Coral Description
Taxonomy:
Kingdom: Animalia >> Phylum: Cnidaria >> Class: Anthozoa >> Order: Helioporacea >> Family: Helioporidae
Appearance:
- A series of thin, vertical branches
- Polyps give the surface a fuzzy appearance
Color: Also called “blue coral”, this coral’s skeleton is bright blue without living tissue, but actually more brown when living
Corallites: Polyps have eight transparent tentacles
Similar Species: None
Distinctive Trait: The only octocoral to produce a blue, massive skeleton, formed from its fibrocrystalline aragonite skeleton composition (an alternate form of calcium carbonate)
Habitat: Commonly occurs on intertidal reef flats
Heliopora coerulea – specimen on the natural reef
Heliopora coerulea – on the natural reef
Heliopora coerulea – fuzzy appearance of the extended polyps
Fuzzy extended polyps
Heliopora coerulea – brown colouration indicates live tissue
Brown live tissue
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