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| soft corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Alcyonaria/Octocorallia > Order Alcyonacea |
| Fine
feathery soft coral Briareum sp.* Family Briareidae updated Dec 11 Where seen? This colony of tiny animals is commonly seen on some of our shores, but is often overlooked. The colony grows on stones and hard surfaces, including litter on the shores! Features: Colony about 10-15cm, sometimes much larger. Polyps about 1cm in diameter, on stalks about 1cm long emerging from low to tubular mounds (calyces). The eight skinny tentacles have short thin branches in 1 row on both sides of each tentacle. Side branches brownish, oral disk and main tentacles white, greenish or bluish. The polyps emerge from a purplish magenta common membrane that encrusts hard surfaces. The polyps don't pulsate and can slowly retract completely leaving a bumpy purple common tissue. |
 Sentosa, Mar 05  |
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 Bleaching. |
 Polyps emerge from calyces and can retract completely. |
Fine feathery soft corals on Singapore shores
 Sentosa, Jun 10  |
 Pulau Tekukor, May 07  |
 Encrusting a discarded bottle.  Sentosa, Sep 04 |
 Tuas, Apr 05 |
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 Beting Bronok, Jun 06 |
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more photos of fine feathery soft corals on Singapore shores
northern shores
southern shores part 1 | part 2
*ID needs confirmation. 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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References
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Australian Institute of Marine Science and the Museum and Art
Gallery of the Northern Territoriy. 264 pp.|
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