Madracis auretenra
Yellow pencil coral
Common Names
LC
IUCN:
Scleractinia
Order:
Pocilloporidae
Order:
Distribution
reefs, but as a reef building coral, colonies can
Ecology
Generally inhabits deeper clear water and outer reefs. Lives in depths of 1 m to 60 m and is occasionally also found in shallower depths with some sedimentation and water movement. Often covers a considerable area of seabed.
It appears similar to Pointed pencil coral, (M. asperula), with branches tapered rather than blunt. A Deep dwelling azooxanthellate coral known primarily from the Southern Caribbean.
Description
Stony coral forms colonies made up of thousands of densely packed clumps of small finger-like branches <1 cm in diameter, with blunt tips where the polyps are densely grouped. The polyps are usually extended giving the outer colony a fuzzy appearance, while the branch bases lose their polyps, leaving the lower structure naked. Branches grow almost parallel in thin and fragile structures with the colony growing up to 1.2 m wide and can cluster in several colonies when in protected habitat.
Other photos
