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| hard corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Zoantharia/Hexacorallia |
Photo
index of hard corals on Singapore shores
Colony with thick branches
Colony with thick branches
| Colony 10-12cm, bushy with short tentatcles. Tiny corallites. Tiny polyps with a short body column and short blunt tentacles with white or blue tips. Colours yellow or brown with a white or blue tinge. Commonly seen on many of our Southern shores. | Colonies 15cm across, small branching bush-like, some with an encrusting base. Monticules (hard bits sticking out) generally conical. Colour baby blue. Rarely seen on our shores. | Colonies 10-12cm, branching with stumpy branches. Corallites tiny, shallow and hexagonal. Polyps tiny with short tentacles. Colours brown, yellow, green, bluish and purplish. Commonly seen on many of our shores. | Colony 15-20cm. Short and thick branches, tips are white and lack polyps. Corallites tiny with no ridges between them. Polyps are tiny. Colours beige or brown, sometimes blue or purplish. Commonly seen on many of our shores. | Colony
15-20cm, may be branching or encrusting. Short and thick branches,
tips are white and lack polyps. Corallites tiny with large ridges
between them. Polyps are tiny. Colours beige or brown, sometimes purplish.
Sometimes seen on some of our shores. |
| Colonies 15-20cm, squat bush. Branches short, thick stumpy, don't interlock. Polyps are tiny. Axial corallite circular and very prominent. Radial corallites smoothly rounded and form a rosette. Sometimes seen on some of our shores. |
Colonies
15-20cm, bush. Branches tapering, don't interlock. Polyps are tiny.
Axial corallite circular and large. Radial corallites smoothly tubular.
Rarely seen on our shores.
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Colonies 15-20cm, sparse bush. Branches thick, tapering and branching
at the tips thus resembling deer horns. Branches don't interlock.
Polyps are tiny. Axial corallite is large and cylindrical. Radial
corallites smoothly tubular and form a rosette. Rarely seen on our
shores.
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Colonies 15-20cm, elegant bush. Branches long, neat and tapering,
don't interlock. Polyps are tiny. Axial corallite prominently large.
Radial corallites smoothly rounded or tubular, regularly but not
closely spaced. When extended, the long polyp tentacles give the
colony a hairy look. Sometimes seen on some of our shores.
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Colonies
15-20cm, bushy. Branches cylindrical, don't interlock. Polyps are
tiny. Axial corallite large. Radial corallites have sharp edges
and form a rosette, closely packed so the branch resembles a pine
cone. Rarely seen on our shores.
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| Colony small (2-4cm) with a few large polyps arranged like a bouquet of flowers. Corallites long and tubular. Polyps large, fleshy with long tapered tentacles. Orange-yellow or brown. Rarely seen on the intertidal. |
These are NOT hard corals
| Colonies 15-30cm, branching with stumpy branches. Internal skeleton is blue but on the outside, they are usually brown. Polyps tiny (about 0.5cm) with 8 tentacles with fine branches. They are soft corals although they have a hard skeleton. Commonly seen on many of our shores. | 5-8cm long with large polyps (1cm) in capsules along the side branches. White, beige, orange. On boulders, jetties. Commonly seen on some of our Northern shores. |
50cm-1m.
Colony bushy, long stems not frequently branched. Cylindrical, thick
(1cm) fleshy and leathery, with a wire-like central support sometimes
exposed at the tips. Dusky pinkish beige. On coral reefs. Often
seen on our Southern shores.
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10-15cm. Colony with sparse branches, that emerge in a U-shape. Cylindrical stems with large white polyps all around. Orange. On coral rubble, rocks. Commonly seen on some of our Northern shores. |
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