Diet
The whale shark (Rhincodon typus) is a slow-moving, filter-feeding carpet shark and the largest known extant fish species. The largest confirmed individual had a length of 18.8 m (61.7 ft). The whale shark holds many records for size in the animal...
The basking shark (Cetorhinus maximus) is the second-largest living shark and fish, after the whale shark. It is one of three plankton-eating shark species, along with the whale shark and megamouth shark. Typically, basking sharks reach 7.9 m (26...
Belgica antarctica, the Antarctic midge, is a species of flightless midge, endemic to the continent of Antarctica. At 2–6 mm (0.08–0.2 in) long, it is the largest purely terrestrial animal native to the continent. It also has the smallest known...
The staghorn coral (Acropora cervicornis) is a branching, stony coral with cylindrical branches ranging from a few centimetres to over two metres in length and height. It occurs in back reef and fore reef environments from 0 to 30 m (0 to 98 ft)...
Acropora millepora is a species of branching stony coral native to the western Indo-Pacific where it is found in shallow water from the east coast of Africa to the coasts of Japan and Australia. It was first described in 1834 by Christian Gottfried...
Fungia is a genus of corals in the family Fungiidae. It is monotypic with the single species Fungia fungites, which is found growing on reefs in the Indo-Pacific.
Blue coral (Heliopora coerulea) is a species of colonial coral. It is the only octocoral known to produce a massive skeleton. This skeleton is formed of aragonite, similar to that of scleractinia. Individual polyps live in tubes within the skeleton...
Millepora alcicornis, or sea ginger, is a species of colonial fire coral with a calcareous skeleton. It is found on shallow water coral reefs in the tropical west Atlantic Ocean. It shows a variety of different morphologies depending on its...
Lophelia pertusa, the only species in the genus Lophelia, is a cold-water coral that grows in the deep waters throughout the North Atlantic ocean, as well as parts of the Caribbean Sea and Alboran Sea. Although L. pertusa reefs are home to a diverse...
Diploria is a monotypic genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is represented by a single species, Diploria labyrinthiformis, commonly known as grooved brain coral and is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and...
The branch coral (Acropora florida) is a species of acroporid coral found in the southwest and northern Indian Ocean, the central Indo-Pacific, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan and the East China Sea, Cook Islands and the oceanic west Pacific Ocean....
Ctenella is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Euphylliidae. It is represented by a single species, Ctenella chagius. These corals are massive in size with meandering valleys between the calyces which have solid, non-porous walls and...
Euphyllia glabrescens is a species of large-polyped stony coral belonging to the family Caryophylliidae. Its common name is the torch coral due to its long sweeper tentacles tipped with potent cnidocytes. It is a commonly kept species in the marine...
Euphyllia ancora (reclassified in 2017 as Fimbriaphyllia ancora)is a species of hard coral in the family Euphylliidae. It is known by several common names, including anchor coral and hammer coral, or less frequently as sausage coral, ridge coral, or...
Galaxea fascicularis is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Euphylliidae, commonly known as octopus coral, fluorescence grass coral, galaxy coral among various vernacular names.It is a common species on reef slopes in the Indo-Pacific...
The open brain coral (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi) is a brightly colored free-living coral species in the family Merulinidae. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Trachyphyllia and can be found throughout the Indo-Pacific.
Porites porites, commonly known as hump coral or finger coral, is a species of stony coral in the genus Porites. It is found in the Caribbean Sea and western Atlantic Ocean and also along the coast of West Africa.
Leaf plate montipora (Montipora capricornis), also known as vase coral, cap coral, or plating montipora, is a type of small polyp stony (SPS) coral in the family Acroporidae.
Montipora digitata, also known as finger coral, is a species of stony coral. It is found in shallow water in East Africa, the Indo-West Pacific, Kenya, Mozambique and Rodriguez.
Acropora hyacinthus is a species of Acropora described from a specimen collected in Fiji by James Dwight Dana in 1846. It is thought to have a range that includes the Indian Ocean, the Indo-Pacific waters, southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea...
