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The Living Encyclopedia
Explore our comprehensive database of reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. Discover detailed care guides, morph varieties, and community setups.
invertebrate
Hammer Coral
Euphyllia ancora
Euphyllia ancora is a species of hard coral in the family Euphylliidae. It is known by several common names, including anchor coral and hammer coral, or less frequently as sausage coral, ridge coral, or bubble honeycomb coral.
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invertebrate
Torch Coral
Euphyllia glabrescens
Euphyllia glabrescens is a species of large-polyped stony coral belonging to the family Euphylliidae. Its common name is the torch coral due to its long sweeper tentacles tipped with potent cnidocytes. It is a commonly kept species in the marine aquarium hobby, particularly specimens from Indonesia and Fiji, who fulfilled annual export quotas of 28,000 and 6,000 pieces, respectively, in 2005.
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invertebrate
Frogspawn Coral
Euphyllia divisa
Euphyllia divisa, commonly known as frogspawn coral and sometimes misspelled Euphyllia divisia, is a large-polyped stony coral native to the Indo-Pacific islands. It is a commonly kept species in the marine aquarium hobby. The related coral Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa is frequently misidentified as frogspawn leading to some confusion. Fimbriaphyllia divisa has a corallite skeleton with a flabello-meandroid "wall" structure whereas Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa has a tree-like branching structure with separate corallites.
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invertebrate
Bubble Coral
Plerogyra sinuosa
Plerogyra sinuosa is a coral species of the phylum Cnidaria. It is commonly called "bubble coral" due to its bubbly appearance. The "bubbles" are grape-sized which increase their surface area according to the amount of light available: they are larger during the day, but smaller during the night, when tentacles reach out to capture food. This species requires low light and a gentle water flow. Common names for Plerogyra sinuosa include "grape coral", bladder coral, and pearl coral. According to the IUCN, Plerogyra sinuosa ranges from the Red Sea and Madagascar in the western Indian Ocean to Okinawa and the Line Islands in the Pacific.
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invertebrate
Duncan Coral
Duncanopsammia axifuga
Duncanopsammia is a monotypic genus of stony corals. It is represented by the single species, Duncanopsammia axifuga, commonly called whisker coral, duncanops coral, or simply duncan coral. Individual polyps are fairly large with round skeletal bases (corallites) 10–14 millimetres (0.39–0.55 in) in diameter and larger central discs from which multiple tentacles radiate; the polyps form a structure branching at irregular intervals to form a large colony.
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invertebrate
Sun Coral
Tubastraea
Tubastraea, also known as sun coral or sun polyps, is a genus of coral in the phylum Cnidaria. It is a cup coral in the family Dendrophylliidae.
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invertebrate
Brain Coral
Mussidae
Brain coral is a common name given to various corals in the families Mussidae and Merulinidae, so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of genetically identical polyps which secrete a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate; this makes them important coral reef builders like other stony corals in the order Scleractinia. Brain corals are found in shallow warm water coral reefs in all the world's oceans. They are part of the phylum Cnidaria, in a class called Anthozoa or "flower animals". The lifespan of the largest brain corals is 900 years. Colonies can grow as large as 1.8 m (6 ft) or more in height.
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invertebrate
Mushroom Coral
Fungiidae
The Fungiidae are a family of Cnidaria, commonly known as mushroom corals or plate corals. The family contains thirteen extant genera. They range from solitary corals to colonial species. Some genera such as Cycloseris and Fungia are solitary organisms, Polyphyllia consists of a single organism with multiple mouths, and Ctenactis and Herpolitha might be considered as solitary organisms with multiple mouths or a colony of individuals, each with its separate mouth.
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L
invertebrate
Leather Coral
Sarcophyton
Sarcophyton is the scientific name of several genera of organisms and may refer to:Sarcophyton (plant), a genus of plants in the family Orchidaceae Sarcophyton (coral), a genus of corals in the family Alcyoniidae
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invertebrate
Xenia Coral
Xenia
Xenia is a genus of photosynthetic soft marine coral in the family Xeniidae. They resemble a mushroom, with "arms" coming out from the top that ends in many-fingered "hands". It is unique among corals because of its ability to use its "hands" to "pulse" or push water away from the colony in a constant, grabbing motion. Common names include fast-pulse Xenia. Species of Xenia are sometimes referred to as pulse corals.
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G
invertebrate
Green Star Polyps
Pachyclavularia violacea
Green Star Polyps (Pachyclavularia violacea)
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invertebrate
Zoanthids
Zoantharia
Zoanthids are an order of hexacorals.
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invertebrate
Acropora
Acropora
Acropora is a genus of small polyp stony coral in the phylum Cnidaria. Some of its species are known as table coral, elkhorn coral, and staghorn coral. Over 149 species are described. Acropora species are some of the major reef corals responsible for building the immense calcium carbonate substructure that supports the thin living skin of a reef.
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M
invertebrate
Montipora
Montipora
Montipora is a genus of Scleractinian corals in the phylum Cnidaria. Members of the genus Montipora may exhibit many different growth morphologies. With eighty five known species, Montipora is the second most species rich coral genus after Acropora.
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invertebrate
Birdsnest Coral
Seriatopora hystrix
Seriatopora hystrix is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Pocilloporidae. It forms a branching clump and is commonly known as thin birdsnest coral. It grows in shallow water on fore-reef slopes or in sheltered lagoons, the type locality being the Fiji Islands. It is native to East Africa, the Red Sea and the western Indo-Pacific region. It is a common species and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being a "Vulnerable species".
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invertebrate
Candy Cane Coral
Caulastraea furcata
Caulastraea furcata, also known as the candy cane, trumpet, or bullseye coral, is a species of large stony coral in the family Merulinidae.
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T
invertebrate
Trumpet Coral
Caulastraea curvata
Trumpet Coral (Caulastraea curvata)
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invertebrate
Plate Coral
Fungia
Fungia is a genus of corals in the family Fungiidae. It is monotypic with the single species Fungia fungites, which is found growing on reefs in the Indo-Pacific.
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invertebrate
Scolymia
Scolymia
Scolymia, commonly called scoly coral, is a genus of large-polyp stony corals (Scleractinia). These animals are believed date back to the Miocene with three extant species present in the western Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean Sea, and Gulf of Mexico.
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invertebrate
Acanthastrea
Acanthastrea
Acanthastrea is a genus of large polyp stony corals in the family Lobophylliidae. The colonies are massive and usually flat. The corallites are either circular or angular in shape. The septa are thick near the wall of the corallite, becoming thin near the columella, and have tall teeth. The polyps are extended only at night.
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