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. (Ref. 8294)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2024-2)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Population dynamicsGrowthMax. ages / sizesLength-weight rel.Length-length rel.Length-frequenciesMass conversionRecruitmentAbundance Human RelatedAquaculture profiles
Stamps, 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.