Shoreline corals
Tropical Queensland, Australia
25/04/21
Many corals will clump together, so where one individual is found, others of the same species are often nearby. Here are a couple of Goniastrea colonies.
Snorkeling here is pretty much impossible with zero visibility! With plenty of rain and river mouths every few hundred meters there is always muddy water close to shore. But despite the incredibly turbid conditions, corals seem to thrive in the area. At the lowest tides, many species of coral are exposed for hours. They seem incredibly hardy and being on land doesn't seem to stress them, with many still having their polyps out and fully open.
Turbinaria peltata
Large-polyp disc coral
A hardy coral with anemone-like polyps which look similar to those of a sun coral. They are quite a 'hungry' coral, and polyps usually remain open throughout the day. It has been proposed that this species be moved to the Duncanopsammia genus due to close genetic similarities.
Turbinaria peltata
Large-polyp disc coral
Turbinaria species are very hardy and tolerant, and are often found in shallow and turbid waters. It is one of the most commonly encountered species in intertidal waters.
Turbinaria bifrons
Bifacial disc coral
A stony coral with sturdy vertical plates that have small corallites on both sides. Colonies can grow up to a meter across, developing deep fronds which other organisms like fish utilise for cover.
Turbinaria frondens
Small-polyp disc coral
A species with multiple growth forms. Generally, the corals initially grow cup-shaped and then can transform into columnar, massive, encrusting or foliaceous specimens.
Sansibia sp.
Blue xenia
Whole rocks of these waving around in shallow current is a beautiful sight. In some areas they completely coat the surface of everything. They inhabit turbid waters and are a mobile coral which can change locations when conditions aren't ideal.
Briareum sp.
Brown star polyps
These are similar to Sansibia in terms of looks and habitat preference and can also be very common. They almost always retract as they emerge from the water however, looking like a kind of sponge when retracted on rocks.
Zoanthus sp.
Zoanthids
The famous (or perhaps infamous) zoa. There are an incredible variety of colours and forms in Zoanthus species, with almost every area containing unique types. Zoanthids can contain a lethal compound called palytoxin, which is the second most poisonous non-protein based substance known.
Lobophytum sp.
Devil's hand leather coral
A thick skinned soft coral that earns its name 'leather coral' well. They are easily identified by their finger-lke projections and smooth appearance.
Sarcophyton sp.
Toadstool leather coral
These leather corals don't get finger-like projections in their flesh but can stretch up their edges to form ridges. Some extend out quite long polyps to catch food.
Cladiella sp.
Colt coral
A sticky and very soft finger leather soft coral. They look fluffy or cauliflower-like with polyps fully extended. When they are disturbed they quickly retract their brown polyps to expose a bright white flesh.
Stichodactyla tapetum
Mini carpet anemone
These are the smallest kind of carpet anemone and come in all different colours! They have very short tentacles which look more like little bumps on the oral disc. While they can grow to 10cm across, it's quite uncommon to see any larger tham 4cm.
Stichodactyla mertensii
Merten's carpet anemone
One of the largest sea anemone species in the world, growing to over a meter in diameter. Generally a territorial and solitary species of carpet anemones, they do not readily produce clones or live in colonies. They are quite venomous and have a painful sting which can cause anaphylactic shock.
Goniopora sp.
Flowerpot coral
A hard coral that can extend its polyps quite a distance from the base. These long flowery polyps have 18-24 tentacles (depending on the species) which surround a mouth. They wave around in the current searching for food - largely in the form of phytoplankton.
Pseudosiderastrea tayamai
False pillow coral
A very shallow water encrusting coral that is one of the first to be exposed once the tide drops. The colony of hexagonal corallites generally doesn't get larger than 10cm across.
Micromussa lordhowensis
Acan Lord
Previously classed within the Acanthastrea genus, this coral is commonly referred to by its relic name. A fairly hardy species, they can tolerate higher phosphate and nitrate levels than many other corals and are often found in highly sedimented inshore waters.
Micromussa lordhowensis
Acan Lord
With many colour variations, these animals are a popular aquarium species. They are distributed across the Indo-pacific, with their range extending through to the African coast and the Red Sea. With a larval stage that can survive for months in the water column, this species can easily traverse ocean currents to colonise new areas.
Dipsastraea danai
Knob coral
Commonly mistaken for Faviid species, these Merulinid corals are just superficially similar. Favia species are now understood to only inhabit Atlantic waters, while their Dipsastrean counterparts inhabit Indo-pacific waters.
Dipsastraea lizardensis
Knob coral
An easily identified Dipsastraea species, having round and evenly spaced corallites with thick walls. They generally feed at night, extending out fine translucent tentacles to catch bypassing organic matter.
Acropora aspera
Staghorn coral
Acropora are some of the most common and prolific coral species found in reefs worldwide. They are important reef-building corals, with their fast growing calcium carbonate skeletons often primarily supporting reef structures.
Goniastrea edwardsi
Honeycomb Coral
A brown coral that is most commonly found in sub-tidal zones where it can form massive colonies (over a meter in diameter). They are quite tolerant to heat stress and are relatively fast growing.
Coelastrea palauensis
Moon coral
A hardy and tolerant species previously belonging to the Goniastrea genus. Coelastrea species generally have deeper calices (the flat bottom surface enclosed by the cell wall) with steeper, higher cell walls than Goniastrea species.
Plesiastrea versipora
Green versipora coral
A very unique stony coral that thrives in temperate waters. While most coral can only grow in tropical waters, this species can still grow to massive colonies in as little as 10°C. Their respiration and symbiont photosynthetic rate decreases with temperature, so these corals likely rely more on heterotrophic energy (eating) in colder regions.
Cyphastrea chalcidicum
Lesser knob coral
A fast growing encrusting coral which can reach massive colony size. In areas with less light such as overhangs, polyps will grow substantially spaced out from each other.
The tide rushing back in forces me out of the rocks again. Note the Caulerpa racemosa on the right. All these rocks will be underwater soon.