Lesser speckled cup coral Colangia immersa Pourtalès, 1871
Description: Colonies form small encrusting groups of polyps, attached to each other by discrete stolons. Corallites cylindrical, 6-9 mm in diameter and usually less than 10 mm in height. Septa hexamerally arranged in 4 cycles. Six tall, thin, rounded septa protrude noticeably around the rim; other septa smaller. Columella lamellar or papillose. Endotheca absent.
Color: Polyps occur in a variety of colors, including brown, light green, salmon, pink, lavender, orange-brown and white.
Habitat: It is a fairly common shallow-water species, found to depths of 100 m. The deepest live-collected colony is from 350 m. It is often found in cryptic environments, like the undersides of platy corals, under ledges and in caves.
Distribution: Occasional Florida, Bahamas and Caribbean. |