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| soft corals text index | photo index |
| Phylum Cnidaria > Class Anthozoa > Subclass Alcyonaria/Octocorallia > Order Alcyonacea > Family Alcyoniidae |
| Smooth
leathery soft coral Sinularia sp.* Family Alcyoniidae updated Mar 13 Where seen? This large pink leathery coral is commonly seen on our Southern shores. On coral rubble. With the polyps retracted, the surface of the leathery tissue is quite smooth. When exposed at low tide, those with finger-like shapes may look like a pile of discarded rubber gloves! Features: Colony 20-50cm or larger. Sinularia species have among the greatest variation in colony shapes among soft corals. The colony may be encrusting with ridges, knobs or fingers, or tall with many lobes, branches, or flat disks, leafy or dish-shaped. The leathery common tissue usually pastel shades of pink, beige or brown. The surface of the common leathery tissue is usually smooth as there are only autozooid polyps and no siphonozooids. In some the surface may appear rough due to embedded spicules (calcium carbonate spikes). The autozooid polyps are tiny (0.5cm or smaller) with a short body column and 8 long tentacles with feathery branches. The autozooids can retract completely into the common tissue. Out of water, the surface of the common tissue has only one kind of hole, where the retracted autozooids are. The autozooid polyps may be the same colour as the common tissue or slightly darker. The animals harbour symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae). Sometimes confused with Pimply leathery soft coral (Lobophytum sp.) which have siphonozooids and thus has a pimply common tissue. |
 Pulau Semakau, Aug 11  |
 Pulau Semakau, Oct 11  |
 Sentosa, Aug 05  |
 Sisters Island, Aug 08  |
Smooth leathery soft corals on Singapore shores
| Photos for free download from wildsingapore flickr |
more photos of smooth leathery soft corals on Singapore shores
*ID needs to be confirmed. Species are difficult to positively identify without close examination.
On this website, they are grouped by external features for convenience of display
| Sinularia
species recorded for Singapore from Y. Benayahu and L. M. Chou, 28 Feb 2010. On some Octocorallia (Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Alcyonacea) from Singapore and Y. Benayahu and L. P. van Ofwegen. Aug 2011. New species of the genus Sinularia (Octocorallia: Alcyonacea) from Singapore.
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Links
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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