Brown Pocillopora damicornis

(Phylum Cnidaria, Class Anthozoa, Order Scleractinia.

see Overview of Cnidarian Diversity)

 

This species of small-polyped stony coral is common and widespread in nature; it is an important coral on Indo-Pacific coral reefs. For a small-polyped stony coral it has relatively large polyps. These polyps are densely packed on the branches and are almost always well extended, giving the colony a fuzzy appearance.

 

This appears to be one of the more aggressive small-polyped stony corals in our aquaria. Branches that are near other coral colonies develop polyps with greatly elongated "sweeper tentacles" that reach farther than ordinary polyps and sting and kill neighboring colonies of other species. Birdsnest coral, Seriatopora hystrix, seems to be particularly vulnerable to these attacks.

 

This is one of the faster-growing stony corals in or aquaria. Compare recent photos to photos in our older web pages to see the impressive growth of our Pocillopora damicornis colonies.

About Corals, Anemones, and their Kin