Caulastraea furcata

(Dana, 1846)

Vernacular names
English : Finger coral
French : Corail oeil-de-taureau

Classification
Class : Anthozoa
Order : Scleractinia
Family : Merulinidae
Notes : No subspecies known.

Identification
Colonies can reach a diameter of more than 30 cm. Branching skeleton with fleshy corallites less than 1 cm in diameter. Mantle fleshy with conspicuous white radiating stripes (formed by thick septa). Color green or brown.

Range and habitat
The species occurs in the Indo-Pacific region, from East Africa to French Polynesia, north to South Japan, south to north Australia. Lives around protected reef slopes with partly sandy substrates, to 30 m.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species is heavily collected but remains locally abundant, forming huge stands over than 5 m across. Global warming effects are threats.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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