Hexacorallia |
Scleractinia |
Merulinidae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Reef-associated; depth range 6 - 30 m (Ref. 115199). Tropical; 36°N - 34°S, 26°E - 137°W (Ref. 848)
Indo-Pacific. Tropical to subtropical.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Colony: massive. Corallites: circular, closely compacted in shallow water, more widely spaced in deeper water. Septa: widely spaced, distinctly irregular. Often poorly developed paliform lobes. Color: pale yellow, cream or green, with dark brown or green oral discs (Ref. 848).
Minimum depth from Ref. 104515. Found in all reef environments, often a dominant species of back reef margins (Ref. 848). Also on subtidal rock, rocky reefs, outer reef channel, back and foreslope and lagoons; occasionally in inter-reef soft substrate (Ref. 98471). Tends to form low heads or encrust rocks in shallow waters (Ref. 130769).
Life cycle and mating behavior
Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae
Hermaphroditic (Ref. 113712). Mature gametes are shed into the coelenteron and spawned through the mouth. Life cycle: The zygote develops into a planktonic planula larva. Metamorphosis begins with early morphogenesis of tentacles, septa and pharynx before larval settlement on the aboral end (Ref. 833).
Ross, M.A. and G. Hodgson 1981 A quantitative study of hermatypic coral diversity and zonation at Apo Reef, Mindiro, Philippines. Proceedings of the Fourth International Coral Reef Syposium, Manila 2:281-291. (Ref. 8294)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
Population dynamicsGrowthMax. ages / sizesLength-weight rel.Length-length rel.Length-frequenciesMass conversionAbundance PhysiologyOxygen consumption
Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
Internet sources
Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature
(Ref.
115969): 22 - 28.2, mean 26.6 (based on 561 cells).
Price category
Unknown.