Cynarina
| Cynarina | ||||||||||
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Cynarina deshayesiana |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Cynarina | ||||||||||
| Brüggemann , 1877 |
Cynarina is a genus of hard corals (Scleractinia). The animals do not live colonial , but only have a single, very large polyp , which is one of the largest hard coral polyps with a maximum diameter of 35 centimeters. The fabric of Cynarina is often transparent, but can also be reddish, gray, white or green. The corallite (coral goblet) is seven to 15 centimeters tall and has large toothed septa, which are often visible from the outside. Cynarina livesin symbiosis with zooxanthellae and partially feeds on the carbohydrates formed by them. Only at night does it stretch out its tentacles to catch plankton.
Three species have been described: Cynarina lacrymalis (Milne-Edwards & Haime, 1848), Cynarina deshayesiana, and Cynarina macassarensis . C. lacrymalis and C. macassarensis particularly often have transparent tissue. C. deshayesiana is considered to be particularly colorful. But it is also thought possible that the three taxa are just different forms of the same species of C. lacrymalis .
The animals live in the shallow waters of the Red Sea and the tropical Indo-Pacific , north to Japan and south to the Kermadec Islands .
In the saltwater aquarium , Cynarina forms are among the most robust and best-to-keep hard corals. They don't need as much light as most other types. Their location must offer enough space for the large polyp and must not be in a strong current, otherwise the soft tissue can tear. When fed, their tentacles expand during the day too. Cynarina deshayesiana has also spawned in aquariums.
literature
- Julian Sprung: Korallen , Dähne Verlag, 2000, ISBN 3-921684-87-0
