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| soft corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Alcyonaria/Octocorallia > Order Alcyonacea > Family Alcyoniidae |
| Omelette
leathery coral awaiting identification* Family Alcyoniidae updated Oct 08 Where seen? This large disc-shaped leathery coral that resembles a fried egg is commonly seen on our Southern shores. On coral rubble. Features: Colony 30-50cm or larger. The colony usually looks like a mushroom; with a flat, broad disk attached to a hard surface by a very short, very broad central base. The edge of the disk may be highly ruffled, so much so that the colony may look like a carnation when submerged. When out of water, the colony flops over into a flat disk that looks like a rather badly fried egg! There are no ridges or finger-like structures sticking out of the disk. The common tissue may be pink, yellow, orange, greenish or brown. The colony has both autozooids and siphonozooids. Autozooid polyps have long slender body columns (1-2cm) with 8 branched tentacles that are usually white. The siphonozooids do not emerge from the body membrane and function to pump water through the colony. These look like little dots among the taller autozooid polyps. The autozooids can retract completely into the common tissue. Out of water, the surface of the common tissue has two different kinds of holes; bigger ones where the retracted autozooids are, and smaller ones where the siphonozooids are. |
 Pulau Hantu, Mar 05  Pulau Hantu, Jul 08 |
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Omelette leathery corals on Singapore shores
 Sentosa, Apr 04 |
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 St. John's Island, Aug 05  |
 Pulau Jong, Jul 07  |
 Pulau Tekukor, May 07  |
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