Pocillopora

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pocillopora
Pocillopora damicornis in an aquarium of the Zoo-Aquarium Berlin.

Pocillopora damicornis in an aquarium at Zoo- Aquarium Berlin .

Systematics
Trunk : Cnidarians (Cnidaria)
Class : Flower animals (anthozoa)
Subclass : Hexacorallia
Order : Hard corals (Scleractinia)
Family : Pocilloporidae
Genre : Pocillopora
Scientific name
Pocillopora
Lamarck , 1816
Pocillopora meandrina in its natural habitat in northwestern Hawaii

Pocillopora ( Latin : pocillum = cup; Greek : poros = opening) is a genus of hard corals (Scleractinia) that occurs in the Red Sea and in the tropical areas of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific . In Hawaii and in the eastern Pacific it can become the dominant stony coral genus andreplace the acropores thatno longer occur there.

features

Pocillopores are of very variable growth form, depending on where they are located in the reef. They live in shallow water and form small bush-shaped colonies. Its branches are thick, rich in lime and covered with numerous humps called verrucae. The color is usually brownish, but can also be yellowish, pink or pink.

Like most other hard corals, the pocillopores live in a symbiotic relationship with small algae ( zooxanthellae ), which provide the corals with nutrients.

In addition to sexual reproduction, a form of asexual reproduction known as polyp expulsion occurs in Pocillopora . In the process, some polyps detach themselves from the coral hive without a skeleton, allow themselves to be drifted, settle again in a favorable location and form a new colony.

species

literature

Web links

Commons : Pocillopora  - collection of images, videos and audio files