. It's hard to distinguish the different species of pore corals without close examination. On this website, they are grouped into branching pore corals and boulder-shaped pore corals for convenience of display. Status and threats: None of our pore corals are listed among the endangered animals of Singapore. However, 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. |
 St. John's Island, Aug 08  Tiny hexagonal corallites.  Tiny polyps. |
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References
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Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia. 3 volumes.
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