Page 38 - Caribbean Reef Life Demo
P. 38
STAR CORALS : CORALS
O O
(Orbicella franksi)
A low encrusting plate of O. franksi. The characteristic hite atches are more e ident in this ro th attern.
SIX-RAY STAR CORAL
(Madracis senaria) < 60 cm / 2 ft ro nish reen encrustin coral ith si distincti e ra s se ta on lar e dense corallites. ound on dee er reefs.
ROUGH STAR CORAL (Isophyllia rigida) < 20 cm / 8 in ounded dome of densel ac ed esh ol s ith deep centers. A thin ridge line separates each polyp.
ENCRUSTING STAR CORAL
(Madracis pharensis) < 15 cm / 6 in
Thin layer of encrusting star-shaped polyps. Green to reddish. Found under ledges or darker areas of the reef.
TEN-RAY STAR CORAL
(Madracis decactis) < 75 cm / 2.5 ft Encrusts to form bulbous interconnected knobs. Ten rays se ta e tend from each corallite. reen to ello ish.
ELLIPTICAL STAR CORAL (Dichocoenia stokesi) < 35 cm / 15 in ensel ac ed corallites are distincti el elon ated. an to brown. Forms hemispherical domes or rounded plates.
85

