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Related Articles: Poritid Corals, Stony or True Corals, Order Scleractinia

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Genus Porites, Family Poritidae
Part 2 of 4

To: Porites 1, Porites 3, Porites 4

 

By Bob Fenner

 

Porites attenuata Nemenzo 1955. /COTW:

Characters: Colonies are sturdy fused branches with rounded tips. Corallites are moderately excavated. The coenosteum is coarse.

Colour: Usually mustard or bright yellow-green, also pale brown.

Similar Species: Porites cylindrica, which has finer branches and less excavated corallites. See also P. tuberculosa.

Habitat: Shallow protected reef environments.

Abundance: Common.     N. Sulawesit pic.

Porites branneri. Blue Crust Coral. Colonies to half a foot in diameter. Appear blue to purple. Small, pitted corallites. St Thomas 2014
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Porites californica, Emerald Coral. Bright green in shallow to darkening brown w/ depth. Polymorphic: encrusting to branching forms. To about two feet across and sixty foot depths. Di pic Cabo 2016

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Porites columnaris Klunzinger 1879. Colonies submassive or as short columns. Appear smooth. Uncommon, Red Sea, Gulf of Aden. Red Sea pic. 

 

Porites colonensis Honeycomb Plate Coral. Colonies as thin plates that appear honeycombed when polyps are withdrawn. Brown, reddish brown to gray in color; contrasting polyp centers white or green. Roatan 2019.

Porites compressa Dana 1846, Finger Coral. Another common (endemic) species in Hawai'i (85% or so of Kaneohe Bay, O'ahu). Generally light brown in color.  Finger like deeper, to knobby boulders in shallow. Below, shallow to deeper pics.
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Porites colonensis, Honeycomb Plate Coral. Undulating plates that appear like honeycomb when polyps are retracted. Brown to reddish, purple. Tropical W. Atlantic. Here in Roatan 2016.

 

Porites cylindrica Dana 1846, Cylindrical Porous Coral. Indo-Pacific and Red Sea; eastward to Tonga, Marshall Islands. This colony in Queensland, Australia. Note white tips, small, embedded corallites. May be dominant stands in calm inshore settings.

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Porites divaricata Thin Finger Coral. To a foot in height. Thin, long/er stalks than similar P. porites, P. furcata. Tank to lighter browns. Shallow water. Cozumel 2017

 

Porites echinulata Klunzinger 1879. Colonies consist of massive flat top columns. Coenosteum between polyps elevated, giving a rough appearance. Common in shallow calm water environments. Red Sea image. 

Porites evermanni Vaughan 1907, Evermann's Coral. A massive form that is sometimes similar to P. lobata (below), but never yellow in color (is brown to gray to purple). Commonly knobby and fuzzy at close inspection (the latter due to partly retracted polyps). Likely endemic to Hawai'i. Image with P. lobata in background.

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Porites furcata Branched Finger Coral. Branches divided into two rounded end lobes on long stalks. Polyps may be randomly retracted. St. Thomas 2014

 

To: Porites 1, Porites 3, Porites 4,
 
 

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