Specimen image via iDigBio
Herpolitha
Sign in to saveHerpolitha is a monotypic genus of mushroom corals in the family Fungiidae. The only member of the genus is Herpolitha limax, commonly known as the tongue, slipper, mole or striate boomerang coral. It is a free-living species and is native to reefs and lagoons in the Indo-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this coral as being of "least concern".
In the Vinony graph
Vinony's link graph records 7 inbound references to Herpolitha, and connects out to Least Concern, Animalia and International Standard Book Number.
Vinony files it under Cnidarians of the Indian Ocean, Cnidarians of the Pacific Ocean and Fauna of the Red Sea.
Vinony links it to 5 Wikipedia language editions.
Species
mole coral
GENUS
- KingdomAnimalia
- PhylumCnidaria
- ClassAnthozoa
- OrderScleractinia
- FamilyFungiidae
via GBIF
Museum specimens
- Specimen records
- 50
- With media
- 4
- Family
- Fungiidae
- Collections
- NHMUK, USNM, UCMP, AM, QM, CAS
- Recorded in
- Indonesia, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Australia, Mariana Islands, Singapore, Line Islands
Wikidata facts
Show 3 more facts
- taxon name
- Herpolitha
- taxon rank
- genus
- topic's main category
- Category:Herpolitha
Sources (1)
via Wikidata · CC0
~3 min read
Encyclopedic overview
5 sectionsContents
- Description
- Distribution
- Ecology
- Status
- References
Herpolitha is a monotypic genus of mushroom corals in the family Fungiidae. The only member of the genus is Herpolitha limax, commonly known as the tongue, slipper, mole or striate boomerang coral. It is a free-living species and is native to reefs and lagoons in the Indo-Pacific region. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed this coral as being of "least concern".
==Description== Herpolitha limax has an elongated structure with somewhat rounded ends and a single, central, axial furrow that extends nearly from end to end. In the furrow are many conspicuous slit-like mouths and there are irregularly spaced, less-distinct mouths elsewhere. The primary septa are densely-toothed with fine spines and do not reach the edge of the colony. The costae are low with crowded, obtuse teeth. Sometimes the furrow is forked and forms a "Y" shape, a "T" shape, or even an "X" shape. This coral can grow to a length of or more and is usually some shade of grey, brown or greenish-brown.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Herpolitha” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.