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| hard corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Zoantharia/Hexacorallia > Order Scleractinia > Family Siderastreidae |
| Neat
hexagonal favid coral Pseudosiderastrea tayami* Family Siderastreidae updated Oct 11 Where seen? This hard coral with relatively neat hexagonal corallites is among the few hard corals more regularly seen on our northern shores. They are also seen on our southern shores. According to Veron, they are found in very shallow water attached to bare rock and are considered uncommon and cryptic. The genus has only one species. Features: Colonies seen 5-10cm. The colony is generally encrusting or a smooth dome-shape, but somewhat irregular and not perfectly spherical. The corallites (1-1.5cm) have shared walls and form irregular, wide, shallow cells with sharp angular edges of various sizes and shapes. The corallites are conical with a small 'base' and regular 'grooves' radiating from the centre. The result is a rather neat pattern of polygons. The walls are distinctively white. The polyp has short tentacles. Colours seen include dark green and brown. Sometimes confused with Honeycomb favid corals (Family Faviidae) which have more tubular corallites that have a broader 'base'. Leptastrea purpurea and Leptastrea transversa from the Family Faviidae may also appear similar. Status and threats: This coral is 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. |
 Beting Bronok, Aug 05  |
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Neat hexagonal corals on Singapore shores
 Beting Bronok, Aug 05 |
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 Chek Jawa, May 05 |
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 Kusu Island, Jul 09 |
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more photos of neat hexagonal corals on Singapore shores
part 1 | part 2
*Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display.
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Links
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Australian Institute of Marine Science, Australia. 3 volumes.