THE STEINHART AQUARIUM - Gulf of Guinea Science ...

Remarks: Its scientific name and a popular
common name “elephant nose coral” are
somewhat imaginative references to the raised
shapes of the corallites.
Acanthastrea
Acanthastrea spp. (Mussidae)
Distribution: Indo-Pacific.
Habitat: Found from shallow water to about
20 m, though some known from greater depth.
Thrive in conditions from strong to subdued
lighting and wave action from strong to mild.
Appearance: May form colonies of only a few
polyps to encrusting colonies several meters
across, depending on the species and water
conditions. Some colonies may reach 3 m
across; ours are much smaller.
Diet: Nutrition from zooxanthellae; extends
tentacles at night to feed on microplankton
and small invertebrates and can also, like
many corals, absorb dissolved organic matter
through their tissues.
R e p r o d u c t i o n a n d D e v e l o p m e n t :
Hermaphrodites; reproduce sexually by
spawning, asexually by fragmentation and
fission.
Remarks: A favorite today among collectors,
Acanthastrea is a relatively large genus (perhaps
15-17 species) in the family Mussidae. They
resemble and are often difficult to distinguish
from other mussid corals such as Symphyllia
and Lobophyllia, and are even confused with
species of the family Favidae.
A fairly aggressive coral that can extend long
mesenterial filaments from the stomach that
can kill or devour other coral polyps by a
process similar to digestion. Aquarists take
care placing other valued corals out of reach!
Meat Coral
Acanthophyllia deshayesiana (Mussidae)
Distribution: Indo-West Pacific.
Habitat: Protected reef environments, often
attached to rocks under overhangs or on soft
substrates; prefers gentle currents.
Appearance: Large, fleshy polyps. Unlike its
lookalike, Cynaria lacrymalis, A. deshayesiana has
opaque rather than translucent polyps, and has
skeletal features that differ from other mussids.
Color may vary from red-brown to bright green
or red, and, in some cases, specimens may be
California Academy of Sciences
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striped or mottled with another color. Like
other mussids, when the soft tissue expands,
it drapes dramatically over the edges of the
skeleton, often covering it completely.
Diet: Nutrition derived mainly through
photosynthesis performed by symbiotic
zooxanthellae, but also feed on small
invertebrates and other organic items.
R e p r o d u c t i o n a n d D e v e l o p m e n t :
Hermaphrodites, reproducing in the wild by
spawning.
Remarks: The common name “Meat Coral”
refers to the polyps’ fleshy appearance and
common red coloration.
The name “button coral” refers to at least
5 genera of solitary polyps of the family
Mussidae, including Acanthophyllia and
Cynarina and Scolymia, all on display in the
Steinhart Aquarium.
This species was formerly identified as
Cynarina deshayesiana or Scolymia species,
but has recently (2009) been reclassified as
a member of its own genus. A. deshaesiana is
flatter and larger than Scolymia corals and not
as transparently fleshy or “bubbly” as Cynarina
corals.
Pineapple Coral
Blastomussa merleti (Mussidae)
Distribution: Indo-Pacific: Indonesia.
Habitat: Reefs, especially turbid environments
on lower reef slopes.
Appearance: Color: commonly dark red
with conspicuous green oral discs. Also
pink, orange, brown or dark grey with white
margins. Some aquacultured specimens are
quite colorful. Tentacles have fleshy mantles
extended during the day that hide the colony
structure below. B. merleti have much smaller
corallites that are less closely packed together
than those of B. wellsi.
Diet: Majority of nutrition comes from
products of photosynthetic zooxanthellae;
supplemented by microplankton.
Reproduction and Development: During their
early growth, individual corals extend from a
common center, creating a dome covered with
closely spaced corallites. Sometimes, however,
these corals lose their connections and become
cloned solitary individuals.
Remarks: “Blastos” used to be rare in the