Anthozoa (corals and sea anemones)
- Rubber coral (Palythoa caesia)
Distribution:
Indo and West Pacific
Habitat :
Common in areas exposed to surge
Max. size :
Colonies generally with 15 cm
Behavior and biology :
The general color ranges from white to brown. Texture resembles hard rubber and the polyps have two rows of tentacles. The polyps are embedded in a well developed coenenchym (common tissue which unites the polyps), and when the ocean is rough the polyps usually closed.
They have zooxanthellae that are environmentally transmitted, presumably after settlement and metamorphosis since neither broadcast-spawned oocytes, nor larvae, contain algal cells.
