Jump to content

Balanophyllia bonaespei

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Loopy30 (talk | contribs) at 20:28, 6 July 2018 (Speciesbox). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Balanophyllia bonaespei
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Hexacorallia
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Dendrophylliidae
Genus: Balanophyllia
Species:
B. bonaespei
Binomial name
Balanophyllia bonaespei
van der Horst, 1938[1]

Balanophyllia bonaespei is a species of solitary cup coral, a stony coral in the family Dendrophylliidae.[2] It is an azooxanthellate species that does not contain symbiotic dinoflagellates in its tissues as most corals do.[1]

Description

Cup corals are solitary hard corals which superficially resemble orange sea anemones. They grow to 1–2 cm in diameter. They have almost transparent beaded tentacles.[3]

Distribution

This species is known from Saldanha Bay to East London off the South African coast, and lives from 5 to 150 metres (16 to 492 ft) under water.

Ecology

This species is often found in caves or under dark overhangs.[3]

References

  1. ^ a b Balanophyllia (Balanophyllia) bonaespei van der Horst, 1938 World Register of Marine Species. accessed 15 August 2012
  2. ^ Branch, G.M., Branch, M.L, Griffiths, C.L. and Beckley, L.E. 2010. Two Oceans: a guide to the marine life of southern Africa ISBN 978-1-77007-772-0
  3. ^ a b Jones, Georgina. A field guide to the marine animals of the Cape Peninsula. SURG, Cape Town, 2008. ISBN 978-0-620-41639-9