Isla de Juventud Under Water Field Guide
Field guide for students from Hull University
fire corals
Fire corals are colonial marine organisms that look rather like real coral. Technically they are not corals, since they are more closely related to jellyfish and other stinging anemones. They are members of the phylum Cnidaria, class Hydrozoa, order Capitata, family Milleporidae.
Porites
Porites is a genus of stony coral; they are SPS (Small Polyp Stony) corals. They are characterised by a finger-like morphology. Members of this genus have widely spaced calices, a well-developed wall reticulum and are bilaterally symmetrical. Porites, particularly Porites lutea, often form microatolls. Corals of the genus Porites also often serve as hosts for ...more ↓
Brain Corals
Brain coral is a common name given to corals in the family Faviidae so called due to their generally spheroid shape and grooved surface which resembles a brain. Each head of coral is formed by a colony of genetically identical polyps which secrete a hard skeleton of calcium carbonate; this makes them important coral reef builders like other stony corals in the order ...more ↓
Soft Corals
The Alcyonacea, or soft corals, are an order of corals which do not produce calcium carbonate skeletons. Soft corals contain minute, spiny skeletal elements called sclerites, useful in species identification. Sclerites give these corals some degree of support and give their flesh a spiky, grainy texture that deters predators. In the past soft corals were thought to be unable to ...more ↓
Staghorn Coral
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) depth. The upper limit is defined by wave forces, and the lower limit is controlled by suspended sediments and light ...more ↓
Giant Anemone
Condylactis gigantea is a tropical species of sea anemone that is found in coral reefs and other shallow inshore areas in the Caribbean Sea – more specifically the West Indies – and the western Atlantic Ocean including southern Florida through the Florida Keys. It is also commonly known as: giant Caribbean sea anemone, giant golden anemone, condylactis anemone, Haitian anemone, ...more ↓
Boulder Star Coral
Montastraea 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 comprehensive fossil record within the Caribbean. This species complex has long been considered a generalist that exists ...more ↓
Abanico de mar
Gorgonia ventalina, the purple sea fan, is a species of sea fan, an octocoral in the family Anthothelidae. It is found in the western Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
Greater Star Coral
The Great star coral (Montastraea cavernosa) is a colonial stony coral found in the Caribbean seas. It forms into massive boulders and sometimes develops into plates. Its polyps are the size of a human thumb and fully extend at night. Great star coral colonies form massive boulders and domes over 5 feet (1.5 m) in diameter in waters of shallow and moderate depths. In deeper ...more ↓
Sea Ginger
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 location, which led to it being given a number of scientific names by different authorities. It feeds on plankton and derives part of ...more ↓
Coral
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.
Symmetrical Brain Coral
Diploria strigosa, the symmetrical brain coral, is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Faviidae. It occurs on reefs in shallow water in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea. It grows slowly and lives to a great age.
Grooved Brain Coral
Diploria labyrinthiformis, known by the common name grooved brain coral, is a species of stony coral in the family Faviidae. Found in tropical areas of the west Atlantic Ocean, it has a familiar, maze-like appearance.
Smooth Flower Coral
Eusmilia is a genus of stony coral (Scleractinia) in the family Meandrinidae. It is a monotypic genus: the only species is Eusmilia fastigiata, the smooth flower coral. It is found on reefs in the Caribbean area.
Scolymia sp.
Scolymia, commonly called Scoly coral, is a genus of large polyp stony corals. Members of this genus are sometimes found in reef aquariums.
Plexaura homomalla
Plexaura homomalla, commonly known as the black sea rod or Caribbean sea whip, is a species of gorgonian-type octocoral in the family Plexauridae. It is widely distributed in the Caribbean from the Florida Keys to the northern coast of Venezuela. P. Homomalla contains the bioactive lipid Prostaglandin A2 15-acetate methyl ester at approximately 3% of ...more ↓
mustard hill coral
Porites astreoides is a colonial species of stony coral in the family Poritidae. Its common name is the mustard hill coral or the yellow porites. It is a common species growing in shallow water on reefs in the western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea.
Diploria sp.
Diploria is a genus of massive reef building stony corals in the family Faviidae, commonly known as the brain corals. Three species are currently recognized, all found in the West Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea.
Coral
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.
