Echinopora lamellosa

(Esper, 1791)

Vernacular names
English : Blue chalice coral
French : Corail épineux

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

Identification
Colonies are thin laminae forming plates, tiers and whorls reaching over 1 meter in diameter. Colony surface rugose because of septa, corallites small and rounded with exert septa. Colony brown to green, often with green corallites.

Range and habitat
This species occurs in the Indian and Pacific Ocean, from the Red Sea and East African coasts to north Australia, south Japan and east to Line islands. Lives in shallow water reef areas, mostly on flat and hard surfaces, to 40 meters.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Appendix II
Status : This species is common in the wild but is potentially endangered by ocean acidification, coral reef destruction and habitat modification.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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