Meandrina meandrites, commonly known as maze coral, is a species of colonial stony coral in the family Meandrinidae. It is found primarily on outer coral reef slopes in the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico.
Acropora tenuis is a species of acroporid coral found in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the southwest, northwest and northern Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the central Indo-Pacific, Australia, Southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea and the...
Pseudodiploria strigosa, the symmetrical brain coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Mussidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It grows slowly and lives to a great age.
Colpophyllia is a genus of stony corals in the family Mussidae. It is monotypic with a single species, Colpophyllia natans, commonly known as boulder brain coral or large-grooved brain coral. It inhabits the slopes and tops of reefs, to a maximum...
Porites astreoides, commonly known as mustard hill coral or yellow porites, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae.It is a common species in the Caribbean Sea and western tropical Atlantic Ocean in North, Central, and South...
Acropora cytherea is a stony coral which forms horizontal table like structures. It occurs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean in areas with little wave action, favouring back reef environments from 3 to 20 m (10 to 66 ft) depth.
Orbicella annularis, commonly known as the boulder star coral, is a species of coral that lives in the western Atlantic Ocean and is the most thoroughly studied and most abundant species of reef-building coral in the Caribbean to date. It also has a...
Oculina varicosa, or the ivory bush coral, is a scleractinian deep-water coral primarily found at depths of 70-100m, and ranges from Bermuda and Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean. Oculina varicosa flourishes at the Oculina Bank...
Catalaphyllia is a monotypic genus of stony coral in the family Euphylliidae from the western Pacific Ocean. It is represented by a single species, Catalaphyllia jardinei, commonly known as elegance coral (or wonder coral, ridge coral). It was first...
Mussa is a genus of stony coral in the family Faviidae. It is monotypic, being represented by the single species Mussa angulosa, commonly known as the spiny or large flower coral. It is found on reefs in shallow waters in the Caribbean Sea, the...
Siderastrea siderea, commonly known as massive starlet coral or round starlet coral, is a stony coral in the family Siderastreidae. It is found in shallow parts of the western Atlantic Ocean as solid boulder-shaped or domed structures.
Herpolitha is a monotypic genus of mushroom corals in the family Fungiidae. The only member of the genus is Herpolitha limax, commonly known as the tongue, slipper, mole or striate boomerang coral. It is a free-living species and is native to reefs...
Acropora muricata, commonly called staghorn coral, is a species of acroporid coral found in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, Australia, central Indo-Pacific, Japan, Southeast Asia, the East China Sea and the oceanic central...
Montipora capitata, commonly known as rice coral or pore coral, is a stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It is a reef building species and is found in tropical parts of the Pacific Ocean.
Favites abdita, also known as the larger star coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It is native to the Indo-Pacific region and its range extends from East Africa and the Red Sea through the Indian Ocean to the Western...
Acropora valida is a species of acroporid coral found in the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden, the southwestern, northwestern and northern Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the central Indo-Pacific, Australia, southeast Asia, Japan, the East China Sea, the...
Platygyra daedalea, sometimes known as the lesser valley coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Merulinidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the Indo-Pacific region. It is a common species and the International Union for...
Acropora aspera is a species of staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae. It is found on reef flats and in lagoons in very shallow water in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean.
Acropora digitifera is a species of acroporid coral found in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the southwest and northern Indian Ocean, Australia, Southeast Asia, the central Indo-Pacific, Japan, the west Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea. It is...
Acropora pulchra is a species of colonial staghorn coral in the family Acroporidae. It is found on the back fringes of reefs in shallow water in the western Indo-Pacific Ocean. The oldest fossils of this species date back to the Pleistocene.
Acropora humilis, also known as finger coral, is a species of acroporid coral found in the Gulf of Aden, the Red Sea, the northern and southwestern Indian Ocean, Australia, the central Indo-Pacific, Japan, southeast Asia, the East China Sea, the...
Acropora nasuta is a species of branching stony coral in the family Acroporidae. It is native to the western and central Indo-Pacific where it is found in shallow reef habitats. Like other corals of the genus Acropora, it is susceptible to coral...