Euphyllia paradivisa

Euphyllia paradivisa, or branching frogspawn coral, is a species of large-polyped stony coral belonging to the Euphylliidae family. It shares the common name of "frogspawn coral" with Euphyllia divisa, but is differentiated as the "branching" frogspawn whereas Euphyllia divisa has a "wall" structure.[3] It is a commonly kept species in the marine aquarium hobby.

Euphyllia paradivisa
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Cnidaria
Class: Anthozoa
Order: Scleractinia
Family: Euphylliidae
Genus: Euphyllia
Species:
E. paradivisa
Binomial name
Euphyllia paradivisa
Veron, 1990[2]
Synonyms
  • Fimbriaphyllia paradivisa (Veron, 1990)

Euphyllia paradivisa is considered a vulnerable species by the IUCN Red List. It is threatened by many of the environmental issues with coral reefs such as increased sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, and overfishing for the marine aquarium trade.[4] The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has stated there is "a risk of extinction within the foreseeable future for Euphyllia paradivisa."[4]

Description

Colonies of Euphyllia paradivisa are made up of branching, separate corallites. Polyps have branching tentacles.[4] Color is pale greenish-grey or pink (in rare instances) with lighter tentacle tips.[4] Euphyllia paradivisa displays fluorescence when the chromatophores of its zooxanthellae and the coral host pigments are excited by blue-dominated light.[5]

Distribution & habitat

It is native to the Indo-Pacific islands, distributed mostly in the Coral Triangle area, and also found in the American Samoa.[4] It prefers environments protected from surface wave action on fringing reef crests, mid-slope terraces, and lagoons at depths of 2 to 25 meters (6–82 ft).[4]

References
  1. Turak, E., Sheppard, C. & Wood, E. 2008. Euphyllia paradivisa. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
  2. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2008). "Euphyllia paradivisa". doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2008.RLTS.T133057A3586802.en. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. Wildscreen Arkive. "Branching frogspawn coral (Euphyllia paradivisa)". Archived from the original on 2016-10-04. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  4. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. "Euphyllia paradivisa" (PDF). Listed Corals in the Indo-Pacific. Retrieved 22 July 2016.
  5. Eyal, G.; Wiedenmann, J.; Grinblat, M.; D’Angelo, C.; Kramarsky-Winter, E.; Treibitz, T.; Ben-Zvi, O.; Shaked, Y.; Smith, T. B.; Harii, S.; Denis, V.; Noyes, T.; Tamir, R.; Loya., Y. (June 24, 2015). "Spectral Diversity and Regulation of Coral Fluorescence in a Mesophotic Reef Habitat in the Red Sea". PLOS ONE. 10 (6): e0128697. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0128697. PMC 4479885. PMID 26107282.
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